SAN DIEGO – San Diego State baseball's season opener against TCU at the MLB4 Tournament on Friday, Feb. 18 will be televised nationally on MLB Network, as announced Thursday by Major League Baseball.
First pitch for the Aztecs-Horned Frogs clash is scheduled for 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, the award-winning shared Spring Training home of the Colorado Rockies and the Arizona Diamondbacks.
SDSU, which is making its first appearance at the MLB4 Tournament, will also battle Houston on Saturday, Feb. 19 at 5 p.m. MT/4 p.m. PT, before wrapping up the event with a showdown against California on Sunday, Feb. 20, starting at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT. Broadcast details for those two contests will be provided at a later date.
The Aztecs return 16 letterwinners from last year's squad that posted a 30-16 record, compiling at least 30 victories for the sixth time in the last seven fully completed seasons. SDSU was the lone team in the Mountain West to reach the 30-win plateau, claiming series victories in 12 of 15 weeks.
Among the key returners for the Scarlet and Black is starting pitcher Troy Melton, who ranked second in the MW last year with 83 strikeouts and 73 1/3 innings in 15 starts. In addition, SDSU welcomes back second baseman Caden Miller (.345) and designated hitter Brian Leonhardt (.305), both of whom contributed to a prolific Aztec offense that finished second nationally in 2021 with a .335 team batting average and ranked third with 9.1 runs per game. Leonhardt tied for third in the conference with 47 RBIs last year, while Miller ranked eighth with a .464 on-base percentage and ninth with 43 runs scored.
San Diego State's 2022 roster also features 15 newcomers, including 10 true freshmen, three Division I transfers, and two junior college transfers.
Following the MLB4 Tournament, the Aztecs will open their home slate with the annual Tony Gwynn Legacy, Feb. 25-27, at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs will face Hawai'i (Feb. 25) and Utah (Feb. 26-27) that weekend, with Fresno State and UNLV rounding out the field.
In addition, San Diego will lock horns with perennial powerhouses Arizona State (March 4-6) and Stanford (April 23-24) on The Mesa before playing host to the 2022 Mountain West Championship, May 26-29.