Projected Starting Pitcher Matchups
Tuesday, April 2 - 5:35 p.m. PT - Pac-12 Plus
SDSU: LHP Brian Leonhardt (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
OSU: RHP Sam Tweedt (1-1, 3.52 ERA)
Wednesday, April 3 - 5:35 p.m. PT - Pac-12 Plus
SDSU: TBA
OSU: TBA
Aztec Storylines
SPRING BREAK: SDSU opens its April schedule and a five-game spring break road trip with a two-game road series at Oregon State.
Both games will be streamed on Pac-12 Plus and will be streamed live on the Pac-12 Plus Facebook page.
TIME TO HIT THE ROAD, A LOT: With 21 of SDSU's 34 home games already played, the Aztecs will play at Tony Gwynn Stadium for only six games during April. SDSU played at home 13 times during March -- the same total as SDSU's home games for the remainder of the season.
Originally scheduled for a three-game series, SDSU will make up both games that were postponed at Air Force in early March on the weekend of April 18-20. Times/dates are still to be announced.
HEADING BACK TO CORVALLIS: After competing in the Corvallis Regional hosted by Oregon State in 2018, SDSU makes its third trip to Corvallis since 2016. SDSU is 1-3 all-time in Corvallis.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST THE BEAVERS: The Aztecs are 7-12-1 all-time against Oregon State, including a two-game split at OSU in 2016. SDSU took the opener, 6-5, which snapped a four-game skid against the Beavers in the all-time series. 18 of the 20 previous meetings have been played in San Diego.
OUR GOOD FRIENDS FROM THE PAC-12: SDSU is 6-1 in its last seven games against members of the Pac-12, including wins over Arizona and Utah this season.
Last seven games vs. Pac-12 programs
April 4, 2017 vs. UCLA - W, 5-4
May 2, 2017 at UCLA - W, 8-6
June 3, 2017 vs. UCLA* - W, 3-2 (13)
Feb. 23, 2018 vs. Arizona** - W, 3-2 (10)
March 6, 2018 at Arizona - L, 4-13
Feb. 22, 2019 vs. Utah** - W, 3-2
March 25, 2019 vs. Arizona - W, 6-4
* 2017 NCAA Regional in Long Beach, Calif.
** Tony Gwynn Legacy Tournament
TWO OF THE BEST ON THE WEST COAST: San Diego State and Oregon State, the defending national champions and currently No. 6 in the nation in D1Baseball.com's latest ranking, are two of three west coast programs to have played in five NCAA Regionals in the last six years, joined only by Cal State Fullerton.
The Aztecs and Beavers in 2018 were also two of five teams in the country to hit .300 or better, have an ERA of 4.05 or lower, and a fielding percentage of .973 or better. Only New Mexico State, Ole Miss, and Minnesota were in that category last season.
Entering the NCAA postseason last year, SDSU was hitting .305 as a team with a 3.90 team ERA. At that point, the only team in the country to have better marks in both statistics was Oregon State.
TAKING ON THE CHAMPS: SDSU is playing the defending national champion for the first time since May 30, 2009, when the Aztecs played Fresno State, which won the 2008 national championship. The Aztecs won that game, 4-1, to stay alive in NCAA Regional play at the Irvine Regional.
PLAYING AGAINST TEAMS WITH CWS EXPERIENCE: Since 2015, San Diego State is 5-7 against teams that played in the College World Series the year prior. Before that stretch, the Aztecs were in a 14-game losing streak against those opponents.
RUDICK ON FIRE: Matt Rudick currently rides a career-long 19-game hitting streak, which is the longest by an Aztec since Steven Pallares recorded a 21-game hitting streak in 2015.
Over Rudick's 19-game hitting streak, the sophomore is hitting a team-best .381 (32-for-84), with team0highs in extra-base hits (seven), RBIs (17) and doubles (five).
Longest SDSU hitting streaks since 2010:
Mitch Blackburn (2010) - 23
Cory Vaughn (2010) - 21
Tim Zier (2012) - 21
Steven Pallares (2015) - 21
Matt Rudick (2019) - 19
Alan Trejo (2017) - 18
Danny Sheehan (2017) - 17
Chris Wilson (2011) - 15
PITCHERS WHO RAKE: San Diego State pitchers Michael Paredes, Casey Schmitt, Julian Escobedo and Brian Leonhardt have all had at bats while pitching this season. Combined, those four two-way players are hitting .385 (5-for-13) with three RBIs and three extra-base hits (2 2B, HR) when hitting as the Aztecs pitcher.
WHERE WE RANK IN THE MW: The Aztecs are the only team in the Mountain West to be hitting .280 or better while having an ERA under 4.50. Both SDSU's .284 batting average and 4.20 ERA rank third in the conference.
Matt Rudick is sixth in the Mountain West with a .345 batting average and fourth in the league with 40 hits, while Angelo Armenta is also sixth in the league with a .448 on-base percentage. The Aztecs have five players with an on-base percentage of .395 or better (Armenta - .448, Rudick - .412, Casey Schmitt - .410, Chad Bible - .402, and Mike Jarvis - .395), making the Aztecs the only team in the league with that distinction.
Aaron Eden is fourth in the league with a 2.54 earned run average and 11th with a .262 opponent batting average while Justin Goossen-Brown and Casey O'Sullivan are sixth and seventh, respectively, with 34 and 32 strikeouts.
SEEING DOUBLE: SDSU's 32 double plays turned are the second most in the country, trailing only George Washington's 35. Since the start of the 2017 season, SDSU's 158 double plays turned are the most among any team in the nation.
MAKING THE MOST OF IT: Due to injuries on the pitching staff, SDSU has had to use nine different starters during the 2019 season. Those nine starters feature five pitchers who had never started a college game before this season, including true freshmen Aaron Eden, Michael Paredes, and Brian Leonhardt and Casey Schmitt and Adrian Mardueno, who had been used strictly as relievers prior to the start of this season. All three of SDSU's opening weekend starters have not pitched in each of the last three weekend series and have not made an appearance since opening-day starter Logan Boyer threw 0.2 of an inning at CSUN on March 12.
Despite the variety of starting pitchers used, SDSU starters collectively own a 3.47 ERA, a .246 opponent batting average, and have struck out 119 batters in 124.2 innings.
STRIKEOUTS GALORE: SDSU has exceeded its 2018 total of 13 double-digit strikeout games, needing just 23 games this season to record 14 10+ strikeout games. The Aztecs are currently 29th in the country averaging 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings.
Despite not even being halfway through the season, SDSU's 16 10+ strikeout games are the most since the 2015 team recorded 20 double-digit strikeout performances.
CALIFORNIA LOVE: Since 2014, the Aztecs lead all Division I California programs in win total. Also, over that span, SDSU is 99-49 (.669) when playing in-state counterparts.
Team Wins
San Diego State 200
Stanford 197
Cal State Fullerton 196
Sacramento State 188
UC Santa Barbara 187
Baseball Begins Spring Break at No. 6/7 Oregon State
