May 18, 2011
Complete Release and Season Statistics in PDF Format
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEKEND IN AZTEC BASEBALL
San Diego State wraps up its 2011 regular season this week as it travels to Las Vegas for a three-game Mountain West Conference series against UNLV. The Aztecs and Rebels will meet for games on Thursday (May 19) and Friday (May 20) at Earl Wilson Stadium with first pitch set for 7:00 p.m. (PT) each evening. The series will conclude on Saturday, May 21, with a contest scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.
MWC TOURNEY IMPLICATIONS
Heading into the final weekend of the season, San Diego State still could finish anywhere from third to sixth in the final MWC standings. Those standings determine the seeding for next week's conference tournament to be held at Tony Gwynn Stadium May 24-28. No matter where they finish, the Aztecs will open tourney play on Tuesday, May 24, at 7:00 p.m.
SERIES RECORD
SDSU record against UNLV over the years stands at 58-44. Then teams first met in 1978 and were members of the Western Athletic Conference together for 19 years before moving to the Mountain West. The Aztecs have won nine of the last 10 against the Rebels over the past two seasons including a three-game sweep in San Diego last year. Prior to last season, the Rebels had won 11 of the previous 15 meetings between the teams. SDSU is 29-13 in San Diego, 28-27 vs. UNLV in Las Vegas and 1-4 at neutral sites.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV's record stands at 32-30 (9-11 MWC) after winning two of three at Air Force last weekend. The Rebels will host UC Riverside Tuesday evening before facing the Aztecs on Thursday. Offensive leaders for the Rebels include first baseman Trent Cook (.386, 14 doubles, 43 RBI), DH Rance Roundy (.345, 8 HR, 36 RBI) and outfielder Brandon Bayardi (.343, 10 HR, 48 RBI). Pitcher Zack Hartman is the team's closer and has recorded eight saves along with a 4-1 record and 2.04 earned run average. UNLV is hitting .308 as a team with a 4.60 ERA.
VASKO IMPRESSES
Junior Ben Vasko has hit safely in each of the past 11 games in which he has appeared and 13 of the last 14. During his streak he has gone 15-for-36 (.417) with 11 RBI and 11 runs scored. He has scored at least once in each of his last seven game and 10 of the last 11 games in which he has appeared.
TORRES PROVIDES PUNCH
Jomel Torres went 3-for-10 in last weekend's series vs. Brigham Young with three RBI and three runs scored. He hit his second home run of the year on Tuesday (May 10) vs. CSU Northridge and followed that with another in the next game vs. BYU (May 12). Over the last 15 contests he is hitting .389 (21-for-54) with three doubles, 12 RBI and 17 runs scored. Torres has also drawn 16 walks and been hit by pitch once over that span for a .535 on-base percentage.
ZIER GETTING ON
Freshman second baseman Tim Zier (Escondido HS) has hit safely in each of the last eight games going 14-for-36 (.388). In last weekend's series against Brigham Young he was 6-for-12 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored. He tied his season high with three hits vs. the Cougars on Thursday (May 12). He has been the starter at second base in 27 contests and the starter in left field on 19 occasions.
SMITH CONTINUES SOLID OFFENSIVE PLAY
Freshman outfielder Cody Smith had a 13-game hitting streak come to an end in last Saturday's (May 14) contest against Brigham. During that streak he hit .390 (23-for-59) with six doubles, a triple and 13 runs scored. This season he is hitting .452 (19-for-42) with runners in scoring position.
BRYANT HITTING AWAY
Dillon Bryant's 12-game hitting streak was halted in the series finale vs. Brigham Young on Saturday (May 14). In those 12 games he went 13-for-35 (.371) with a pair of doubles, seven RBI and six runs scored. He also drew 13 walks and was hit by pitch once over that span for a .551 on-base percentage. Bryant is one of two Aztec hitters with more than one pinch hit as he has gone 2-for-8 in that role. He has not committed an error this season (46 chances) playing in left and right field.
PICKOFF MASTER
Senior left-hander Craig Rasmussen picked off a pair of runners in the same inning last Thursday against Brigham Young as he recorded back-to-back outs. The pickoffs were his eighth and ninth of the year as he added to his SDSU single-season record. He tossed three scoreless innings in that contest and picked up his second win of the 2011 campaign.
SWANSON STELLAR
Freshman left Cole Swanson had another stellar outing in last Friday's contest against BYU, allowing one run on five hits with three walks and eight strikeouts over eight innings. He was not involved in the decision, however, as SDSU won with a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. Prior to that game he had enjoyed excellent run support in his last few starts. In his four wins, the Aztecs have scored 41 runs including reaching double digits in three of those contests. SDSU scored just four runs in the game he lost. Opponents are hitting just .220 against him. That mark ranks fifth in the Mountain West Conference this week while his 3.13 earned run average is eighth-best in the league.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENT
Over the last 13 games SDSU has a .986 fielding percentage. That compares to a .958 percentage in the first 35 contests. SDSU committed just four errors in its last 11 games (.990 fielding percentage).
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 in game vs. Long Beach State on May 3, 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. Meredith was hit 14 times during the 2010 season, a total that ranks second all-time for an SDSU batter. His 10 hit by pitches in 2011 ties for 11th on the SDSU single-season list.
AZTEC NOTES
The Aztecs have a record of 7-4 over their last 11 games ... San Diego State has drawn an average of 6.1 walks per game in its last nine contests ... Aztec pitchers have hit double digits in strikeouts in each of their last three games and a total of 12 times this season ... Evan Potter has hit safely in safely in five of the last six games going 7-for-20 (.350) ... SDSU has a record of 6-2 in one-run games this season and is 2-3 in extra-inning contests ... Two of SDSU's nine pinch hits this season have been solo home runs (Denny Vigo and Brad Haynal).