May 24, 2016
Complete Release and Season Statistics
AZTECS COMPLETE REGULAR SEASON SIXTH IN THE MWC
San Diego State ended its regular in sixth place in the Mountain West Conference standings with a record of 11-19 in league play. With that finish the Aztecs earned the No. 6 seed at this week's Mountain West Tournament. The sixth-place finish is the Aztecs' lowest since the league began during the 2000 season. Their previous lowest finish in the regular season standings was fourth. SDSU had finished third or higher in the final conference standings 14 times in the 16 seasons prior to the 2016 campaign.
2016 MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
By virtue of its league finish, San Diego State will be the number-six seed at this week's tournament. That championship event gets underway on Wednesday, May 25, at Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque, N.M. Fresno State won the conference regular-season title with a 21-9 record. SDSU's sixth-place seeding means it will face San Jose State in the play-in contest to determine who advance into the regular six-team tournament bracket. That contest is scheduled for Wednesday, May 25, at 11:00 a.m. (MDT). An Aztec victory over San Jose State would move them into the game against No. 3 seed Nevada at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) Wednesday night. A loss would mean elimination and end their season.
ON THE AIR
All of San Diego State's contests at the 2016 Mountain West Tournament will have live streaming video 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 of the tourney games. Those links are also on line at www.GoAztecs.com. In addition, all of SDSU's contests will be broadcast live on commercial radio by ESPN 1700 AM in San Diego.
BROWN GETS GOING
Infielder Andrew Brown had a run of hitting safely in six consecutive contests come to an end in the series opener at San Jose State last Thursday (May 19). In those six contests he went 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 one of SDSU's most efficient base stealers this season with six steals in seven attempts.
PURPURA WITH A PURPOSE
Junior lefty Dominic Purpura has recorded wins in each of his last three starts to improve to 4-2 on the year and lower his earned run average to 3.18. Most recently he threw a six-hit complete-game shutout at San Jose State in SDSU's 5-0 win in the series opener last Thursday (May 19). In that game he allowed no walks and recorded one strikeout. He tossed SDSU's first complete game of the season in the 4-2 win over Air Force on Friday, May 13, allowing two runs on seven hits with 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 three outings is 1.38.
ADKISON HITS AWAY
Sophomore Tyler Adkison went 5-for-10 with a double and two runs scored in last weekend's three-game series at San Jose State. He finished the previous weekend's series vs. Air Force on Sunday (May 15) with a pair of hits, a double, and a season-high three runs batted in. He had his third three-hit contest of the year on May 6 at Fresno State, tying his personal best for hits in a game. With three steals during the series vs. Air Force (May 13-15), he now leads the Aztecs with 10 stolen bases on the season. He hit a pair of home runs in the contest at Air Force on March 20.
TREJO KEEPS HITTING
Shortstop Alan Trejo leads SDSU in hitting among the regular starters with a .308 average. He went 3-for-10 with three runs scored in the series at San Jose State last weekend. He had a streak of having reached base safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in 13 straight contests end on Saturday May 14) in the first game of the doubleheader vs. Air Force. He had a streak of drawing a walk in eight straight games end on May 7 at Fresno State.
WYLIE REACHING BASE
Second baseman Justin Wylie has hit safely in five of SDSU's last six games, going 8-for-25 (.400) with a double, three RBI and four runs scored. He had a streak of reaching base safely via hit, walk or hit by pitch in 14 consecutive games end in the opener of the twin bill vs. Air Force on May 14. He tied his season high with three hits in the game on April 9 vs. UNLV. He is second on the team with 17 multiple-hit games this season. Wylie is second on the squad in stolen bases with eight.
STRATTON TAKES THREE
Sophomore catcher Hunter Stratton shares the team lead with three triples. Those three-baggers are his only extra-base hits of the season. Last year he saw little action, but did have a home run late in the season as his only hit. In his second season as an Aztec, Stratton has yet to record a double in 114 plate appearances entering the week. He has been successful on both of his stolen base attempts this season.
IN THE RECORD BOOK
A couple of Aztec players have numbers that will be included among the top 20 all-time best at SDSU. Spencer Thornton's eight sacrifice flies rank eighth in the SDSU single-season list. David Hensley's 11 sacrifice bunts ranks as the seventh-most ever by an Aztec Jordan Verdon's mark of being hit by pitch on 11 occasions ranks just outside the all-tine top 20 (22nd) in school history. He will crack the top 20 if hit one more time this season.
THORNTON'S CAREER RANKINGS
Senior Spencer Thornton will conclude his SDSU career this season and will finish ranked among the top 20 in five offensive career categories. Those categories and his ranking entering the week are as follows: Games - 209 (8th) Triples - 9 (19th) Walks - 87 (15th) Sacrifice Bunts - 19 (13th) Sacrifice Flies - 11 (12th)
AMONG THE NCAA LEADERS
As a team, San Diego State ranks among the top 45 in the nation (Division I) in two statistical categories (thru games of May 22). The Aztecs' total of 31 sacrifice flies ranks 14th in the country entering the week SDSU is also ranked 32nd in walks allowed per nine innings with a mark of 3.0. Individually, Spencer Thornton ranks fifth in Division I with eight sacrifice flies. David Hensley's 11 sacrifice bunts place him 43rd in the week's NCAA Stats.
MW CAREER AVERAGES
Four Aztecs (three sophomores and a senior) have career batting averages in Mountain West games above the .300 level. Tyler Adkison has a two-year career mark of .313 in 58 conference contests. Chase Calabuig's two-year batting average in league games stands at .301 (56 games). Justin Wylie has a two-year conference career batting average of .325 (44 contest). Spencer Thornton's four-year Mountain West career average is .308 (98 games).
WORKING OVERTIME
The Aztecs have not fared well in extra inning contests during the 2016 campaign. San Diego State's record in those games stands at 1-5. Their lone win in extra frames came on April 5 in a 6-5 victory over Long Beach State in 12 innings. Four of the losses have come in 10 innings and one in 12 innings.
WINS OVER RANKED FOES
San Diego State recorded victories over a trio of top 20 ranked teams during the 2016 season. That includes wins over No. 6 Oregon State (March 28), No. 20 Long Beach State (April 5) and No. 17 Cal State Fullerton (May 3).
AZTEC NOTES
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 55 games this season at the same position ... Only one other Aztec has started all 55 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-32 (.125) on the year.