April 18, 2017
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State will continue its current road slate of road trips with a visit to UC Riverside to face the Highlanders this evening at 6:00 p.m. PT at the Riverside Sports Complex.
UCR enters the game with a record of 13-18 having lost nine of its last 10 outings.
The Highlanders are led offensively by center fielder Mark Contreras (.368, 4 2B, 8 RBI ) and right fielder Cade Peters (.317, 2 HR, 15 RBI). As a team, Riverside is hitting .254 with a 5.30 earned run average.
The home side will send senior right-hander Angel Landazuri (1-2, 7.04) to the mound tonight where he will be opposed by Aztec sophomore Harrison Pyatt (1-2, 7.91).
San Diego State enters the game with a mark of 26-11 having been victorious in 10 of its last 12 contests. Over the last 15 games, the Aztecs are hitting .329 to .246 by opponent. They also have a team ERA of 2.88 while opponents' ERA is 7.12.
Aztec junior right fielder David Hensley was named the Mountain West Player of the Week for his performance in four games during the week of April 9-16. Over those four games he hit .647 (11-for-17) with a double, triple, home run, six RBI and seven runs scored.
SDSU third baseman Andrew Brown continues to be one of the Aztecs' most consistent offensive players. In the final two contests at UNLV last weekend, he had four hits including two doubles and a home run with six RBI.
Outfielder Tyler Adkison was named a second team Perfect Game/Rawlings Midseason All-American. He has also been added to the 40-player mid-season watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, presented to the top amateur baseball player in the country. He hit his team-leading 10th home run of the season in the series finale at UNLV on Sunday (April 16).
First baseman Jordan Verdon has reached base safely (via hit, walk or hit by pitch) in each of SDSU's last 24 contests. He ranks among the top 10 in the nation in triples and sacrifice flies. Verdon has hit safely in six of the past seven contests going 11-for-26 (.423) with a double, triple, five RBI and five runs scored.
Following tonight's contest, the Aztecs will face a three-game non-conference series at UC Santa Barbara this weekend before returning home next Tuesday for a rematch with UC Riverside at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The series against the Gauchos will get underway on Friday, April 21, with a game scheduled to get underway at 6:00 p.m. PT at UCSB's Caesar Uyesaka Stadium.