GAME WEEK PREVIEW
San Diego vs. San Diego State
Probable Pitching Matchups
(2020 stats in parentheses)
Friday, Feb. 19 | 1 p.m. PT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
USD: Jake Miller, RHP (1-1, 2.49 ERA, 21.2 IP)
SDSU: Troy Melton, RHP (3-1, 3.22 ERA, 22.1 IP)
Saturday, Feb. 20 | 1 p.m. PT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
USD: Carter Rustad RHP (4-0, 0.84 ERA, 21.1 IP)
SDSU: Kohl Simas, RHP (0-0, 2.45 ERA, 11.0 IP)
Sunday, Feb. 21 | 2 p.m. PT | Fowler Park
USD: Grady Miller, RHP (2-0, 3.13 ERA, 23.0 IP
SDSU: Michael Paredes, RHP (1-1, 4.05 ERA, 20.0 IP)
WHAT'S ON TAP FOR AZTEC BASEBALL
> San Diego State opens its 82nd season of baseball competition this weekend when it battles the University of San Diego in a three-game series, Feb. 19-21.
> The Aztecs and Toreros will clash at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Friday and Saturday, starting at 1 p.m. PT, before the scene shifts to USD's Fowler Park for Sunday's finale, which is scheduled to get underway at 2 p.m. PT.
> A link to live stats will be available throughout the weekend, while Friday's opener will be streamed live via the Mountain West Network on GoAztecs.com.
> For the third straight season, San Diego State was picked first in the Mountain West Preseason Coaches Poll.
> In addition, the Aztecs had three players selected to the preseason all-MW team in right fielder Jaden Fein, starting pitcher Troy Melton and center fielder Matt Rudick.
> With the Mountain West back to seven teams, the league returns to a double round-robin format for the 2021 campaign. The teams will play a 36-game conference schedule, with weekends consisting mostly of doubleheaders on Saturday and a Sunday series finale.
> The MW tournament has been eliminated and the regular-season champion will receive the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
> In accordance with state, local and university guidelines, fans will not be permitted to attend Aztec home baseball games at Tony Gwynn Stadium during the 2021 season.
> However, the Mountain West Network will stream 14 SDSU home baseball games this year, as well as selected road contests against conference opponents.
> In addition, the Aztecs' other home games will feature a live stream on the team's YouTube channel, with a link available on GoAztecs.com.
FOR OPENERS
> San Diego State has a record of 53-28-1 in season openers dating back to 1936 (SDSU did not field a team from 1943-45). Since attaining Division I status in 1969, the Aztecs are 32-17 in their annual debuts.
> SDSU has won its last four openers - Virginia Tech (2020), San Francisco (2019), UC Santa Barbara (2018) and Pacific (2017) - giving the Scarlet and Black a 6-4 mark in its last 10 lid-lifters.
> When opening the season at home, SDSU sports a record of 18-11 in the Division 1 era and a 13-9 ledger when beginning the year on the road.
> Last season, the Aztecs rallied for a 7-5 victory over Virginia Tech at the Brittain Resorts Baseball by the Beach tournament in Conway, South Carolina, marking SDSU's first neutral-site opener in 52 years at the Division I level.
SERIES RECORD VS. USD
> San Diego State leads the all-time series, 76-58-3, dating back to 1962.
> The Aztecs and Toreros were scheduled to meet twice during the 2020 campaign; however, the remainder of the season was canceled following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
> SDSU split its last two meetings against USD in 2019, with each team claiming a 4-2 victory on the other's home field in single mid-week encounters.
> In the Aztecs' triumph at Fowler Park that season, Brian Leonhardt hit a solo home run in the top of the second and also struck out three batters in a pitching relief appearance of 3.1 innings.
> San Diego State will battle the Toreros in a season-opening series for the first time since 2013, when the visiting Aztecs swept all three games at USD (8-1, 4-2, 5-3).
> The Scarlet and Black also captured three of four games vs. the Toreros to open the 2008 campaign, winning twice at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
> SDSU head coach Mark Martinez is 7-4 against USD after taking over the reins of the Aztec program in 2015.
> Since Fowler Park and Cunningham Field opened in 2013, San Diego State is 8-1 when playing at USD and has outscored the Toreros 51-22 during that stretch.
