SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to the diamond in earnest this week when it plays host to UConn in a four-game home series, March 16-19, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The first three encounters pitting the Aztecs against the Huskies are slated for a 6 p.m. PT start, while Sunday's finale is set to get underway at 1 p.m. PT. A link to live stats will be available throughout the weekend on GoAztecs.com.
Mother Nature has significantly impacted SDSU's schedule over the past week. The Aztecs (4-8) had the final two games of their home series vs. San José State postponed due to soggy playing conditions at Tony Gwynn Stadium on March 11, while another round of rain canceled the Scarlet and Black's road clash at UC Irvine on March 14.
No makeup dates have been announced for the Aztecs' two Mountain West games vs. the Spartans, while their road game against the Anteaters will not be rescheduled.
SDSU will be looking to put a halt on a three-game slide after falling to SJSU by a 7-4 count at home last Friday. The Aztecs held a 4-1 lead until the Spartans rallied with six unanswered runs to escape with the win.
Heading into this weekend, Shaun Montoya finds himself among the Mountain West leaders with team highs in stolen bases (1st, 9), walks (T-4th, 10), on-base percentage (7th, .480) and batting average (10th, .342), while Cole Carrigg, Irvin Weems and Tino Bethancourt are tied for fourth in the league with four stolen bases apiece.
In addition, Carrigg (.340) and Poncho Ruiz (.300) are the only other Aztec regulars hitting .300 or better, with Ruiz topping the squad in RBIs (14), followed closely by Carrigg (13).
Montoya has reached safely in all 12 games this year for the Scarlet and Black, while Weems owns the team's current hitting streak at five straight. Previously, Ruiz had his season-long streak of at least one hit and one RBI snapped at seven games in SDSU's aforementioned 7-4 loss to San José State.
Elsewhere, three of TJ Fondtain's seven hits this season have been home runs, while Bethancourt has gone yard twice. Carrigg (CF), Ruiz (C/1B), Xavier Gonzalez (SS) and Caden Miller (2B) are the lone players to start all 12 games for the Aztecs this year.
Collectively, SDSU tops the MW with 2.08 stolen bases per game, which ranks 25th in the country as of March 15, while its conference-leading 25 stolen bases is tied for 52nd nationally.
In addition, the Aztecs occupy the third spot in the league with a .271 team batting average while ranking fourth in on-base percentage (.353) and fifth in runs scored (75), RBIs (65) and slugging percentage (.386).
Entering the UConn series, the SDSU pitching staff ranks third in the Mountain West in opposing batting average (.256) and is tied for third in team ERA (4.50) an opposing batting average (.256) while occupying the fourth position in strikeouts (112).
Individually, Jonny Guzman finds himself among the league leaders in ERA (6th, 2.92) and opponent batting average (7th, .227), followed by Chris Canada (8th, .231) in that latter statistic.
In addition, Fondtain is tied for 10th with 20 strikeouts after fanning a career-high nine batters in his last start against San José State at home.
UConn (9-4), which is receiving votes in the latest USA Today Baseball Coaches Poll, took three of four games at Hawai'i last weekend by a combined margin of 44-28. After falling in the opener by an 8-4 tally, the Huskies reeled off three straight wins by scores of 13-8, 18-10 and 9-2. Shortstop Bryan Padilla earned Big East Player of the Week honors after batting .500 (9-18) in the series, including four extra-base hits (2 doubles, triple, homer), to go with five RBIs and seven runs scored.
Picked to repeat as Big East champions after garnering all seven first-place votes in its conference's preseason coaches poll, UConn has captured regular-season and league tournament titles in each of the past two years. In 2022, the Huskies posted a program-record 50 victories (50-16) and won the College Park (Md.) Regional before dropping two of three games against Stanford in the NCAA Super Regionals.
Offensively, UConn sports three regulars with batting averages over .300, including third baseman Dominic Freeberger (.367), who leads the Big East with 16 RBIs and a .508 on-base percentage, while first baseman Ben Huber (.327) tops the league with nine doubles, which is tied for fifth nationally. In addition, designated hitter Lyle Broadhurst (.308) occupies the fourth spot in the Big East with a .641 slugging percentage, buoyed by a team-high three homers.
Despite a modest .228 batting average thus far, outfielder David Smith leads the conference with 11 stolen bases and 19 runs scored, while his average of 0.85 stolen bases per game ranks eighth nationally.
After batting .307 last year with 78 hits, 11 doubles and nine home runs, Smith received preseason second-team All-America recognition from Collegiate Baseball newspaper, while Huber was named to the preseason all-Big East team, along with outfielder Korey Morton and right-handed pitcher Ian Cooke.
Morton is hitting .250 thus far with two homers and 11 RBIs, while Cooke (1-2, 5.66 ERA) ranks second in the conference with 26 strikeouts in a team-high 20.2 innings.
Right-hander Michael Quigley (1-0, 14.0 IP) leads the Huskies' staff with a 2.57 ERA for pitchers with at least 10 innings of work while ranking second in the Big East with 1.93 walks per nine innings. In addition, fellow righties Devin Kirby (2-0, 3.97 ERA) and Jack Sullivan (2-1, 4.30 ERA) top the squad with two wins apiece. Kirby has limited opponents to a .154 batting average and occupies the third spot on the team with 13 strikeouts behind Cooke and Quigley (14).
Collectively, UConn leads the league with 22 stolen bases and 7.5 runs per game while ranking second in batting average (.272) on-base percentage (.389) and doubles (31).
On the mound, the Huskies are slotted second in the Big East in ERA (5.05) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.2) but are just fifth in walks yielded per nine innings (5.68).
SDSU has crossed paths with UConn on just one previous occasion, dropping a 9-3 decision to the then-No. 22 Huskies on March 5, 2011, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The Aztecs have faced just two other Big East programs that currently sponsor baseball, maintaining a 3-2 series advantage over Seton Hall to go with a 16-5 romp over Creighton in the only meeting between the schools on Feb. 16, 1994, as part of the Gallagher Classic in San Diego.
SDSU last played SHU during the 2017 campaign, suffering a 10-5 setback in the second game of the Tony Gwynn Legacy.
Following this weekend's series, San Diego State will remain in "America's Finest City" to battle San Diego in a crosstown matchup on Tuesday, March 21 at USD's Fowler Park. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. PT.
Aztecs Gearing Up for Home Series vs. UConn
