SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to the diamond on Tuesday when it travels up the freeway to battle Long Beach State at Blair Field, starting at 6 p.m. PT. In addition to live stats, a link to streaming video via ESPN Plus will be available on GoAztecs.com.
Eldridge Armstrong III (1-0, 3.78 ERA, 15 SO) is expected to start for the Aztecs, while fellow right-hander Jake Rons (0-2, 5.75 ERA, 17 SO) is projected to get the call for the Dirtbags. In his first collegiate start at UC San Diego on April 19, Armstrong posted season highs of five strikeouts and four innings pitched but did not figure in the decision.
SDSU has won four straight against the Beach, including a 5-1 victory on April 5 at Tony Gwynn Stadium. In that contest, Caden Miller sparked the offense with a two-run triple in the bottom of the third before the Aztecs received additional breathing room in the sixth on Cole Carrigg's two-run homer.
In addition, the Scarlet and Black received an exceptional performance from Chris Canada, who emerged triumphant in his first collegiate start, posting a career-best seven strikeouts in a season-long five innings.
With the victory, the Aztecs raised their all-time record to 88-55-1 vs. Long Beach State, including a 47-25-1 mark in San Diego. SDSU sports a 40-30 ledger against the Dirtbags in Long Beach and is 1-0 on a neutral field after logging a 5-1 triumph in 2018 at the Lake Elsinore Diamond.
The Aztecs are coming off a 1-3 weekend, splitting two games with Grand Canyon to open their homestand before falling to No. 7/6 Stanford in the final two encounters.
SDSU snapped a five-game home losing streak with a 2-1 victory over the Lopes last Friday, as starter Troy Melton tossed a complete game, giving up just one unearned run on five hits and no walks to earn Mountain West Pitcher of Week honors for the third time in his career.
However, the Aztecs were unable to sustain the momentum in two meetings with the nationally ranked Cardinal, falling short on Saturday and Sunday by respective scores of 9-6 and 6-4.
Entering the week, Carrigg is tied for the Mountain West lead with 17 stolen bases and ranks eighth with a .367 batting average while sharing the ninth spot with 58 hits. In addition, the SDSU utility player tops the squad with multiple hits in 18 games this season and has compiled multiple RBIs in nine contests.
Elsewhere, Irvin Weems owns a current team-high streak of reaching base in 13 straight games, followed closely by Poncho Ruiz (12) and Brian Leonhardt (10). In addition, Ruiz (.307) has hit safely in five straight contests, highlighted by a 3-for-4 performance with two RBIs at UC San Diego on April 19.
Collectively, SDSU sits atop the Mountain West with 65 stolen bases and 88 attempts, with Miller (3rd, 12) and Weems (4th, 11) joining Carrigg among the conference leaders. The Aztecs' 65 steals rank 36th in the nation.
Despite their 11-30 record, SDSU's pitching staff enters the week leading the Mountain West in ERA (4.89), strikeouts (384), fewest hits allowed (361) and opposing team batting average (.256). As of April 25, The Aztecs also top the conference with 9.5 strikeouts per game, which is good for 67th in the country. Not to be outdone, the Scarlet and Black is perched atop the MW with just 8.92 hits allowed per game, which ranks 84th nationally.
San Diego State has had 20 of 37 players make their initial appearances in a Scarlet and Black uniform this season, including 10 true freshmen.
Long Beach State (15-23) is mired in an eight-game losing streak after suffering a series sweep at No. 13 UC Santa Barbara last weekend. The Dirtbags have emerged triumphant in just one of their last 11 meetings, a 28-2 stampede at No. 17 Cal Poly on April 9, during which LBSU set a program record with 32 hits.
Outfielder Chase Luttrell is the lone player to start all 37 games for the Dirtbags this season, while infielder Jonathan Long and outfielder Rocco Peppi have made 36 starts apiece.
Luttrell (.312) is tied for third in the Big West with 49 hits and finds himself among the league leaders in doubles (4th, 13), home runs (T-4th, 7), RBIs (T-6th, 29), runs scored (T-12th, 25) and slugging percentage (T-12th, .541).
Despite playing just five games over the past two weeks, infielder Tanner Carlson still ranks third in the Big West with a .380 batting average while tying for 12th with a .430 on-base percentage.
On the mound, the Dirtbags find themselves among the top half of the Big West this week in several categories, including opponent batting average (2nd, .246), ERA (3rd, 4.49), fewest hits allowed (3rd, 310) and strikeouts (4th, 340).
Offensively, however, the Beach is hovering near the middle of the conference or below in batting average (6th, .264), home runs (6th, 27), slugging percentage (7th, .379), on-base percentage (9th, .346), RBIs (9th, 171) and runs scored (9th, 189).
Following Tuesday's clash, San Diego State will remain on the road this weekend, traveling to the Central Valley for a three-game Mountain West series against Fresno State, April 29-May 1, at Bob Bennett Stadium in Fresno, California. Friday's opener is set to get underway at 6:05 p.m. PT, while Saturday's showdown is slated for 3:05 p.m. start, followed by Sunday's finale at 1:05 p.m.
Aztecs Hit the Road to Battle the Beach on Tuesday
