Aztecs Set for Weekend Series at New Mexico

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State continues its Mountain West schedule this weekend when it travels to the Land of Enchantment for a three-game series vs. New Mexico, March 31-April 2, at Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque, New Mexico. 

Friday's clash is set to begin at 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT, while Saturday's showdown is slated to commence at 2 p.m. MT/1 p.m. PT, before Sunday's finale gets underway at noon MT/11 a.m. PT.

In addition to live stats, all three games will air live on the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.
 
SDSU has won eight of nine against the Lobos, including a three-game sweep in Albuquerque in the lone series between the teams during the 2022 campaign.

New Mexico will return to "America's Finest City" for another three-game set at Tony Gwynn Stadium, May 18-20, to close out the 2023 regular season.
 
Following this weekend's games, the Aztecs will play host to UC Riverside on Tuesday, April 4, beginning at 6 p.m. PT. SDSU will then remain out of conference for another three-game series vs. USC, April 6-8, in Los Angeles, California.
 
SETTING THE SCENE
> Entering the weekend, San Diego State (7-13, 4-3 MW) occupies the fourth spot in the Mountain West standings, one-half game behind third-place New Mexico (15-8, 5-3 MW).
> The Aztecs have won two conference series this year, winning two of three games at UNLV (March 3-5) before duplicating the feat at home vs. Air Force (March 24-26).
> Against the Falcons, SDSU won handily by scores of 11-0 and 13-1 in the first two encounters before getting dealt a 12-6 defeat in the finale.
> 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.
> After averaging 11.67 hits per game against the Falcons, the Aztecs were limited to just one hit and five base runners in a 2-1 setback at UC San Diego on March 28.
> San Diego State leads the Mountain West with 1.70 stolen bases per game and 34 stolen bases overall, which rank 47th and 82nd in the nation, respectively, as of March 30.
> On the mound, the Aztecs are also perched atop the league with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings as a staff, which ranks 50th in the country.
 
SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> The Aztecs sport four of the league's top base stealers in Shaun Montoya (1st, 10), Irvin Weems (t-2nd, 9), Cole Carrigg (5th, 6) and Tino Bethancourt (T-6th, 5).
> Montoya also tops the conference with 0.53 stolen bases per game, which ranks 61st nationally, while his total of 10 thefts is tied for 98th in the country.
> Weems (.446) and Montoya (.432) are ranked sixth and seventh in the MW, respectively, in on-base percentage.
> Additionally, Carrigg (T-7th, .333) and Weems (9th, .328) find themselves among the conference top 10 in batting average.
> Elsewhere, Cade Martinez shares the third spot with three sacrifice bunts, while Caden Miller is tied for fifth with two.
> As a team, the Aztecs remain perched atop the MW leaderboard with 34 stolen bases and rank fourth with a .268 batting average.
> On the mound, Chris Canada leads the league with 12.38 strikeouts per innings, which ranks 52nd nationally. The SDSU sophomore is tied for fourth in the MW with 33 strikeouts overall and is also slotted fourth in fewest hits allowed (23) while ranking ninth with fewest earned runs allowed (14).
> Not to be outdone, TJ Fondtain finds himself among the conference leaders this week in strikeouts (3rd, 35), innings pitched (T-7th, 32.0) and ERA (4.22).
> Kelena Sauer is slotted third with three saves, while fellow reliever Robert Brodell is tied for fifth with three victories. Sauer also shares the top perch with nine games finished.
> Collectively, San Diego State leads the Mountain West with 10.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 50th in the country.
> As a staff the Aztecs enter the weekend ranked second in fewest hits allowed (174) and opposing batting average (.258) while occupying the third position in both ERA (4.83) and strikeouts (197).
> Elsewhere, San Diego State leads the conference with six runners picked off and ranks second with fewest stolen bases against (14).
 
SERIES RECORD VS. NEW MEXICO
> San Diego State leads the all-time series against the Lobos, 126-84.
> New Mexico is one of four schools the Aztecs have recorded 100 victories against. The other three are Air Force (120), Fresno State (108) and Utah (104).
> The Aztecs boast a 73-38 record against the Lobos in San Diego, a 43-42 mark in Albuquerque and a 10-4 ledger on a neutral field.
> During Mark Martinez's nine-year tenure as head coach on The Mesa, SDSU sports a 23-16 record vs. the Lobos, including a 9-9 mark at home, an 11-7 ledger on the road and a 3-0 record at a neutral park.
> Last season, the Aztecs posted their first series sweep over New Mexico in Albuquerque since 1990, posting double-digit run totals in all three victories. SDSU logged a 10-3 triumph in the opener before outlasting the Lobos in two additional high-scoring affairs by scores of 14-13 and 11-8.
> Shaun Montoya led the Scarlet and Black in the series with a slash line of .714/.733/.929 and seven runs scored while sharing the top spot with 10 hits. In the first two encounters with the Lobos, the Aztec outfielder became the first SDSU player to record four hits in consecutive games since Danny Sheehan accomplished the feat at Air Force, May 13-14, 2017.
> For his efforts, Montoya was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week following the series.
> Not to be outdone, Cole Carrigg hit .667 against UNM (10-15), leading the Aztecs with eight RBIs and five stolen bases. The Turlock, California, native went 6-for-6 with four RBIs in the second game to set career highs before stealing a personal-best three bases in the series finale.
> Carrigg's six-hit performance also tied former teammate Jaden Fein for the highest total by an Aztec player in the past seven years. Earlier this season, he tied his career best with four RBIs vs. North Dakota State on Feb. 26.
 
