March 4, 2009
Complete Release and Season Stats in PDF Format
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
San Diego State will play a four-game series against the University of San Diego this weekend with each school hosting a pair of contests. The opening game is scheduled for Thursday, March 5, at USD's Cunningham Stadium at 2:00 p.m. (PST). Saturday's contest will also be played on the Toreros' home field at 1:00 p.m. SDSU will host Friday evening's game at Tony Gwynn Stadium at 6:00 p.m. as well as the series finale on Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
SERIES RECORD
San Diego State leads its series with University of San Diego by the count of 60-46-3 since the teams first squared off in 1962. Last year the Aztecs won three of four games between the teams and took an earlier meeting this season at USD by the score of 3-0. For the series, SDSU is 45-25-2 on its home field and 15-21 at Cunningham Stadium. The other tie came when the teams played at Point Loma Nazarene during a tournament in 1997. Although the Aztecs have won five of the last six meetings, USD holds a 10-6 advantage since the 2003 campaign.
SCOUTING THE TOREROS
University of San Diego enters the series with a record of 7-3 and has won its last four straight. The Toreros are ranked as high as 11th in the nation by Baseball America. Three of the other major polls (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, USA Today/ESPN and Rivlas.com) have them 16th. USD is led offensively by catcher Steve Chatwood (.462, 3 doubles, 3 RBI), second baseman Chris Engell (.407, 7 RBI) and outfielder Kevin Muno (.394, HR, 4 RBI). The Torero pitching staff is led by starters Sammy Solis (1-0, 1.50) and Kyle Blair (1-0, 4.05). Reliever AJ Griffin 0-0, 0.00, 1 save) was named a preseason All-American by several national media outlets. As a team, USD is hitting .305 with a 5.16 earned run average.
STRASBURG HONORED
San Diego State junior right-hander Stephen Strasburg has been named a Louisville Slugger National Player of the Week by Collegiate Baseball magazine and has also been tabbed the Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance in SDSU's contests against Nevada last Thursday. Strasburg also received recognition as one of 12 national pitchers of the week by recruitingcloser.com. It was the fourth time that Strasburg has received national pitcher of the week from Collegiate Baseball the past two seasons and the ninth career MWC pitcher of the week award as an Aztec. Strasburg, a San Diego, Calif. (West Hills HS) native, struck out 16 batters in 6.2 innings on the mound in San Diego State's 5-2 win over Nevada. The 16 K's are the third-highest in a single game in MWC history. Strasburg fanned seven of the first nine batters he faced and struck out the side four times. He also gave up just five hits, two earned runs and one walk, while the Wolf Pack hit just .167 against him.
WELCOME BACK PARKER
After sitting out the 2008 season with a foot injury, catcher Matt Parker made his return to the San Diego State lineup in the season opener against Bethune-Cookman. He singled in his first at bat of the new season after coming off the bench as catcher in the contest against Bethune-Cookman. He continued his solid start to the season by singling in his second at bat of the year, that coming vs. Southern University the next day. The sophomore from nearby Rancho Bernardo High School has alternated starting assignments with junior Erik Castro thus far in 2009. He is on a six-game hitting streak and has reached safely in each game in which he has had a plate appearance this season.
IN CONTROL
Through the first nine games, Aztec pitchers have surrendered struck out 76 over 81 innings and walked 20 for s strikeout-to-walk ratio of just better than three-to-one. They have held opponents to a .237 batting average.
RASMUSSEN MAKES START
Sophomore left-hander Craig Rasmussen (Chula Vista, Calif., Hilltop HS) made his first collegiate start last Saturday in game two of the doubleheader against Pacific. In that contest, he went five innings, allowing three runs on six hits with a walk and pair of strikeouts as he recorded his first win as an Aztec. During his freshman season in 2008, Rasmussen made 13 relief appearances, and tossed a total of 18 innings. He finished with a record of 0-0 and a 3.50 ERA.
DECKER BREAKS OUT
Outfielder Brandon Decker got his second start of the season in the second game of last Saturday's doubleheader against Pacific and responded by going 4-for-5 with a double, RBI and two runs scored. The following day, he collected a pair of hits vs. Kansas State including a two-out RBI single in the ninth that tied the contest and sent it to extra innings. This past Tuesday against Cal State Fullerton, he made his collegiate debut at shortstop and recorded one of SDSU's four hits on the night. After starting the year 0-for-5, Decker has gone 7-for-13 in SDSU's last three contests.
