SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State baseball team continues its busy stretch on Tuesday, March 3, when it plays host to No. 17/17 Long Beach State at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Game time is set for 6 p.m. PT.
The Aztecs opened last week's slate on the road with a 2-1 victory at UC Irvine before splitting a four-game home series vs. Oregon State.
SDSU dropped the first two games against the Beavers but stormed back to post a 6-0 shutout in game three, followed by a 12-11 nail-biter in the finale.
Left-hander Brian Leonhardt is scheduled to take the mound for the Aztecs on Tuesday, while the Dirtbags' projected starter is right-hander Jake Rons.
Leonhardt (0-0, 3.86 ERA) has made three pitching appearances this season, allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks to go with four strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. The Aztec sophomore will be making his second start of the year after tossing 2 2/3 innings in SDSU's series opener on Feb. 27, when he struck out three while giving up one run on two hits and a trio of walks.
Conversely, Rons (0-0, 0.00 ERA) is scheduled to make his first career start after logging three relief appearances so far this year. The freshman from Carlsbad has yielded five hits and four walks to go with four strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
For the season, San Diego State has four players hitting above .300, including Ryan Orr, who ranks fifth in the Mountain West entering the week with a .378 batting average, followed by Jacob Cruce (.360), Matt Rudick (.340) and Jaden Fein (.323).
Orr and Rudick are tied for second in the conference with 17 hits apiece, while Leonhardt ranks third with 10 RBIs, highlighted by a grand slam on Sunday in the Aztecs' 12-11 thriller over Oregon State.
Rudick has been one of the toughest batters to strike out in the Mountain West this year, fanning just twice in 50 at-bats, which is tied for 16th nationally. The Scripps Ranch High product has also hit three triples this year, which is tied for the top spot in the league and the country.
Elsewhere, Casey Schmitt's five saves are tied for the most in the nation, along with Louisville's Michael Kirian and Connor Williams of Central Arkansas.
Collectively, the Aztecs lead the conference with a 3.45 earned run average and rank third with a .271 batting average.
Long Beach State is off to an 8-3 start this season after taking two of three from No. 4/8 Mississippi State this past weekend at home. The Dirtbags won the opener by a 4-0 count before overcoming a 9-0 Bulldog shutout with a 6-2 triumph in the finale on Sunday. As a result, the Beach climbed to No. 17 in both the Baseball America and D1Baseball Top 25 polls.
The Dirtbags are led by outfielder Connor Kokx, who is batting .500 on the season (14-28) with four doubles and five runs scored, while first baseman/outfielder Leonard Jones (.333) tops the squad with two homers and eight RBIs while tying Calvin Estrada for second on the team with 13 hits.
Kokx garnered Big West Player of the Week accolades after posting a .688 on-base percentage in four games. The redshirt freshman hit .583 (7-12) at the plate with one double, three runs, three RBIs and one stolen base.
The Dirtbags are guided by first-year head coach Eric Valenzuela, who compiled a 180-156 record in six seasons at the helm of the Saint Mary's program from 2014-19, following four-year stint as an assistant coach at San Diego State from 2010-13.
The Aztecs lead the all-time series vs. the Dirtbags 86-55-1, including a two-game sweep during the 2018 campaign. SDSU posted a 5-2 victory at Blair Field in Long Beach before recording a 5-1 triumph in a neutral-site contest at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore, home of the San Diego Padres' California League affiliate Lake Elsinore Storm.
The two teams last met in Tony Gwynn Stadium on March 21, 2017, when the Scarlet and Black broke a 3-3 tie with six runs in the bottom of the fourth en route to a 12-5 romp.
SDSU has won nine of its last 12 games vs. Big West foes and is 29-10 in its last 39 encounters against that conference, including an 8-4 triumph at home over Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 18.
Following Tuesday's clash, San Diego State will hit the road for a three-game series at No. 11/15 Oklahoma, March 6-8, at L. Dale Mitchell Park in Norman, Oklahoma.