May 3, 2018
STARTING PITCHERSFriday, May 4 - 5:00 p.m. MTSDSU: RHP Harrison Pyatt (3-2, 3.44 ERA)UNM: RHP Justin Slaten (2-7, 6.67 ERA)Saturday, May 5 - 1:00 p.m. MTSDSU: RHP Logan Boyer (0-0, 2.35 ERA)UNM: RHP Cody Dye (3-6, 5.79 ERA)Sunday, May 6 - 12:00 p.m. MTSDSU: RHP Jorge Fernandez (5-3, 3.35 ERA)UNM: RHP Nathaniel Garley (2-2, 4.08 ERA)
NEWS AND NOTES
VS. THE LOBOS: San Diego State travels to New Mexico for a three-game series starting Friday at 5:00 p.m. MT. The Lobos won a three-game series at Tony Gwynn Stadium from March 29-31. Since that point, SDSU has posted a 12-5 record, while UNM has gone 3-15.
SDSU is 112-79 all-time against the Lobos. The 112 wins are the most all-time wins against any other program.
SDSU and New Mexico have combined to win each of the last seven MW Tournament championships, with SDSU having won four of the last five.
ON THE AIR: New Mexico will produce this weekend's broadcast on the Mountain West Network. Links to watch and live stats are available at GoAztecs.com.
WE HAVE BEEN REALLY GOOD LATELY: SDSU is in the midst of a season-best six-game winning streak and have won nine of its last 10 games. SDSU's current winning streak is tied for the team's longest since the start of the 2016 season and SDSU's 9-1 mark in its last 10 games is its best 10-game span since starting the 2015 season 9-1.
Over the winning streak, the team has posted a .335 batting average, a 2.23 earned run average, and .983 fielding percentage. The Aztecs have outscored its opponents 46-15 over the winning streak.
Chad Bible leads SDSU offensively over that stretch, hitting .600 (12-for-20) with six runs scored, four doubles, two home runs, and nine RBIs.
On the mound, SDSU's bullpen has been excellent over the winning streak, owning a 1.91 ERA over its last 28.1 innings pitched. Over the bullpen's last 15.1 innings pitched in Mountain West play, SDSU has allowed just one earned run (0.59 ERA).
30-WIN MARK: San Diego State reached the 30-win mark for the fifth time in the last six years with last weekend's series finale, 4-2 win against UNLV last Sunday. Among teams in the nation with 30 or more wins, The Aztecs have not taken an easy road getting there, owning the 26th toughest schedule in the country among teams with 30+ wins (also seventh toughest among non-Power 5 teams with 30+ wins).
With SDSU's 31st win on Tuesday, the Aztecs are the only Mountain West program to have more than 30 wins in five of the last six seasons.
BIBLE WINS MW POTW AGAIN: San Diego State redshirt junior Chad Bible won his second Mountain West Player of the Week award of the season on Tuesday, becoming the first player in the league to do so in 2018.
Bible led the Aztec lineup in a 4-0 performance last week, hitting .615 (8-for-13) over SDSU's 19-1 win over UC Riverside and three-game sweep of UNLV. Bible led the Aztecs in hits (8), doubles (4), total bases (12) and slugging percentage (.923) for the week.
Bible currently ranks among the top in several statistical categories, including being 10th in batting average (.344), sixth in slugging percentage (.597), 10th in runs batted in (38) and fifth in home runs (8).
HOT BATS ON THE ROAD: San Diego State, which enters this weekend 17th in the nation with a .301 team batting average, has hit especially well on the road this season, owning a .336 team batting average over 16 road games this season. SDSU is 10-6 on the road this year and 5-3 in Mountain West road games.
Julian Escobedo leads the team with a .448 batting average in road games, while Jordan Verdon is hitting .423 with a team-high 13 doubles, six home runs, 30 RBIs, and .859 slugging percentage on the road this season. SDSU has an additional three players hitting .400 or better on the road this season, including David Hensley (.409), Chad Bible (.400), and Matt Rudick (.400).
A RECAP OF UNLV: SDSU recorded its third weekend sweep of the season last weekend, defeating UNLV, 1-0, 7-6, and 4-2. SDSU has now completed six weekend sweeps since the last time the team has been swept.
The Aztecs posted its second shutout in a three-game span in the series opener after Harrison Pyatt (6 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 3 BB, career-high 9 K) and Casey Schmitt (2.1 IP, 0 H, 3 K) silenced UNLV's lineup, which entered last weekend with a .318 batting average, the fourth highest in the nation.
