March 31, 2016
Complete Release and Season Statistics
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEK IN AZTEC BASEBALL
After a splitting a pair of contests with No. 6 Oregon State in Corvallis earlier in the week, San Diego State will resume league play this weekend when it visits Reno for a three-game series vs. Nevada. That set gets underway on Friday, April 1, with a contest scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. (MT) at the Wolf Pack's Peccole Park. That game was originally scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m., but the Nevada basketball team is playing in the CBI tournament final that evening on campus so the time of the baseball game was changed. The Aztecs and Wolf Pack will also hook up for games on Saturday (April 2) and Sunday (April 3) at 6:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. respectively.
ON THE AIR
All three games vs. Nevada will have live audio broadcast provided by the Wolf PAck Radio Network. Links to those broadcasts are available at the SDSU web site (GoAztecs.com). In addition, there will be a Live Stats feed for all three games vs. the Wolf Pack at GoAztecs.com.
SERIES RECORD
San Diego State's record against Nevada stands at 13-15 since the teams first met during the 1986 season. Last season the Wolf Pack swept a three-game series at Tony Gwynn Stadium in mid-April in the only meetings between the teams during the regular season. At the 2016 Mountain West Tournament in Reno, the Aztecs defeated Nevada, 9-7, in an elimination game. The Aztecs are 6-7 at home, 3-7 away and 4-1 on neutral fields in previous contests against Nevada.
TREJO COMES THROUGH
Shortstop Alan Trejo hit a solo home run, his first of the season, in the top of the ninth inning against No. 6 Oregon State on Monday to give SDSU a 6-5 win over the Beavers. He had a 15-game hitting streak stopped in the game vs. New Mexico last Friday (March 25). During that streak he hit .409 (27-for-66) with two doubles, 11 RBI and 13 runs scored. He leads the Aztecs with 35 hits on the season. Only one other player has as many as 27.
ADKISON HITS AWAY
Sophomore Tyler Adkison has hit a bases-loaded three-RBI double in two of the Aztecs' last three outings. Against New Mexico last Saturday (March 26), his three-run two-bagger in the bottom of the seventh extended SDSU's lead from 6-5 to 9-5 in what was eventually an 11-6 victory. On Tuesday at No. 6 Oregon State. His double in the first inning cleared the bases and gave the Aztecs an early 3-0 lead. In SDSU's past three games he has gone 5-for-11 with three doubles and eight RBI. Adkison's .467 slugging percentage leads the team.
VERDON HEATS UP
Freshman Jordan Verdon had his 11-game hitting streak come to an end in the series finale vs. New Mexico on Saturday (March 26). During the streak he batted .361 (13-for-36) with a double, triple, three RBI and five runs scored. In the contest following the end of that streak he recorded three hits at No. 6 Oregon State. Verdon leads the team in being hit by pitch this season with six. Verdon is one of only two Aztecs to have recorded a double, triple and home run this season. (Dean Nevarez is the other.)
ERICKSON IN CONTROL
Junior left-hander Jacob Erickson became the first Aztec pitcher to recorded two wins when he picked up the victory over No. 6 Oregon State Monday evening (March 28) in Corvallis, Ore. Erickson was in the game when Alan Trejo homered in the top of the ninth to send the Aztecs to the 6-5 win. With the win he evened his season record at 2-2 and lowered his earned run average to 3.52. Erickson did not walk a batter over his first nine relief appearances of the season covering 11.2 innings. He has now allowed three walks to go along with 13 strikeouts over 15.1 innings (12 appearances).
WYLIE GOES DEEP
Second baseman Justin Wylie had a 10-game hitting streak end during Monday's win at Oregon State. During that streak he hit .325 (13-for-40) with three doubles, 11 RBI and 10 runs scored. Wylie has hit safely in 11 of SDSU's last 12 games. He hit a leadoff home run in the contest at Cal State Fullerton on March 15 to give SDSU an early 1-0 lead. Wylie leads the Aztecs with 17 RBI. He is hitting .500 (12-for-24) with runners in scoring position.
HELDMAN SAVES
Senior Brian Heldman recorded his second save of the season on Monday (March 28) when he tossed a perfect ninth inning in the Aztecs' 6-5 win at No. 6 Oregon State. He notched his first save of the 2016 season in the win at UC Irvine on Feb. 23. He tossed the final two innings allowing one hit and hitting a batter to preserve the Aztecs' two-run lead. He is the only Aztec hurler to record a save in 2016. His two saves this season are the second and third of Heldman's two-year Aztec career.
STREAKS
David Hensley has the team's longest current hitting streak at seven games. Trejo has the team's longest hitting streak of the season at 15 games. Hunter Stratton has reached base safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in each of the Aztecs' last eight games. Trejo also leads the Aztecs with 11 multiple-hit contests while Adkison is the team leader with five multiple-RBI games.
AZTEC NOTES
Senior outfielder Spencer Thornton had his first three-hit game of the season in the contest at Air Force on March 20. In that game he had a pair of doubles, two RBI and three runs scored … David Hensley is on a seven-game hitting streak during which he is batting .379 (11-for-29) with three RBI and a run scored … Freshman right-hander Chris Collins has made eight relief appearances out of the bullpen and allowed one earned run over 7.2 innings pitched for a 1.17 earned run average … Catcher Hunter Stratton has gone 5-for-14 (.357) over the last five games in which he has appeared with one RBI and two runs scored … Shortstop Alan Trejo is the only player to have started all 23 games this season at the same position … Only one other Aztec has started all 23 games, but not at the same position each time: Justin Wylie (2B-3B-DH) … Niko Navarro (1-for-3), Dean Nevarez (1-for-2) and Jordan Verdon (1-for-2) are the only three Aztecs to have recorded a hit as a pinch hitter. Aztec pinch hitters are 3-for-17 … Infielder Andrew Brown is 8-for-24 over SDSU's last six games with a double, home run, three RBI and three runs scored.
UP NEXT
Following the Nevada series, San Diego State will return home for four home games next week. The week begins with a visit by Long Beach State for a contest on Tuesday, April 5, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs will then host a three-game Mountain West series against UNLV that gets underway on Friday, April 8, with a game set to get underway at 6:00 p.m. The Rebels and SDSU will also meet for contests on Saturday (April 9) and Sunday (April 10) at 2:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. respectively at Tony Gwynn Stadium.