SAN DIEGO – San Diego State will battle a pair of local teams to open its busy week when it plays six games in seven days. The Aztecs will lock horns with the University of San Diego in a rematch at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Monday, April 18, before heading across town to face UC San Diego in the third installment of the newly christened Trolley Series on Tuesday, April 19.
Both contests are set to begin at 6 p.m. PT, with Monday's Aztecs-Toreros clash airing live on XTRA Sports 1360 AM, while Tuesday's clash against the Tritons is scheduled to be streamed on ESPN Plus.
SDSU (10-25) is coming off its first series sweep over New Mexico in Albuquerque since 1990, posting double-digit run totals in all three victories. The Aztecs logged a 10-3 triumph in the opener before outlasting the Lobos in two additional high-scoring affairs, 14-13 and 11-8.
Outfielder Shaun Montoya led the Scarlet and Black in the series with a slash line of .714/.733/.929 and seven runs scored while sharing the top spot with 10 hits. In the first two encounters with the Lobos, the UC Irvine transfer became the first Aztec player to record four hits in consecutive games since Danny Sheehan accomplished the feat at Air Force, May 13-14, 2017.
Not to be outdone, Cole Carrigg hit .667 against UNM (10-15), leading the Scarlet and Black with eight RBIs and five stolen bases. The SDSU sophomore went 6-for-6 with four RBIs in the second game to set career highs before stealing a personal-best three bases in the series finale, which ties Caden Miller and Irvin Weems for the top spot on the team in a single game this season. Carrigg's six-hit effort also ties former teammate Jaden Fein for the highest total by an Aztec player in the past six years.
As of April 17, Carrigg leads the Mountain West with 15 stolen bases and ranks eighth with a .363 batting average while tying for the 10th spot with 49 hits. In addition, the Aztec utility player tops the squad with multiple hits in 14 games this season and multiple RBIs in eight contests.
Elsewhere, Tino Bethancourt owns a current team-high streak of reaching base in 17 straight games, followed by Carrigg (11), Montoya (6) and Weems (6). Weems and Bethancourt also lead the squad with a six-game hitting streak, joining Poncho Ruiz, while Montoya has hit safely in five straight contests, raising his batting average from .255 to .358 during that span.
Collectively, SDSU sits atop the Mountain West with 59 stolen bases and 78 attempts, with Miller (3rd, 12) and Johnny Giannola (T-7th, 6) joining Carrigg among the conference leaders in that category.
Despite their 10-25 record, the Aztecs' pitching staff enters the week leading the Mountain West in strikeouts (338) and opposing team batting average (.250) while occupying the second spot in ERA (4.80). As of April 17, SDSU also tops the conference in fewest hits allowed per nine innings (8.64), which ranks 67th nationally. Not to be outdone, San Diego State leads the MW with 9.8 strikeouts per game, which is good for 56th in the country.
The Aztecs have had 20 of 37 players make their initial appearances in a Scarlet and Black uniform this season, including 10 true freshmen.
San Diego State will be looking to avenge an 8-3 loss to the Toreros at USD's Fowler Park on April 12. The Aztecs maintained a 7-5 advantage in hits but were plagued by three wild pitches, two passed balls and a crucial fielding error, as the Toreros scored seven of their eight runs with two outs.
Despite the setback, SDSU still leads the all-time series, 78-60-3, dating back to 1962. The Aztecs won two games from USD at Tony Gwynn to open the 2021 campaign, recording a 14-7 triumph, followed by a dramatic 19-18 victory in 10 innings in game two.
The Toreros enter Monday's game with a 22-12 overall record and find themselves in a tie for second place in the West Coast Conference with a 9-6 mark.
USD sports five regulars with batting averages over .300, including catcher Caleb Ricketts (.341), who ranks fourth in the WCC, followed by outfielder Camden Vasquez (6th, .338), infielder Chase Meidroth (8th, .336), third baseman Kevin Sim (13th, .325) and outfielder Jack Costello (21st, .305).
As a team, the Toreros lead the WCC with a .379 on-base percentage while ranking second in both slugging percentage (.410) and hits (330) to go with a third-place standing in batting average (.283) and RBIs (88). In addition, USD has struck out the second-fewest times (214) in the conference while occupying the fifth spot with 28 home runs.
On the mound, the Toreros are perched atop the WCC with 347 strikeouts but rank just sixth with a 4.45 team ERA.
Brock Ungricht, who won three letters at San Diego State (2004-06) as a catcher and corner infielder, is in his first season as head coach of the Torero program after spending the last three years as USD's hitting coach and recruiting coordinator.
Meanwhile, UC San Diego (12-22) has dropped six of its last seven after suffering a three-game sweep at fellow Big West member UC Santa Barbara, April 14-16.
The Aztecs have split their two meetings with the Tritons, posting a 14-7 triumph in La Jolla on March 22, before dropping a 4-0 decision at Tony Gwynn Stadium one week later on March 29. With the results, the Scarlet and Black still leads the all-time series 24-5 dating back to 1971.
In the first clash at UCSD, eight of SDSU's nine position players recorded at least one hit, including Carrigg and Miller, the latter of whom tied his career high with four RBIs. In addition, the Aztecs had 11 players score at least one run, including late-inning substitutes Xavier Carter and Kenny LeBeau.
Trailing 4-3, SDSU seized control in the top of the sixth with six runs on five hits, punctuated by Brian Leonhardt's two-run double with two outs.
Outfielder Austin Smith leads the Tritons with a .315 batting average, which ranks 17th in the Big West entering the week, while catcher Blake FitzGerald is slotted in the 19th position with a .311 clip, followed by infielder Jalen Smith (21st, .305).
In addition, catcher/outfielder Marc Filia is tied for third in the league with seven home runs and shares the fourth spot with 28 RBIs while ranking eighth with a .570 slugging percentage. Elsewhere infielder Michael Fuhrman (5th, 11) and Jalen Smith (T-10th) find themselves among the Big West top 10 in doubles.
Collectively, UCSD occupy the third spot in the league in home runs (32) and on-base percentage (.367) while ranking fourth in slugging percentage (.419) and RBIs (179) and fifth in runs scored (194). However, the Tritons are just seventh in the conference with a .260 batting average and eighth in stolen bases (14).
On the mound, UCSD has landed in the sixth position in the Big West this week with 281 strikeouts while ranking eighth in opposing batting average (.278) and ninth in ERA (5.85). The Tritons have also given up the third-most walks (151) in the conference this year.
Following Tuesday's clash, San Diego State will continue its stretch against non-conference opponents this weekend when it squares off against Grand Canyon for a pair of home games, Thursday and Friday, April 21-22, before playing host to No. 22/22 Stanford on Saturday and Sunday, April 23-24.
Aztecs Gearing Up for Busy Week
