COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For the third time this season and the second straight week, San Diego State left-hander TJ Fondtain (Clovis Calif./Buchanan HS) earned Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors as announced Monday by the conference office.
Fondtain tossed another gem in his last start vs. Nevada when he pitched his second consecutive complete game, lifting the Aztecs to a 9-2 victory on May 14. The SDSU sophomore accomplished the same feat in his previous outing against Air Force on May 7, as the Scarlet and Black prevailed in a 12-0 rout.
With his performance, the Clovis, California, native became the first SDSU pitcher to post back-to-back complete games since Dominic Purpura posted consecutive wins late in the 2016 campaign vs. Air Force at home (May 13) and at San José State (May 19).
Against the Wolf Pack last Saturday, Fondtain tied his career high with eight strikeouts to offset five hits and five walks. The Aztec sophomore allowed just one earned run and limited Nevada to a measly .172 batting average (5-29) after it entered the contest with a .314 clip as a team and boasted six starters with averages over .302.
In addition, Fondtain gave up just two hits (2-16) with runners aboard and induced three double plays, helping to lower his season ERA from 4.91 to 4.39.
Though not a factor in his award, Fondtain once again helped his own cause with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, highlighted by an RBI double.
With his award, Fondtain gave the Aztecs seven weekly honors this season after fellow hurler Troy Melton received the same accolade on April 25, while Alex Rodriguez (Feb. 21), Tyler Glowacki (March 7) and Shaun Montoya (April 18) each received freshman of the week recognition.
Earlier this year, Fondtain was named MW Pitcher of the Week after leading SDSU to a 7-1 triumph over Hawai'i in its home opener on Feb. 25.
For the season, Fondtain finds himself among the Mountain West leaders in several categories this week, including opposing batting average (2nd, .233), fewest hits allowed (T-6th, 60), earned run average (6th, 4.39), fewest earned runs allowed (7th, 33) and innings pitched (6th, 67.2).
As a hitter, he is batting .347 (17-49) with two homers, seven doubles and 10 RBIs, posting a .653 slugging percentage and a .396 on-base percentage.
Fondtain and the Aztecs conclude their 2022 schedule this week when they travel to the Silver State to battle first-place UNLV, May 19-21, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.