SAN DIEGO – Following a weekend road series, San Diego State returns to the friendly environs of Tony Gwynn Stadium on Tuesday, Feb. 21, when it plays host to CSUN in its home opener, beginning at 6 p.m. PT.
In addition to live stats, the Aztecs-Matadors clash will air live on the Mountain West Network with a links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU has won six straight home openers, including a 7-1 triumph vs. Hawai'i in the Tony Gwynn Legacy on Feb. 25, 2022. The Aztecs have not dropped a home lid-lifter since Feb. 19, 2016, when No. 14 Oregon claimed an 8-2 victory.
SDSU is expected to give right-hander Robert Brodell his first starting assignment in a Scarlet and Black uniform, while right-hander Kenji Pallares is projected to get the call for CSUN.
Brodell pitched 2 1/3 scoreless innings on Friday at Arizona State in relief of starter TJ Fondtain, allowing two hits and two walks with one strikeout. Last season, the Brawley, California, native made 15 relief appearances for the Aztecs after transferring from Imperial Valley College, posting a 1-2 record with a 4.24 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 23 1/3 innings. He gave up one walk or less in 11 games and set season highs with four strikeouts and four innings pitched vs. Utah on Feb. 26, 2022.
A redshirt sophomore, Pallares is in his first season with the Matadors after transferring from Glendale College. In his lone season with the Vaqueros, the San Gabriel, California, product posted a 7-1 record with a 3.36 ERA and 57 strikeouts in 59 innings, helping his squad capture the Western State Conference South Division title and advance to the finals of the CCCAA Southern California Regional playoffs.
SDSU stumbled in its season-opening series last weekend at Arizona State, dropping all three games by a combined 12-9 tally. In Friday's 6-5 setback, the Aztecs forged a pair of late one-run leads, including a 5-4 spread in the top of the ninth on Drew Giannini's hot smash through the right side of the infield that plated Caden Miller. However, the Sun Devils answered with two runs on three hits in the bottom of the frame to escape with the win.
The following afternoon, ASU built a 5-0 lead before another late SDSU comeback bid fell short, as the Sun Devils held on for a 5-3 victory. Despite yielding two early solo home runs, starter Chris Canada settled down, ultimately tying his career high with seven strikeouts in six innings. The Orange, California, native retired 11 consecutive batters in one stretch. However, ASU increased its advantage with three runs following Canada's exit, and that margin proved too much for the Aztecs to overcome.
In Sunday's finale, Jonny Guzman offset three hits and three walks with five strikeouts in five scoreless. However, the Sun Devils pushed across a single run in the seventh inning to account for the winning 1-0 tally, as the Scarlet and Black stranded a runner at third in each of the final two frames.
A total of six true freshmen made their initial collegiate appearances for the Aztecs in Phoenix last weekend, including Connor Abadie, Issac Araiza, Trevor Fox, Drew Giannini, Maddox Haley and Cade Martinez, who garnered two starts at third base, while another newcomer, Southwestern College transfer Xavier Gonzalez, started all three games at shortstop.
Meanwhile, CSUN swept Stony Brook in a three-game home series to open the 2023 campaign, maintaining a decisive statistical advantage in batting average (.391 to .140) and runs scored (42-11) over the weekend.
Individually, catcher Graysen Tarlow batted a combined .636 for the series with seven hits, including a home run and nine RBIs to go with a pair of stolen bases. In addition, outfielder Emmauel Dean hit .500, with four doubles accounting for five of his hits.
Entering the 2023 campaign, CSUN returned 15 letterwinners and five position starters and was picked to finish seventh in the 2023 Big West preseason coaches poll, while outfielder Andrew Sojka and pitcher Lucas Braun received preseason all-conference recognition.
Last season, the Matadors tied for fourth in the Big West with a 17-13 conference record before finishing with a 32-22 overall mark. Sojka ranked eighth in the Big West last season with a .335 batting average to go with four homers, 25 RBIs and nine stolen bases. Braun, meanwhile, ranked fourth in the conference in ERA (2.91) and ninth in strikeouts (77), finishing with a 7-4 record overall.
CSUN lists seven players on its 2023 roster from San Diego County high schools, including Nathan Barraza (Mission Hills HS), Sebastian Granados (Steele Canyon HS), Shunsuke Sakaino (Rancho Bernardo HS), Ali Camarillo (Otay Ranch HS), Elijah Cook (Mater Dei Catholic HS), Junior Barajas (Torrey Pines HS) and Jackson Bush (Santa Fe Christian HS).
Similarly, San Diego State boasts 12 players on its current roster who are alumni of local high schools, including Brian Leonhardt and Ricky Tibbett (Eastlake HS); Charlie Rhee, Trevor Fox and Cade Martinez (St. Augustine HS); DJ Cardinal (Del Norte HS); Xavier Gonzalez (Hilltop HS); Maddox Haley (Madison HS); Brady Lavoie (La Costa Canyon HS); Evan Sipe (San Marcos HS); Poncho Ruiz (Mater Dei Catholic HS) and Tyler Glowacki (Santana HS).
Despite dropping a 9-2 decision to the Matadors at home last season, SDSU still leads the all-time series between the two programs 47-41. In that contest, Shaun Montoya and Irvin Weems had two hits apiece to lead the Aztecs, with the latter driving in both runs with a solo homer and a double.
SDSU, which has won 37 of its last 55 against the Big West opponents, will travel to Northridge for a return engagement vs. the Matadors on Tuesday, May 2, starting at 3 p.m. PT.
Following Tuesday's action, San Diego State will co-host the ninth annual Tony Gwynn Legacy, welcoming North Dakota State (Feb. 24), Washington State (Feb. 25) and Hawai'i (Feb. 26) to The Mesa on successive days. All three games are scheduled to air live on the Mountain West Network.
Aztecs Set for Tuesday's Home Opener vs CSUN
