March 25, 2010
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
San Diego State opens its 2010 Mountain West Conference season with a three-game series on the road against New Mexico this weekend. The Aztecs and Lobos will meet for the first time this year on Friday, March 26, at 6:00 p.m. (MT) at Isotopes Park in Albuquerque. Action continues on Saturday, March 27, with a single game at 2:00 p.m. (MT) followed by the series finale on Sunday (March 28) at 1:00 p.m. (MT). Isotopes Park is the home facility of the minor league Albuquerque Isotopes, the AAA affiliate of the Florida Marlins.
SERIES RECORD
SDSU leads its series against New Mexico by the count of 94-49. The teams faced each other for the first time in 1960 and were members of the Western Athletic Conference for 21 years before they moved to the Mountain West Conference in 2000. The Lobos have won six of the last nine meetings after the teams split four games a year ago. Last season UNM took two of three games in Albuquerque with the Aztecs winning their contest during the MWC Tournament in Fort Worth. San Diego State has a record of 58-20 vs. UNM in San Diego, 32-26 in Albuquerque and 4-3 on neutral fields.
WEEKEND ROTATION
SDSU's pitching rotation for its opening weekend of league play includes John Pecoraro on Friday, Brian Crabb on Saturday and Ethan Miller on Sunday. Pecoraro (0-0, 3 saves. 1.17 ERA) had moved into the closer role until the injury to Addison Reed forced his insertion into the starting rotation. Friday's game will mark his first start as an Aztec. Crabb (2-2, 2.05 ERA) is a freshman from nearby Coronado High School who has been SDSU's No. 2 starting hurler since opening weekend. Miller (0-0, 0.00) has been slowed by injury thus far and has made only one appearance. He tossed one perfect inning of relief against Fresno State on March 13,
CRABB PITCHER OF THE WEEK AGAIN
San Diego State freshman Bryan Crabb was named Mountain West Conference Pitcher of the Week for his performance against Santa Clara last Sunday (March 21), his second such award in 2010. In that game against the Broncos, Crabb tossed a complete-game two-hit shutout in a 7-0 victory. The first-year right-hander retired the first nine batters he faced before surrendering a leadoff walk in the fourth inning. From the fifth through eighth frames, Crabb retired 12 of the 13 hitters he faced, with a fifth-inning walk accounting for the lone base runner during that stretch. He fanned a career-high eight batters while allowing two walks and two singles over his nine-inning stint. He faced just four batters over the minimum while holding the Broncos, who entered the contest with a team batting average of .342, to just a .069 average for the game (2-for-29). Crabb was named MWC Pitcher of the Week once previously this season (March 8).
VAN HOOSIER HITTING AWAY
Freshman infielder Jordan Van Hoosier has rapidly climbed toward the top of the SDSU hitting stats this season and leads the squad with a .381 after 20 games. During the four-game series with Santa Clara he went 9-for-15 (.600) with four RBI and a pair of runs scored. He has also drawn 12 walks and been hit by pitch four times for a team-leading .506 on-base percentage. He also leads the team with 11 stolen bases. Van Hoosier has seen action at second, third and shortstop this year.
HITTING STREAKS
The team's longest hitting streak in 2010 belongs to Chris Wilson, who had a seven-game streak snapped in the contest vs. Monmouth on March 5. Freshman Blair Moore had a six-game streak end on Thursday, March 4, as he went hitless in four trips to the plate against No. 23 Kentucky. The longest current streak belongs to Brandon Meredith at six games while Wilson has a five-game streak in progress as well.
INJURIES ADDING UP
San Diego State lost a key member of its starting rotation when preseason All-American Addison Reed suffered a broken pinky finger in last Saturday's game vs. Santa Clara. The injury came when he reached for a hot shot up the middle late in the game and it went off his throwing hand. Reed is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. The Aztecs lost Ryan O'Sullivan, who was expected to be the team's No. 2 starter and everyday shortstop, in the third game of the season when he suffered an arm injury in his first pitching start of the year. SDSU is also without the services of senior Pat Colwell, the starting center fielder in 2009, who has yet to fully recover from a jet skiing accident last August. Colwell is redshirting this season with plans to return in 2011.
BLACKBURN HEATING UP
Mitch Blackburn has gone 6-for-18 (.333) over the past five games with five runs scored. He had a streak of eight straight games in which he had scored at least one run snapped in the game against San Francisco last Sunday (March 13). He has now scored at least once in 11 of SDSU's last 13 contests. His best day at the late this season was a four-hit effort against Monmouth on Friday, March 5. He has drawn a walk in 15 of the Aztecs' first 19 games including a season-high three vs. Kentucky on March 4. Blackburn, who played in 61 contests at second base last season, made his first SDSU start (and first appearance) at shortstop against UC Riverside on Tuesday, Feb. 23. He has played that position seven more times since that debut including three of the four most recent contests (vs. Santa Clara).
