SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opens its 2020 home schedule on Tuesday when it welcomes Cal State Fullerton to Tony Gwynn Stadium for a non-conference game, starting at 6 p.m. PT.
The Aztecs-Titans clash will be broadcast live on XTRA Sports 1360 AM, while a link to streaming video will be available via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com.
In addition, the first 250 fans in attendance will receive a free SDSU rally towel.
The Aztecs went 2-1 last weekend at the Brittain Resorts Baseball by the Beach event in Conway, South Carolina, defeating Virginia Tech (7-5) and tournament host Coastal Carolina (3-1) before falling to UNC Greensboro (11-4).
Junior Matt Rudick hit .385 (5-13) on the trip, finishing with one home run, one double, 5 RBIs and four runs scored. The SDSU outfielder also compiled a .462 on-base percentage and a .692 slugging percentage, both team highs, while hitting .750 (3-4) with runners in scoring position.
Against Virginia Tech, Rudick belted a clutch three-run homer in SDSU's five-run outburst in the bottom of the seventh that erased a 4-0 deficit. He also went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored against CCU, including a pivotal two-out RBI single in the bottom of the fourth that gave the Scarlet and Black a 2-0 lead it would not relinquish.
In the Aztecs' triumph over Coastal Carolina, sophomore Troy Melton was victorious in his first collegiate start, limiting the Chanticleers, a program that ranked sixth nationally in offense last year (8.3 runs/gm), scoreless in 5.0 innings of work, allowing just two hits and three walks to go with a career-high five strikeouts.
Cal State Fullerton is expected to start sophomore right-hander Michael Knorr on Tuesday, while SDSU is slated to pitch junior lefty Jacob Flores.
An alumnus of Carlsbad High School, Knorr started 11 of 14 games as a freshman in 2019, posting a 4-4 record and a 5.90 ERA in 61.0 innings to go with 34 strikeouts. One of Knorr's wins last year occurred against the Aztecs, as the Titan hurler yielded two runs on six hits and one walk in a 7-2 home victory on April 14.
Flores (1-0, 0.00), meanwhile, picked up the win in the Aztecs' conquest of Virginia Tech on Friday, tying his career high with five strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings of relief after replacing starter Michael Paredes. Last season, the Oxnard, California, product notched a 2-2 record with one save in 20 appearances, ranking second on the team with a 3.75 ERA in 36.0 innings to go with 38 strikeouts. Additionally, Flores enjoyed a highly productive stretch of 14 games from March 12-May 12, when he compiled a 2.32 ERA and fanned 32 batters.
CSUF (2-1) took the first two games of their season-opening series at Stanford last weekend, winning handily 7-1 and 6-1 before dropping a 2-1 decision in the finale.
The Titans were paced by sophomore infielder Zach Lew, who hit .462 (6-13) with one RBI and scored five runs against the Cardinal, earning Big West Conference Field Player of the Week honors. Last Saturday, Lew went 4-for-6 with an RBI and two runs to help CSF to the aforementioned 6-1 victory.
In addition, senior outfielder Isaiah Garcia and junior catcher Austin Schell have recorded four hits apiece for CSF, while junior Josh Urps tops the squad with two doubles.
The Titans are led by ninth-year head coach Rick Vanderhook, who has guided his team to four Big West titles and seven NCAA postseason appearances. Last year, CSF posted a 27-26 overall record and a 13-11 mark in conference play, which was good for fourth in the Big West.
Despite trailing the Titans in all-time meetings 26-48-1, the Aztecs have had success against their Orange County neighbors recently, winning six of the last eight encounters, including a series victory in Fullerton last season when the Scarlet and Black captured two of three. With the results, SDSU has claimed the last two series against CSF after dropping the previous four.
The Aztecs are 27-10 (.730) in their last 37 games against Big West opponents since the start of the 2017 campaign. Since beginning Division I competition in 1969, SDSU sports a record of 32-19 in home openers, winning three straight (San Francisco, 2019; UC Santa Barbara, 2018; Pacific, 2017) and five of its last six.
Casey Schmitt entered the 2020 campaign with four preseason All-America honors, including three second-team accolades from Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game and a third-team honor from Baseball America. In addition, the SDSU junior was named to the Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List and the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Watch List.
Against Virginia Tech, Schmitt collected his 18th career save to climb into sole possession of fifth place on the Aztecs' all-time list in that category.
Following Tuesday's game, San Diego State will co-host the annual Tony Gwynn Legacy this weekend, squaring off against Iowa (Feb. 20), Nebraska (Feb. 21) and USC (Feb. 22) on successive days at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs' respective showdowns against the Hawkeyes and Cornhuskers are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., while their clash with the Trojans is set for a 2 p.m. start.