SAN DIEGO – San Diego State will be back in action on Tuesday when it makes the short trip across town to battle UC San Diego in a non-conference game at Triton Ballpark in La Jolla, California. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT, and the contest will air live on ESPN+ with Ted Mendenhall handling the play-by-play chores.
Freshman Xavier Cardenas III is scheduled to make his first collegiate start for the Aztecs (7-12), while fellow right-hander Nolan McCracken is expected to get the call for the Tritons (15-6).
SDSU is coming off a series victory at home against Air Force, March 24-26, winning handily by scores of 11-0 and 13-1 in the first two games before suffering a 12-6 setback in the finale.
The Aztecs received a pair of strong pitching performances from TJ Fondtain and Chris Canada in their two victories over the Falcons.
Fondtain (2-1) picked up his second win of the season and combined for his second career shutout, scattering four hits and three walks in six-plus innings to go with eight strikeouts, while Canada (1-2) notched his first victory of the year after setting a career high with nine strikeouts in six innings of work, allowing just one run on three hits and a trio of walks.
In addition, Irvin Weems was named Mountain West Player of the Week after batting .500 (5-10) with five RBIs, five runs scored and one stolen base in three games vs. Air Force. Along with sharing the team lead in RBIs and runs scored, the SDSU designated hitter drew five walks, propelling him into the top perch on the squad with a .667 on-base percentage for the weekend.
Not to be outdone, Weems hit .750 (3-4) with runners in scoring position and batted .667 (4-6) with runners on base. The SDSU sophomore also advanced six runners in seven opportunities for an 85.7 percent success rate.
Heading into Tuesday's game, Weems and Cole Carrigg share the team lead with a .333 batting average, which is tied for eighth in the Mountain West.
Additionally, Weems' finds himself among the MW leaders this week in stolen bases (T-2nd, 8), on-base percentage (6th, .457), batting average (T-8th, .333) and runs scored (T-10th, 18).
Elsewhere, Shaun Montoya (.303) leads the Mountain West with 10 stolen bases and is slotted seventh with a .432 on-base percentage while tying for eighth with 19 runs scored.
Fondtain and Poncho Ruiz have each hit three home runs for the Scarlet and Black this season, with the latter posting a team-high 21 RBIs, which is tied for seventh in the conference.
Caden Miller has also come on strong lately, hitting safely in his last seven games to raise his batting average from .244 to .303.
Collectively, SDSU tops the MW with 1.79 stolen bases per game, which ranks 41st in the country as of March 27, while its conference-leading 34 stolen bases is tied for 72nd nationally.
In addition, the Aztecs occupy the third spot in the league with a .278 team batting average, a .406 slugging percentage and a .362 on-base percentage while ranking fourth in runs scored (120) and RBIs (104).
Entering the week, the SDSU pitching staff is slotted third in the Mountain West in opposing batting average (.261) and strikeouts (187) while ranking fourth in team ERA (4.96).
Kelena Sauer leads the conference with nine games finished and ranks third with three saves, while Eldridge Armstrong III is tied for fourth with 10 pitching appearances.
Cardenas, the Scarlet and Black's projected starter on Tuesday, pitched a scoreless ninth inning against Air Force with two strikeouts in his last outing on March 25.
Tuesday's game marks the first of four meetings with UCSD this season. The two sides will square off on back-to-back nights, April 10-11, alternating venues before the teams lock horns at Tony Gwynn Stadium on May 16.
Despite dropping three of four games to the Tritons last year, SDSU still leads the all-time series 24-7 dating back to 1971. The Aztecs posted a decisive 14-7 victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium in the first game between the two squads last year before falling short in the final three encounters by scores of 4-0, 4-2 and 9-6.
In the aforementioned triumph at Triton Ballpark, eight of SDSU's nine position starters recorded at least one hit, including three apiece by Cole Carrigg and Caden Miller, the latter of whom tied his career high with four RBIs. Not to be outdone, Carrigg totaled two RBIs and scored two runs as well, along with another 2023 returner in Brian Leonhardt.
Seven SDSU pitchers combined for 12 strikeouts on the night, including two by Jonny Guzman, who picked up his first collegiate victory after tossing one scoreless inning, taking the mound with two outs in the fifth before exiting with two gone in the sixth.
In four games against UCSD last season, Miller batted .500 (7-14) with a triple and three stolen bases, while Carrigg hit .444 (8-18) with four RBIs, as well as three runs scored.
The Tritons, who are perched atop the Big West with a 6-0 mark, have won 10 straight, including consecutive home sweeps of Long Beach State and CSU Bakersfield. Against the Roadrunners last weekend, UCSD opened with an 8-3 triumph followed by an 8-4 victory and a 6-4 decision.
Individually, the Tritons are led by infielders Matt Halbach (.375) and Doyle Kane (.369), who enter the week perched atop the Big West with 33 and 31 hits, respectively, while ranking fifth and sixth in batting average.
In addition, Halbach finds himself among the conference leaders in triples (1st, 5), slugging percentage (4th, .636), RBIs (T-5th, 21), runs scored (T-5th, 19) and doubles (T-10th, 7).
Elsewhere, outfielder Michael Fuhrman is slotted third in the Big West with 16 walks and is tied for the fifth position in runs scored (19) while ranking 11th and 12th in slugging percentage (.566) and on-base percentage (.452), respectively.
Collectively, UCSD leads the Big West in several offensive categories, including batting average (.313), on-base percentage (.406), slugging percentage (.486), hits (228), runs scored (172), doubles (50) and RBIs (159).
On the mound, the Tritons occupy the second spot in the Big West with a 3.83 team ERA while ranking third with 221 strikeouts and a .231 opposing team batting average.
McCracken (0-0), UCSD's expected starter for Tuesday night has pitched a combined 3 2/3 innings in three relief appearances this season, allowing one run on two hits and four walks against three strikeouts.
The Aztecs have won 38 of their last 58 games against Big West opponents, including a 3-1 setback at UC Riverside on March 7. Previously, the Scarlet and Black posted a 3-2 victory over Hawai'i on Feb. 27, the final day of the Tony Gwynn Legacy, after falling short to CSUN by a 7-5 tally in its home opener on Feb. 21.
Following Tuesday's clash, San Diego State jumps back into conference play this weekend when it travels to the Land of Enchantment for a three-game series at New Mexico, March 31-April 2.
Aztecs Ready for Midweek Clash at UCSD