MEREDITH BREAKS OUT
First baseman-outfielder Brandon Meredith is on a six-game hitting streak during which he has gone 9-for-25 (.360) with five runs scored and five RBI. He has scored in each of the last five games and nine of the most recent 10 in which he has played. Meredith suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by a pitch in the game against UAB on Thursday, March 11 and missed the ensuing here contests. He has hit safely in nine of the last 10 games going 16-for-39 (.410) with 10 runs scored and 14 RBI. Although he did not record a base hit in the game against Monmouth on March 5, he drew three walks, was hit by a pitch and scored once (officially 0-for-1 at the plate). Meredith is tied for the team lead in multiple-RBI games with five and is third in multiple-hit games with six.
PECORARO PROVIDING RELIEF
Sophomore right-hander John Pecoraro picked up his first career save of the season against UAB on March 11. Since then he has recorded two more saves, both vs. Santa Clara. In nine appearances in 2010 he has allowed two runs over 15.1 innings (a 1.17 earned run average) while walking six and striking out 11. Pecoraro has allowed no runs on only three hits over his last seven relief appearances (9.1 innings). He has come on in his second season at SDSU after making just one appearance and throwing one inning during his freshman campaign of 2009.
VAUGHN HITS AND GETS HIT
Cory Vaughn had a five-game hitting streak ended on Tuesday vs. Santa Clara. He has hit safely in eight of SDSU's last 10 games going 14-for-30 (.467) with nine runs scored and 14 RBI. He recorded a season-high three hits and five RBI in the contest vs. Santa Clara this past Monday. His .329 batting average is third on the team while his 23 hits rank second. His homer against University of San Diego on Thursday, Feb. 25, was the 18th of his career and moved him into a tie for the No. 16 spot on the SDSU career list. Vaughn has been hit by pitch five times this season to bring is career total to 22 (third all-time at San Diego State). The record holder is Pat Colwell (a senior who is redshirting in 2010) with 31.
OFFENSE, PITCHING IMPROVEMENT
During the four-game series against Santa Clara that concluded on Tuesday of this week, SDSU hit .366 (49-for-134) as a team and averaged seven runs per game. In the process the Aztecs raised the squad's batting average from .250 to .271. On the pitching side, the staff turned in a 3.50 earned run average over the four contests. In addition, SCU hit .279 during the series after beginning the weekend with a team batting average of .347.
CLIMBING THE CAREER LISTS
Four Aztecs appear among the top 20 on the SDSU career lists and will move up the ladder this season. In the hit by pitch category, Cory Vaughn ranks third with 22 while Brandon Meredith is tied for seventh with 17. Both are chasing current senior Pat Colwell who holds the SDSU career record with 31. Colwell is redshirting during the 2010 season. Senior Brandon Decker is eighth in career sacrifice bunts with 18. Pitcher Addison Reed is second all-time with 24 saves, two behind leader Royce Ring. Reed is a member of the starting rotation in 2010. In addition, Vaughn is tied for 16th with 18 homers. His seven triples rank just outside the all-time SDSU top 20 (nine 3B ranks 20th).
AZTEC NOTES
* Through the first 20 games of the season, only two opponents have scored in the first inning. Cal State Fullerton put two runs on the board in the opening frame of their game vs. SDSU on Friday, March 12, while Santa Clara scored three times in the contest at SDSU on March 20.
* Mitch Blackburn (19 BB, 10 K) and Jomel Torres (18 BB, 15 K) are the lone Aztecs who have recorded more walks than strikeouts. Jordan Van Hoosier has 12 strikeouts and 12 walks.
* Aztec batters have drawn 107 walks through the first 20 games of the season, an average of 5.35 per contest.
* Brandon Meredith is 9-for-24 (.375) with runners in scoring position. Cory Vaughn is right behind him at 10-for-27 (.370) followed by Blair Moore at 7-for-20 (.350).
* Aztec pinch hitters have gone 4-for-24 (.167). Chris Wilson and Jordan Van Hoosier have each recorded a base hit in their lone pinch hitting appearance to date.
* Freshman outfielder Matt Nadolski recorded the first three hits of his collegiate career in the game vs. Santa Clara on Sunday (March 22). It was his second start of the year and fourth appearance of the season.
* SDSU has recorded just one triple this season, that coming off the bat of Blair Moore in the game at UC Riverside on March 2.
ON DECK
San Diego State will return home after Sunday's game in Albquerque for a quick two-game home stand against Stony Brook on Monday and Tuesday (March 29-30). Both contests will get underway at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Following those contests, the Aztecs will play their next eight games on the road beginning the a three-game MWC series at TCU next weekend (April 1-3).