May 12, 2010
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
San Diego State makes its final road trip of the 2010 season as it visits Provo, Utah, for a three-game Mountain West Conference series against league foe Brigham Young. The first contest between the Aztecs and Cougars is scheduled for Thursday, May 13, at 6:00 p.m. (MT) at Larry H. Miller Field. Game two is also set for a 6:00 p.m. start on Friday (May 14) with the series finale to be played at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday (May 15).
SERIES RECORD
San Diego State's all-time record against Brigham Young stands at 71-51-1 in the series that began back in 1957. Last season the Cougars took two of three games played at Tony Gwynn Stadium in mid-March. SDSU has won seven of the last 10 meetings between the teams over the past two seasons. The Aztecs are 36-20 against the Cougars in San Diego, 23-25 in Provo and 12-6-1 at neutral sites.
AZTECS ON TV
San Diego State's three-game series at Brigham Young in next weekend will be televised live on BYU-TV and carried tape-delayed on TheMtn. The three contests against the Cougars may also be seen live on the Internet at byutv.org. The games will be run on TheMTN at the following times:
Thursday Game - airs Friday at 2:00 p.m. PT
Friday Game - airs Saturday at 2:00 p.m. PT
Saturday Game - airs Sunday at Noon PT
In addition, all games during the Mountain West Conference Tournament (May 25-29) at Tony Gwynn Stadium will be carried live by TheMtn network.
VAUGHN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
San Diego State Junior center fielder Cory Vaughn was named Mountain West Conference Player of the Week this past Monday. Vaughn batted .714 (10-of-14) in the Aztecs' three-game sweep of Air Force in San Diego last weekend. The product of Elk Grove, Calif., tallied at least three hits in each of the three games, finishing the series with 11 runs batted in, seven runs scored, two doubles, two home runs, two walks and one stolen base. For the week, Vaughn posted a 1.286 slugging percentage and .750 on-base percentage. Defensively, he recorded seven putouts without an error from his position in center field.
MEREDITH'S REMAINS HOT
Over the past nine games Brandon Meredith has gone 19-for-32 (.591) with 18 runs scored and 15 RBI. He has also drawn 10 walks and been hit by pitch three times for a .711 on-base percentage. Last weekend vs. Air Force he went 6-for-10 with two doubles, a home run, seven runs scored and seven RBI. His five RBI in the opening game at Air Force on April 9 marked a career high as did his five hits and four runs scored in the second game of that series. He leads the Aztec regulars in hitting at .388 and his .533 average in league play ranks first in the MWC. Meredith has been hit by pitch on 13 occasions to tie for second on the SDSU single-season list. He has drawn at least one walk in each of the past six games and eight of the last nine. He is leads the Aztecs in multiple-hit games with 19 and in multiple-RBI games with 13.
VAUGHN GETTING IT DONE
Cory Vaughn enters the week on a 13-game hitting streak, the second-longest of the year by an Aztec. During his streak he is batting .423 with four doubles, three home runs, 13 runs scored and 18 RBI. He has reached safely in 19 of SDSU's last 20 contests. His two homers against Air Force last Saturday (May 8) were the 22nd and 23rd of his career and moved him into a tie for sixth on the SDSU career list. His four hits and seven RBI in that game tied his career highs as an Aztec.
BLACKBURN STARTS NEW STREAK
After seeing his 23-game hitting streak end against New Mexico on Sunday, May 2, Mitch Blackburn had at least one hit in each of the three contests vs. Air Force last weekend. He has now hit safely in 26 of SDSU's last 27 contests and is batting .395 (47-for-119) with six doubles, a triple, three home runs, 34 runs scored and 18 RBI over that span. His 23-game hitting streak was the fourth-longest in Aztec history and best since Quintin Berry hit safely in 27 straight games during the 2005 campaign. Blackburn leads the team with 52 runs scored and is second on the squad and 33 walks. He also has a .427 on-base percentage and has struck out only once over the last 14 games (69 plate appearances).
TORRES ON A ROLL
After having a personal-best 11-game hitting streak end last against New Mexico on May 1, freshman first baseman Jomel Torres hit in all three games vs. Air Force last weekend. He has reached safely in 14 of the last 15 games, going 20-for-53 (.377) with 13 runs scored and 19 RBI. He also drew 14 walks and was hit by pitch three times once for an on-base percentage of .529 over that span of games. Torres hit his third home run of the season, a two-run shot, vs. Air Force on Saturday (May 8). He has driven in two runs in four of the past five games in which he has appeared.
