May 18, 2016
Complete Release and Season Statistics
WHAT'S ON TAP THIS WEEKEND IN AZTEC BASEBALL
San Diego State will wrap up its 2016 regular season with a three-game series at San Jose State this weekend. That set gets underway on Thursday, May 19, at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at Municipal Stadium in San Jose. The Aztecs and Spartans will also play single games on Friday (May 20) and Saturday (May 21) at 6:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. respectively.
ON THE AIR
All three of SDSU's contests in San Jose will have live streaming audio on the Mountain Digital Network. Links for those video broadcasts can be found at www.GoAztecs.com. There will also be live stats available for all three games vs. the Spartans. Those links are also on line at www.goAztecs.com.
TOURNAMENT IMPLICATIONS
This weekend's series at San Jose State will have implications for San Diego State's seeding at next week's Mountain West Tournament. In order to move into the fifth seed, the Aztecs need to win two more games than Air Force this weekend as the Falcons are two games ahead of SDSU in the loss column. The Aztecs would own the tiebreaker against Air Force if they finish with identical records. The Falcons are hosting New Mexico for three games with the Lobos fighting for the top seed. Gaining the fifth seed is important as the number six and seven teams have an elimination play-in game into the regular bracket at the MW tourney.
SERIES RECORD
San Diego State leads the series with San Jose State, 62-29, since the teams first met during the 1938 season. This marks the fourth time that SDSU and San Jose State have been members of the same conference. They were also together in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (1940-49), the Pacific Coast Athletic Association (1970-76) and the WAC (1997-99). The Aztecs won five of the six contests between the teams during the 2015 season. This series will be the only meetings between them during the 2016 regular season. The Aztecs are 35-12 at home and 24-17 away against the Spartans with three more SDSU wins coming at neutral sites.
SENIOR DAY
Last Sunday's (May 15) contest vs. Air Force was Aztec Senior day with the program honoring five athletes making their final appearances at Tony Gwynn Stadium. That group included team manager and three-year letterwinner Tanner Reibenspies plus outfielder Spencer Thornton along with pitchers Dalton Douty, Brian Heldman and Zack Oakley. Three of the four active players played a part in SDSU's 11-5 win over the Falcons. Thornton went 2-for-3 with a home run, sacrifice fly, three RBI and a run. Oakley tossed two innings of relief allowing a run on two hits with two strikeouts while Douty finished off the contest with two perfect innings of relief facing six batters and striking out two.
THORNTON CONSISTENT
Senior Spencer Thornton finished his final home game as an Aztec in style with a two-run homer in his last at bat vs. Air Force on Sunday (May 15). He hit the homer on a 3-0 pitch. In SDSU's last two games he had two hits, four RBI, two runs scored, two sacrifice flies and three walks He is now leads the team in home runs with six, one more than teammate Tyler Adkison. He had a streak of reaching base safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in 22 contests end in the series opener vs. Nevada on April 29.
CHAPMAN TAKES HIS CHANCE
Sophomore Denz'l Chapman made his first start of the season in the contest vs. Nevada on Sunday, May 1. Prior to that game he had made 11 appearances as a pinch runner or defensive replacement. The center fielder responded by going 2-for-4 with a run scored and also had a pair of hits in each of SDSU's next two games. Over the past 10 contests he is hitting .429 (12-for-28) with a triple, four RBI, five runs scored and three stolen bases. At UC Riverside on Tuesday (May 19) he reached base three times with a single, walk and hit by pitch.
PURPURA WITH A PURPOSE
Junior lefty Dominic Purpura has recorded wins in each of his last two starts to improve to 3-2 on the year and lower his earned run average to 3.70. He tossed SDSU's only complete game of the season in the 4-2 win over Air Force last Friday (May 13), allowing two runs on seven hits with a season-high six strikeouts. In his previous start he went eight innings in the win at Fresno State on Friday, May 6. His ERA over his last two outings is 2.12.
BROWN GETS GOING
Infielder Andrew Brown has hit safely in each of SDSU's last six contests, going 10-for-20 (.500) with a double, two RBI and two runs scored. He finished off the Fresno State series on May 8 by recording three singles, his highest hit total in a game this season. He has been SDSU's most efficient base stealer this season with six steals in seven attempts.
WYLIE REACHING BASE
Second baseman Justin Wylie hit safely in five of SDU `ast six games. He had a streak of reaching base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 14 consecutive games end in the opener of last Saturday's (May 14) twin bill vs. Air Force. He is second on the team with 17 multiple-hit games this season. Wylie is second on the squad in stolen bases with eight.
VERDON ON SUNDAY
Freshman Jordan Verdon finished the series at Fresno State on Sunday, May 8, by going 1-for-3 with an RBI and run scored. He had two hits including a double with two RBI and a run scored in the series finale vs. Nevada on Sunday, May 1. He had a pair of hits and drove in three runs the previous Sunday in the win at New Mexico (April 24). His RBI single in the ninth drove in SDSU's final important run in what ended up as a 10-9 win. In Sunday games this season he is hitting .333 (13-for-39).
CONFERENCE HITTING
Five of SDSU's regular starters are hitting above the .300 mark in Mountain West Conference games. That list includes Justin Wylie (.342), Andrew Brown (.321), Tyler Adkison (.306), Spencer Thornton (.303) and Alan Trejo (.302), As a team the Aztecs are hitting .293 in league games.
STREAKS
San Diego State's current longest hitting streak is five games by freshman Andrew Brown. The team's longest hitting streak this season is 13 games by Alan Trejo. Jordan Verdon has reached base safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in each of the last nine games while CJ Saylor has done so in the last seven. The longest such streak by an SDSU hitter this season is 24 games by Spencer Thornton. Trejo leads the Aztecs with 20 multiple- hit contests and is tied with Tyler Adkison for the team high with seven multiple-RBI games.
AZTEC NOTES
David Hensley ended a short slump with a pair of hits and run scored at UC Riverside on Tuesday (May 19). ... Junior left-hander Marcus Reyes picked up his first win of the season after tossing three shutout innings against No. 17 Cal State Fullerton on May 3 ... Jordan Verdon is one of seven Aztecs to have recorded a double, triple and home run this season. The others include Spencer Thornton, Alan Trejo, Tyler Adkison, Andrew Brown, Dean Nevarez and Chase Calabuig ... Senior outfielder Spencer Thornton had his first four-hit game of the season in the contest at Nevada on April 1. Only Thornton and Alan Trejo have recorded four-hit efforts for the Aztecs in 2016 ... Shortstop Alan Trejo is the only player to have started all 52 games this season at the same position ... Only one other Aztec has started all 52 games, but not at the same position each time: Justin Wylie (2B-3B-DH) ... Niko Navarro (1-for-3), Dean Nevarez (2-for-5) and Jordan Verdon (1-for-2) are the only three Aztecs to have recorded a hit as a pinch hitter. A total of 15 Aztec pinch hitters are 4-for-31 (.129) on the year.