AZTEC WEEKEND ROTATION
> San Diego State's projected pitching rotation against USD will feature two returning starters bookending the series around an intriguing matchup on Saturday.
> Troy Melton (3-1, 3.22 ERA, 22.0 IP) will get the call on opening day. The SDSU right-hander shared the conference lead with three victories in a shortened 2020 campaign, which was tied for 23rd nationally, while his 26 strikeouts and .192 opposing batting average ranked second and third in the MW, respectively.
> On Saturday, Kohl Simas will face his old teammates in his first start as an Aztec after transferring from USD. In his lone season with the Toreros last year, the Fresno native made four relief appearances, posting the second-lowest ERA on the team (2.45) while striking out 15 batters in 11.0 innings.
> Meanwhile, Michael Paredes (1-1, 4.05 ERA, 20.0 IP) is projected to get the starting nod in Sunday's finale. Last season, the San Diego High alumnus ranked among the Mountain West leaders in walks (T8th – 6) and earned runs allowed (T9th – 9)
> Neither Melton nor Paredes have faced USD in their respective collegiate careers.
SETTING THE SCENE FOR 2021
> San Diego State returns 20 letterwinners from last year's squad that finished with a 10-6 overall record during the 2020 season that was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Aztecs welcome back six starting position players and three starting pitchers.
> Between 2013 and 2019, SDSU captured five Mountain West tournament championships and made five NCAA Regional appearances. The Aztecs are also the only team in the league to have won 30 or more games six times in that stretch
> The Aztecs were pegged for a first-place finish in the 2021 MW preseason coaches poll, attaining the status of conference favorites for the third year in a row.
> Leading the list of returners is starting pitcher Troy Melton, who earned a spot on USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Preseason Watch List. The Anaheim, California, product was ranked 79th on D1Baseball.com's Top 100 List of collegiate draft prospects for 2021 and was tabbed the preseason Mountain West Pitcher of the Year by the same website, as well as Baseball America.
> An all-conference honoree from last year, Melton was also named to the preseason all-Mountain West team, along with center fielder Matt Rudick and right fielder Jaden Fein.
> In addition to all-league consideration, Fein was named the MW Preseason Player of the Year by Baseball America.
> SDSU also welcomes 20 newcomers, including 13 true freshmen, four transfers from the Division I ranks and three junior college players, all of whom comprise a talented recruiting class that was ranked 22nd nationally by Perfect Game.
> One of the new rookie is Cole Carrigg, a catcher/utility player who twice participated at the prestigious Area Code Games for the Athletics squad.
> As a junior at Turlock High in 2019, Carrigg garnered first-team all-Central California Athletic League accolades as a utility player after leading the Bulldogs to the conference title and a berth in the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I quarterfinals.
> Another touted newcomer is catcher Poncho Ruiz, who was named the No. 1 ranked Mountain West incoming freshman by Perfect Game.
> A graduate of Mater Dei Catholic High in nearby Chula Vista, Ruiz also earned a No. 18 national ranking among catchers for the 2020 high school graduating class by Perfect Game and received a scout grade of 9.5 by the website.
USD AT A GLANCE
> The Toreros finished the shortened 2020 campaign with a 12-4 record, including an 8-0 mark at home.
> USD notched victories over multiple Power 5 schools last year, including Oregon, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa and Indiana.
> The Toreros' Jake Miller tossed a no-hitter in the opener of a three-game series vs. Monmouth.
> San Diego was picked third in the 2021 West Coast Conference preseason poll behind Pepperdine and Gonzaga.
> In addition, Shane McGuire, Caleb Ricketts, and Carter Rustad were named to the 2021 preseason all-WCC team.
> McGuire, who split time between first base and catcher last year, hit a team-leading .469 (15-32), finishing fifth on the squad in hits while collecting four doubles and one home run. His batting average ranked second in the WCC and No. 7 nationally.
> Another utility player who alternated between first base and catcher in 2020, Ricketts ranked third on the Toreros with a .351 batting average and occupied the second spot on the team with 20 hits to go with four doubles and one triple. He also finished sixth in the WCC with a team-high 16 RBIs and compiled a .456 slugging percentage.
> Rustad was named a Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-American last year after leading the team with a 0.84 ERA, which ranked second in the WCC and 39th nationally. The 6-foot-5 right-hander also topped the WCC and ranked second in the country in both victories (4) and hits allowed per nine innings (2.11).
