May 18, 2017
SAN DIEGO - San Diego State and Fresno State will open a three-game Mountain West series this evening with a contest scheduled to get underway at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Fresno State comes into the day with a record of 29-22 overall and 16-11 in the Mountain West. The Aztecs' ledger stands at 37-16 in all games and 19-8 in conference play.
SDSU's all-time record against Fresno State stands at 95-95 with the Bulldogs being the team that the Aztecs have faced the most in the sport of baseball over the years. The Aztecs captured two of the three games in Fresno in late March.
FSU is led by first baseman Aaron Arruda (.388, 12 2B, 14 HR, 60 RBI), third baseman Jesse Medrano (.343, 17 2B, 6 HR, 38 RBI) and outfielder Jake Stone (.330, 14 2B, 6 HR, 39 RBI). The Bulldogs are hitting .314 as a team with a 5.65 earned run average.
The Bulldogs will send junior left-hander Ricky Tyler Thomas (6-3, 40.3) to the mound to start tonight's contest. Thomas is a San Diego product who attended Mira Mesa High School.
The host of this year's Mountain West Tournament as well as the fourth and final entrant into the tourney field will be decided in two series this weekend. SDSU is currently one-game behind New Mexico in the loss column and needs to win one more game than the Lobos this weekend to overtake them and become the tournament host.
Fresno State can finish as high as second, but only if it sweeps the Aztecs this weekend. The UNM-Nevada series takes on added importance, as it will also decide the fourth entrant into this year's tournament. Nevada must win two games in Albuquerque to qualify or else Air Force will be the fourth and final team into the tourney field.
San Diego State's starting hurler for this evening's game is expected to be senior left Dominic Purpura (6-2, 3.69).
Senior shortstop Danny Sheehan saw a 17-game hitting streak come to an end on Tuesday (May 16) in the game vs. San Diego. During that streak, he went 30-for-64 (.469) with five doubles, a triple, four home runs, 21 RBI and 20 runs scored.
David Hensley has hit safely in 12 straight games and has now done so in 20 of SDSU's last 21 contests including going 2-for-2 with two walks vs. USD on Tuesday (May 16). Over that span, he is hitting .477 (42-for-88) with eight doubles, a triple, three home runs, 18 RBI and 20 runs scored. He has doubled at least once in six of the last seven contests.
After having missed the last three-plus weeks due to an oblique muscle strain, Andrew Brown returned to his starting role at third base in the game against San Diego on Tuesday (May 16). He marked his return with a pair of singles and a run scored in the win over the Toreros. Brown has now started 41 of SDSU's 53 contests at third base and is hitting .328.
San Diego State and Fresno State will continue their weekend set of games on Friday, May 19, with a contest scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. PT at Tony Gwynn Stadium.