Pyatt continued a red-hot stretch, owning a 0.78 ERA in his last four starts with 12 hits allowed and 26 strikeouts over 23 innings pitched.
After Friday night's contest, SDSU had allowed just one run over its previous three games, marking the first time SDSU has accomplished that feat since April 22-23, 2005 vs. Air Force.
In game 2, SDSU erased an early 5-0 UNLV lead with a five-run fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Chad Bible. The win solidified SDSU's fifth consecutive series win over the Rebels.
David Hensley earned his first career save, pitching a scoreless eighth and ninth inning with only one hit allowed.
Jorge Fernandez extended his scoreless inning streak to 15.1 in his third start of the season on Sunday before UNLV broke through with its first run in the sixth. Offensively, SDSU used a three-run fourth with RBI doubles by Chad Bible and Julian Escobedo to solidify the series sweep.
UNSCHMITTABLE: Casey Schmitt has recorded eight saves over a 29-day span, giving the freshman the team lead in saves while being second in the MW.
Schmitt currently owns a 0.38 ERA, the lowest by an Aztec (minimum 10 IP) since joining the Mountain West in 2000. Schmitt hasn't allowed an earned run to score since March 17 vs. Cal Poly, giving the Eastlake HS product a streak of 18 consecutive innings and 12 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run. Schmitt has not allowed more than two hits in any appearance this season and has allowed one or zero hits in 13 of his 16 appearances this season.
GOOD PITCHING: SDSU enters the weekend with a 3.65 earned run average, good for the best single-season ERA since 1996 when the team posted a 3.31 ERA. Including this year, SDSU has owned the Mountain West's best ERA in three of the last four seasons. SDSU's 3.65 ERA is the best in the MW since UNLV posted a 3.19 team ERA in 2014.
FINISHING STRONG: SDSU enters this weekend having won 78 consecutive games when leading after eight innings, good for one of the top five longest active streaks in the country.
AMONG THE NATIONAL/CONFERENCE LEADERS: In addition to being the Mountain West leader in earned run average (3.65), WHIP (1.37) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.54), SDSU ranks among the top of the nation in numerous statistical categories.
- SDSU's 44 double plays turned are 10th most in the nation.- SDSU's 471 total hits are 12th most in the nation.- SDSU's .301 team batting average is 17th best in the nation.- Jordan Verdon is seventh in the country with 19 doubles. - Adrian Mardueno is 25th in the country with 24 pitching appearances.- Chase Calabuig leads the Mountain West with three triples. - Garrett Hill and Adrian Mardueno are tied for second in the conference with six wins each.- Jacob Erickson is second in the MW in strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.38) and walks allowed per nine innings (1.51).- Matt Rudick's 29 walks are second most in the Mountain West.
GOOD IN ALL ASPECTS: SDSU is one of seven teams in the nation to have a batting average above .300 and an ERA below 3.70, joined by only No. 3 Oregon State, No.4 Ole Miss, No. 5 Arkansas, No. 11 Southern Mississippi, No. 20 Minnesota, and St. John's (all rankings provided by D1Baseball.com).
HOMEGROWN: The San Diego State roster features 10 players from San Diego. Collectively, San Diego natives have posted 66 percent of SDSU's 2018 hit total (311 of 47)
EXPERIENCE ON THE DIAMOND: Despite having a team of 15 freshmen -- the program's largest freshman class since 2011 -- the Aztecs have two of the most experienced players in the nation this year in Chase Calabuig, who is fourth among all DI players with 223 career games played, and Jacob Erickson, who leads all DI pitchers with 113 career pitching appearances. The Aztecs are the only team in the nation to have a player in the top five of both categories. Erickson recently set SDSU's program record in pitching appearances and is the Mountain West all-time leader, while Calabuig is 13 games shy from tying the program's career games played record (currently owned by Tim Zier (2011-14) with 236, SDSU has 10 regular season games remaining).
Games Played1 JJ Schwarz , Florida 2542 Ryan Chandler , Rice 2303 Gage Morey , FGCU 225T4 Chase Calabuig , San Diego St. 223T4 Gabe Snyder , Wright St. 223
Pitching Appearances1 Jacob Erickson , San Diego St. 1132 Cooper Hammond , Miami (FL) 1043 Seth Pinkerton, Hartford 103T4 Charlie Fletcher, William & Mary 100T4 Dylan Moore, Louisiana 99
FOUR OF FIVE: SDSU entered 2018 as the only team in DI baseball to have won four conference tournament championships in the last five years. The Aztecs look to make it five of six in 2018, and as an added bonus, SDSU will host the 2018 Mountain West Tournament from May 24 - 27.