> Rich Hill is entering his 34th season as a head coach at the collegiate level in 2021 and 23rd in charge of the Torero program. Hill has amassed a career record of 1,046-726-4 (.589) and is 714-502-4 (.585) during his tenure at USD. He is the youngest active coach with 1,000 wins and the winningest coach in the WCC, both current and all-time.
HEAD COACH MARK MARTINEZ
> Mark Martinez begins his seventh season as head coach of the Aztecs and 16th overall as a member of the San Diego State staff after succeeding the late Tony Gwynn on August 20, 2014. He is just the fifth head coach in SDSU history since baseball was elevated to major sport status in 1936.
> During his tenure as the Aztecs' head coach, Martinez has compiled a 185-134 record (.580), highlighted by three Mountain West tournament championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He has also posted an 84-64 ledger (.568) in conference regular-season games.
> Since 2015, SDSU has garnered 30 all-Mountain West accolades under Martinez's tutelage, including back-to-back MW Pitchers of the Year Brett Seeburger (2017) and Garrett Hill (2018), as well as 2017 MW Player of the Year Danny Sheehan.
> Additionally, Martinez has mentored three freshman All-Americans in Chase Calabuig (2015), Casey Schmitt (2018) and Jaden Fein (2019), with the latter also receiving Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year distinction last year.
> In 2017, Martinez recorded his 100th victory for the Scarlet and Black, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the century mark in wins.
> Not to be outdone, Martinez also became the fastest head coach in Mountain West history to win three conference championships when the Aztecs captured the title in 2018.
> Martinez was hired as an assistant coach for the Aztecs in July of 2005 and served for nine years under head coach Tony Gwynn. During that time, he was promoted to the position of associate head coach.
> Since his arrival on The Mesa as an assistant coach, Martinez has witnessed 44 SDSU players get drafted into the professional ranks, with nine of those selections making the major leagues (Stephen Strasburg, Addison Reed, Justin Masterson, Bruce Billings, Quintin Berry, Lance Zawadzki, Greg Allen, Ty France and Seby Zavala).
> Prior to his arrival at San Diego State, Martinez was an assistant coach at New Mexico for 17 seasons from 1989-2005. During his time as a hitting and infield coach, he helped develop the Lobos into one of the most prominent offensive teams in the country, with UNM ranking among the top 11 nationally in hitting over his final four seasons.
> Martinez served as an assistant at his alma mater, Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado, from 1984-88. He played shortstop at the school from 1982-84, earning all-conference and all-district honors as a senior.
> Martinez graduated from Mesa State with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1984 and completed his master's in sports administration at New Mexico in 1990.
STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> San Diego State recorded 27 games with 10 or more strikeouts during the 2019 campaign, marking the most double-digit strikeout performances for the Aztecs in the MW era (since 2000). SDSU surpassed the previous MW record of 23 set in a 10-6 win at Fresno State on May 11, 2009.
> During the shortened 2020 season, the Aztec pitching staff notched seven games with 10 strikeouts: vs. Virginia Tech, Cal State Fullerton, Iowa, Nebraska, at UC Irvine and twice against Oregon State. Not surprisingly, the Scarlet and Black went 6-1 in those contests.
> Dating back to 2019, the Aztecs are 22-12 in their last 34 games when striking out 10 or more batters.
GOING, GOING, GONE
> San Diego State owns a current winning streak of three games when hitting a home run and has captured 15 of its last 18 dating back to 2019 when going yard.
> During the 2019 season, the Aztecs were 17-5 when launching one out of the park.
OTHER TRENDS
> In addition, the scoring the game's first run has proved to be important for the Aztecs, who posted a 6-2 ledger during the shortened 2020 season when scoring first.
> In 2019, SDSU compiled a 19-6 record when scoring first in comparison to a 13-17 mark when its opponent tallied the first run.
> The Aztecs are 68-12 in their last 80 games when scoring five or more runs, including a 6-2 record in 2020.
> San Diego State is 48-19 last 67 games following a loss.
TOUGH AT HOME
> Since the start of the 2012 season, San Diego State is 156-100 (.609) when playing at home.
> In 2018, the Aztecs set a program record with 25 home victories at Tony Gwynn Stadium (since 1997), besting the previous standard of 24 set in 1997, 2002 and 2014.
Aztecs Ready For Season-Opening Series vs. USD
