May 5, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
San Diego State will be on the road this weekend in Salt Lake City for a three-game series against Utah that gets underway with a contest on Friday, May 6, at Spring Mobile Park at noon. The teams are also slated to meet on Saturday (May 7) at 11:00 a.m. and Sunday (May 8) at noon. Spring Mobile Park (formerly Franklin Field) is the home of the Salt Lake City Bees, the AAA affiliate of the Anaheim Angles.
SERIES RECORDS
SDSU has a record of 101-31against Utah in a series that began in 1964. Over the past two seasons (prior to 2011) the Aztecs and Utes had split 10 contests. Last year San Diego State won two of three games in San Diego, but lost to Utah while hosting the MWC Tournament. This year SDSU won two of three from the Utes in San Diego in early April. The Aztecs are 65-16 vs. Utah in San Diego, 26-11 in Salt Lake City and 10-4 at neutral sites.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Utah's overall record stands at 23-15 and they sit in second place in the MWC standings at 13-4, two games behind league leader TCU. Top hitters for the Utes include first baseman C.J. Cron (.448, 22 doubles, 11 HR, 49 RBI), shortstop James Brooks (.395, 22 doubles, 26 RBI) and outfielder Shaun Cooper (.359, 14 doubles, 38 RBI). Pitcher Tyler Wagner (2-1, 1.46) has recorded nine saves. Utah is hitting .305 and has a 4.46 ERA.
MEREDITH BREAKS OUT
Brandon Meredith is hitting .423 (11-for-26) over SDSU's last eight games. Over those eight games he has recorded four doubles, two home runs, eight runs scored and 11 runs batted in. In the process he has raised his batting average from .256 to .287. Meredith did not start on Tuesday against Long Beach State due to stomach flu, but did make a pinch-hitting appearance late in the contest. He reached on an error in that at bat. He had his first four-hit effort of the year on Saturday at Western Carolina that included two doubles and a home run. His 32 walks give him a career total of 93, a mark that ranks 10th on the SDSU all-time list. He was hit by pitch in each game last weekend and is now second in the SDSU career record book in that category with 35, one behind Pat Colwell.
COLWELL GETTING ON BASE
Fifth-year senior center fielder Pat Colwell has reached base safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in each of the last 17 games. He has hit safely in each of the last five games (7-for-22) and has recorded a sac bunt in three of the last three four. His nine sac bunts this season tie for 10th-most in a season for an Aztec and give a career total of 25, third-most on the SDSU career list.
BRYANT HITTING AWAY
Freshman outfielder Dillon Bryant has hit safely in each of the last six games, going 6-for-16 (.375) with a pair of doubles, five RBI and three runs scored. He has also drawn six walks over that span for a .545 on-base percentage. He had a season-high three RBI in the series finale at Western Carolina on Sunday (May 1) is 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and two walks in five plate appearances.
SMITH PROVIDES SOLID OFFENSE
Freshman outfielder Cody Smith has the team's current longest hitting streak at seven games. In those six contests he is hitting .419 (13-for-31) with five doubles and eight runs scored. He had his first three-hit effort of the year in Sunday's (May 1) game at Western Carolina and followed that up with another three-hit contest vs. Long Beach State on Tuesday (May 3). He has also drawn a walk in each of SDSU's last three games. He is hitting .469 (15-for-32) with runners in scoring position.
WILSON SOLID AT THE PLATE
Chris Wilson had only one hit in the 12-inning game against Long Beach State on Tuesday, but it was a two-out single that drove home the tying run in the bottom of the ninth to send the game to extra innings. Wilson hit his team-leading 14th and 15th doubles of the season during the final two games of last weekend's series at Western Carolina. He had a streak of 15 games in which he reached base (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) come to an end in the final game at Western Carolina on Sunday (May 1).
VASKO IMPRESSES
Junior Ben Vasko has hit safely in each of the past six games in which he has appeared and eight of the last nine. His two hits vs. Long Beach on Tuesday make him 8-for-20 (.400) with five RBI and six runs scored during his six-game hitting streak. He has scored at least once in five of the last six games in which he has appeared. In the series finale at Western Carolina on Sunday (May 1) he went 2-for-2 with a walk, three RBI and a run scored.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
Over the last 10 games SDSU has a .985 fielding percentage. That compares to a .958 percentage in the first 35 contests. SDSU did not have an error during its three contests at Western Carolina last weekend.
AZTECS IN THE MWC STATS
San Diego State has two players ranked among the top 10 in batting average in Mountain West Conference games: Chris Wilson (5th - .407) and Jomel Torres (9th - .373). Torres ranks 4th in on-base percentage (.492) with Wilson 5th (.471). Wilson's nine doubles is third-most in conference games and he is second with four home runs. He is also second in slugging percentage at .797. Time Zier is 10th in runs scored (14). Torres and Wilson are tied for second in walks with 12 apiece while Cody Slader is 10th with eight. Cody Smith's four steals ties for fourth.
GETTING PLUNKED
Two of SDSU's players adept at getting hit by pitch during their college careers will be on the field this season. Senior Pat Colwell, who was hit on Tuesday in the game vs. Long Beach State, has assumed the career lead with 36 HBPs. Junior Brandon Meredith is right behind him at 35. Meredith has been hit 10 times this season while Colwell has been plunked on five occasions. He was hit 14 times during the 2010 season, a total that ranks second all-time for an SDSU batter. Meredith's 10 hit by pitches in 2011 ties for 11th on the SDSU single-season list.
AZTEC NOTES
The Aztecs had 10 doubles during the three-game series at Western Carolina (April 29-May 1) including a season-high five in the middle contest ... Senior lefty Craig Rasmussen picked off his seventh runner of the season against UC Riverside on April 26 to tie for the most in the MWC this season. His seven pickoffs is a new SDSU record ... Eleven different Aztecs pitchers have made at least one start on the mound this season ... Cody Slader had his second three-hit game as an Aztec when he went 3-for-3 with a double and two runs scored at Air Force on April 21 ... SDSU has a record of 4-2 in one-run games this season and is 2-3 in extra-inning contests ... SDSU's most productive innings on offense has been the first, fifth and eighth frames when it has scored 31 runs. Conversely, the Aztecs have put up only 16 runs in the ninth ... Two of SDSU's nine pinch hits this season have been solo home runs (Denny Vigo and Brad Haynal) ... The team's 15 runs and 18 hits in the contest at Air Force on April 21 were both season highs for the team.