SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to action on Tuesday when it travels up the freeway to battle UC Irvine in a non-conference game at Cicerone Field at Anteater Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT.
In addition to live stats, a link to streaming video via ESPN+ will be available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU went 1-2 last weekend at the highly competitive MLB4 Tournament in Scottsdale, Arizona, falling to No. 17 TCU (5-3) and California (6-3) sandwiched around a 4-3 victory over Houston.
Newcomer Alex Rodriguez batted .500 on the trip (4-8) with his first career RBI and run scored to earn Mountain West Freshman of the Week honors. The Rancho Cucamonga, California, native went 3-for-4 in his Aztec debut last Friday vs. TCU and knocked in his first collegiate run after reaching on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Scarlet and Black a 3-2 lead that held up until the bottom of the ninth.
Along with Rodriguez, Tyler Glowacki and Johnny Giannola recorded their first career hits for SDSU against the Horned Frogs. In addition, Glowacki contributed his first RBI in an Aztec uniform with a groundout in the team's sixth-inning spurt.
Making his collegiate pitching debut, SDSU starter TJ Fondtain struck out five hitters in 4 1/3 innings vs. TCU, yielding just one earned run on two hits and three walks.
Against Houston, five pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts to help SDSU register its first win of the year, including a career-high six punchouts over five innings by starter Kelena Sauer, who earned the victory in his second career start, while Jaden Bercovich posted four strikeouts of his own over the final two frames, surviving some tense moments in the ninth to notch his first collegiate save.
In Sunday's clash with California, SDSU utilized the long ball for its scoring, as Brian Leonhardt hit a two-run blast in the first inning, while Poncho Ruiz went deep with a solo shot in the sixth.
Similarly, UC Irvine dropped two of three games at Louisiana this past weekend. After winning the opener by a 7-4 count on Friday, the Anteaters had the tables turned on them in a 7-4 setback in game two on Saturday, followed by a 5-3 defeat in the series finale.
Infielder Taishi Nakawake leads UCI with .429 batting average thus far, featuring a home run and three RBIs in the team's opening-day win over the Ragin' Cajuns. In addition, catcher Thomas McCaffrey is hitting .417 (5-12) with a double and two RBIs.
The Anteaters also sport a trio of preseason All-Americans in outfielder Nathan Church, who garnered third-team accolades from D1Baseball.com and Collegiate Baseball newspaper, along with pitchers Michael Frias (2nd team – NCBWA, Collegiate Baseball) and Jacob King (3rd team – Perfect Game).
In 2021, UCI captured the Big West Conference title with a 32-8 record and finished with a 43-18 mark overall after falling in the NCAA Stanford Regional. Despite getting picked No. 2 in the Big West preseason coaches poll, the Anteaters found themselves among the top 20 in several national polls prior to the 2022 campaign, including a high ranking of No. 14 by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.
Jonny Guzman, a redshirt sophomore is expected to make his first collegiate start on the mound for the Aztecs after sitting out the 2021 season. The SDSU right-hander appeared in two games as a reliever during his freshman campaign in 2020, pitching 1 1/3 innings with a pair of strikeouts.
As a prep at Orange Lutheran High School, Guzman received All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball newspaper and earned Trinity League Pitcher of the Year honors as a senior after posting a 7-0 record with a 0.60 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 46 1/3 innings, according to MaxPreps.
In the opposite dugout, UCI is scheduled to start redshirt junior Michael Stanford, a right-hander who logged a 1-0 record with 10 strikeouts in 10 games out of the bullpen last season. He played three years at Weatherford Junior College in Texas, where he compiled a 4-1 ledger with a 3.11 ERA, two saves and 54 strikeouts in 13 appearances, including three as a starter.
San Diego State sports a 59-37-1 record vs. UC Irvine, including a 28-17-1 mark on the road. The Aztecs prevailed by a narrow 2-1 count in their last visit to Anteater Ballpark almost two years ago to the date on Feb. 25, 2020, as four pitchers combined for 11 strikeouts to help key the victory.
In that contest, Avery Jones picked up the victory in his first SDSU start, yielding two hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings before giving way to Jacob Flores, who posted five strikeouts in his two-inning stint. A pair of ex-Aztec hurlers finished the game, with Tre Brown posting four punch-outs of his own, while former SDSU All-American Casey Schmitt pitched the ninth for the save despite allowing UCI's lone run.
Former all-MW performer Jaden Fein led the Scarlet and Black with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, driving in what proved to be the winning run with a two-out single in the four. Earlier, Brian Leonhardt put the Aztecs on the board in the first with an RBI groundout.
SDSU has won 13 of its last 17 games vs. Big West foes and is 33-11 in its last 44 encounters against that conference after capturing three of four meetings vs. UC San Diego during the 2021 campaign.
San Diego State returns to action this weekend when it co-hosts the annual Tony Gwynn Legacy, squaring off against Hawai'i (Feb. 25) and Utah (Feb. 26-27) at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztecs' tournament opener vs. the Rainbow Warriors as well as Saturday's clash with the Utes are scheduled to get underway at 6 p.m. PT, while Sunday's finale is slated for a 2 p.m. start.
Aztecs Travel to UC Irvine on Tuesday