REED AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
Addison Reed ranks among the national leaders in four categories to begin the week. He is 10th in hits allowed per nine innings at 6.34 and ranks 13th in the country with a 2.07 earned run average. Reed is 29th in strikeouts per nine innings (10.61) and 22nd in walks allowed per nine innings (1.38). After losing in the season opener against Oklahoma, he has won each of his last eight starts. Reed missed four weeks (March 20-April 16) with a broken pinky finger on his throwing (right) hand. He leads the Mountain West Conference both overall and in league games only in ERA (2.07/1.96). Over his last four starts (32 innings), Reed has allowed just three walks while striking out 41. Reed is one of 25 pitchers named as a quarterfinalist for the National Pitcher of the Year award by the College Baseball Foundation.
O'SULLIVAN SOLID AT SHORT
Sophomore Ryan O'Sullivan has hit safely in six straight and 10 of SDSU's last 11 games. In those 11 contests he is 14-for-40 (.350) with 10 runs scored, two home runs and six RBI. O'Sullivan hit safely in all three games of last weekend's series, going 5-for-13 with five runs. He enters the week with a .461 on-base percentage.
CHASSE RETURNS WITH A BANG
In his 12 games played since returning from suspension on April 20, senior Josh Chasse is hitting .425 (17-for-40) with three doubles, a triple, 20 runs scored, eight RBI. Last weekend he was 6-for-11 and scored seven runs in three contests vs. Air Force.
WILLEFORD GOES DEEP
Senior Guy Willeford, who has seen a majority of his action as a pinch hitter this season (12 times) got his fifth start as the DH in the finale against Air Force last Sunday (May 9). He responded with career highs in hits (three) and RBI (five). He hit his first home run of the season in his final at bat, a three-run shot over the fence in right-center field. It was his second career HR in two seasons as an Aztec.
WILSON POWERS UP
Chris Wilson suffered a minor knee injury while legging out a two-run triple in his first at bat during last Saturday's (May 8) game against Air Force. After missing the series finale vs. the Falcons, he is expected to be available this weekend. He had a personal season-best eight-game hitting streak from April 7-16 during which he hit 357 (10-for-28) seven runs scored and 11 RBI. Wilson hit his sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot, against New Mexico on Friday, April 30. He is now second on the team lead in that category.
PARKER STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Junior catcher Matt Parker was named the SDSU Male Student-Athlete of the Year at the annual student-athlete awards banquet last Thursday. Parker is a public administration major. In addition, the baseball team was announced as the winner of the Montezuma Cup for the second straight year. Teams earn points toward the Montezuma Cup throughout the year in such areas as community service, academics, athletic performance, Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) participation and athletes supporting athletes.
WALK IT OUT
Aztec batters have drawn 270 walks through the first 48 games of the season, an average of 5.63 per contest. SDSU leads the MWC in that category and has recorded over 78 more walks than the next nearest team (New Mexico with 192). SDSU has drawn double figures in walks in six games this season. Four Aztecs rank among the top eight individuals in walks in the overall conference stats: Mitch Blackburn, Jordan Van Hoosier, Jomel Torres and Matt Parker. As a team, San Diego State's 270 walks as of this past Monday was the fifth-most in the nation (Division I) entering the week.
CLIMBING THE CAREER LISTS
Five Aztecs appear among the top 20 on the SDSU career lists and are moving up the ladder this season. In the hit by pitch category, Brandon Meredith ranks third with 24 while Cory Vaughn is fourth with 23. Both Vaughn and Meredith are chasing current senior Pat Colwell who holds the SDSU hit by pitch career record with 31. Colwell is redshirting during the 2010 season. Meredith has been hit by pitch 13 times in 2010, the second-most ever for an SDSU player. The Aztec record is 15. Senior Brandon Decker is tied for sixth in career sacrifice bunts with 20. Jomel Torres ranks 10th in sacrifice bunts with a two-year total of 12. Pitcher Addison Reed is second all-time with 24 saves, two behind leader Royce Ring. In addition, Vaughn is tied for sixth with 23 career homers. His eight career triples rank just outside the all-time SDSU top 20 (nine 3B ranks 20th).
AZTEC NOTES
San Diego State pitchers have won six of the 12 MWC Pitcher of the Week honors awarded by the conference this season. Those winners include Addison Reed (3), Bryan Crabb (2) and Ethan Miller (1) ... Freshman Corey Black tied his SDSU career high with nine strikeouts in his start vs. Air Force last Sunday (May 9). He also recorded nine K's at Air Force on April 9 and vs. Wagner at home on April 24 ... Ryan Wynveen picked up his first career save as an Aztec in the win over Air Force last Sunday (May 9) ... Blair Moore went 7-for-13 with seven runs scored and four RBI in the three games vs. Air Force last Weekend (May 7-9) ... Freshman Kyle Shaver improved to 2-0 as he picked up the win in relief in the game against Air Force on Saturday, May 8 ... Brandon Meredith is 30-for-61 (.492) with runners in scoring position. Behind him are Jomel Torres at .465 (20-for-43) and Cory Vaughn at .402 (23-for-57).