ON THE RUN
Sophomore outfielder Cory Vaughn began the season by stealing three bases in the opener against Bethune-Cookman after swiping a total of four as a freshman in 2008. He was successful on his first five attempts of the 2009 season before being caught against Nevada last Thursday. After the first nine games of the new season, SDSU has stolen 12 nine bases. After their first nine games of the 2008 campaign, the Aztecs recorded eight steals.
OUCH
The Aztecs have been hit by pitch 20 times through the first nine contests of the 2009 season, an average of 2.22 HBP per game. They had a season-high six players hit against the University of San Diego on Feb. 22. Pat Colwell leads the team with six HBPs and has now been hit 24 times as an Aztec, second-most ever on the San Diego State career list. With five more he will move into a tie for first on the list with 29, the record held by Jake McLintock (2002-05).
BLACKBURN LEADS OFFENSE
Second baseman Mitch Blackburn is the team's leading hitter among the regulars with a .344 average. He began the season with a four-game hitting streak and has recorded the team's lone triple of 2009. He has walked four times and been hit by pitch once for a .432 on-base percentage. He has struck out just three times in his 38 plate appearances.
REED SAVES
Sophomore closer Addison Reed has recorded saves in each of his first two opportunities of 2009. His first came in the season opener against Bethune-Cookman when he pitched the ninth inning, striking out two of the five hitters he faced while allowing a pair of singles. The second came vs. Nevada last Thursday when he again tossed the ninth inning, this time striking out one. He also struck out two in the ninth inning against Pacific on Saturday when he came on in a non-save situation.
HITTING STREAKS
The current longest hitting streak by an Aztec belongs to catcher Matt Parker at six, matching the longest by an SDSU player in 2009. Pat Colwell had a six-game streak ended in game two of last Saturday's doubleheader vs. Pacific and has at least one hit in seven of SDSU's nine contests. Cory Vaughn had a five-game streak ended on Saturday as well. The team's second-longest current hitting streak belongs to Brandon Decker at three.
NATIONAL ALL-STAR LINEUP
The Aztecs have had a player named to the College Baseball Foundation National All-Star Lineup each of the first two weeks of the 2009 season. Pitcher Tyler Lavigne was listed after throwing a two-hit shutout against 11th-ranked USD on Feb. 22. Stephen Strasburg was in the lineup after his win over Nevada during which he struck out 16 in 6.2 innings.
STRASBURG OPENS WITH TWO WINS
Stephen Strasburg began his 2009 season with 5.2 innings in a start in the opener against Bethune-Cookman at the MLB Urban Invitational in Compton, Calif, last Friday (Feb. 20). In that outing he allowed an unearned run on three hits while striking out 11 and walking two as he picked up his first win of the new season. He left the game after reaching his pitch limit (103 pitches). On Thursday vs. Nevada, he gave up a pair of runs on five hits over 6.2 innings as he won for the second time in 2009. Along the way he struck out 16 and walked one. His 27 strikeouts after his first two games of the year strikeouts improved his career total to 207 and moved him into 11th on the Aztec all-time career list. His next two strikeouts will move him into a tie for 10th with Bob Cluck (1966-67).
AZTEC NOTES
Stephen Strasburg is averaging over two strikeouts an inning with 27 in 12.2 innings through his first two appearances. That average to 19.7 strikeouts per nine innings ... The Aztecs have yet to score a run in the first inning after nine games ... The team's pattern through the first eight games of a win followed by a loss followed by a win, etc. ended with the loss to Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday. SDSU has lost two in a row entering the USD series ... The Aztecs are 0-1 in extra inning affairs in 2009 after the 5-4 10-inning loss to Kansas State last Sunday. Last season SDSU went 3-1 in extra-inning contests ... Pitcher Jon Berger has not walked a batter through his first 13.2 innings of work ... Goldy Simmons made his collegiate debut against Kansas State on Sunday, tossing one inning and striking out two while giving up a hit.
UP NEXT
San Diego State will begin next week with a trip to Los Angles to face UCLA on Wednesday, March 11, at 6:00 p.m. (PDT). Two days later, the Aztecs will open their 2009 Mountain West Conference season as they host UNLV for a three-game series starting Friday (March 13) at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium. That series continues with contests on Saturday (March 14) and Sunday (March 15), both at 1:00 p.m.