NEW MEXICO AT A GLANCE
> The Lobos posted a 21-33 overall record last season and tied the Aztecs for sixth in the conference with a 10-20 mark in MW play.
> As a result, New Mexico was picked to finish last out of seven teams in the 2023 Mountain West preseason coaches poll.
> However, the Lobos have turned the tables this year with a 15-8 overall record and find themselves in third place in the league standings with a 5-3 ledger in MW action.
> UNM is coming off a dramatic 11-10 walk-off victory over No. 22 Texas Tech on Tuesday, as Jake Holland smacked a home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth in Albuquerque. 
> The Lobos are 9-3 at home this season, 3-4 on the road and 3-1 on a neutral diamond.
> New Mexico's pitching staff features the right-handed trio of Riley Egloff (4-1, 4.66 ERA), Tristin Lively (4-1, 2.38 ERA) and Isaac Gallegos (4-0, 2.17 ERA), all of whom share the league lead in victories.
> Lively garnered Mountain West Pitcher of the Week accolades after emerging triumphant at Nevada on March 25 when he struck out a season-high eight batters against two hits and a pair of walks in seven shutout innings.
> Entering the weekend, Gallegos and Lively own the top two earned run averages in the Mountain West, which are tied for 58th and 79th in the nation, respectively.
> In addition, Gallegos leads the conference in opposing batting average (.163), fewest runs allowed (9), fewest hits allowed (17) and fewest hits allowed per nine innings (5.28), the latter of which ranks 34th nationally.
> Not to be outdone, Egloff is perched atop the MW in innings pitched (36.2) and is tied for fourth in strikeouts (33) while occupying the ninth spot in opposing batting average (.250).
> Elsewhere, Lively shares the fourth spot in the conference in innings pitched (34.0) and ranks eighth in opponent batting average (.244).
> Out of the bullpen, Brian McBroom has collected a pair of saves, which is tied for fourth in the MW.
> Despite allowing the fewest walks (63) in the conference as a staff and an average of 2.84 walks per nine innings, which good for fourth in the country, UNM is slotted fourth in the Mountain West in team ERA (5.00) while ranking fifth in opposing batting average (.274) and strikeouts (156).
> Offensively, the Lobos lead the nation with a .343 batting average and rank second with 299 hits as of March 30. In addition, UNM finds itself atop the league in several categories, including slugging percentage (.550), on-base percentage (.420), runs scored (231), home runs (33) and RBIs (213).
> Individually, Kansas transfer Dylan Ditzenberger leads the country with 2.00 hits per game and tops the Mountain West with a .473 batting average, which is good for third nationally. The Lobo infielder is also perched atop the conference in on-base percentage (.524) and runs scored (36) while ranking second in hits (44), fourth in total bases (56) and sixth in slugging percentage (.602).
> Additionally, infielder/outfielder Jeffery David (29) and outfielder Lenny Junior Ashby (27) own the top two positions in the conference in RBIs, with the former slotted sixth in batting average (.340), while first baseman Reed Spenrath occupies the second spot in home runs (8) and ranks fourth in slugging percentage (.627) and ninth in on-base percentage (.419).
> Not to be outdone, David and outfielder Braydon Runion are tied for third in the league in hits (36), with the latter ranking fourth in batting average (.379), sixth in RBIs (24) and seventh in slugging percentage (.600).
> Elsewhere, outfielder Deylan Pigford finds himself among the conference leaders in runs scored (2nd, 30), slugging percentage (3rd, .631), on-base percentage (3rd, .470) and batting average (5th, .369).
> Tod Brown is his second season at the helm of the New Mexico program after spending 14 years as head coach at North Dakota State, where he finished his tenure as the second-winningest coach in school history. Prior to his stint with the Bison, Brown served as the pitching coach at Bowling Green from 2000-08 after working in a similar capacity the previous two seasons at Sabino High School in his hometown of Tucson, Arizona. Brown pitched collegiately at Arizona from 1989-94, helping the Wildcats to the Pac-10 championship in 1992. In 1993, he set a school record with 35 appearances, posting six wins and eight saves, as Arizona fell one game short of the College World Series.
 
STREAKING AZTECS
> Despite sitting out Tuesday night's contest at UC San Diego, Cole Carrigg has reached base safely in all nine games he's played during the month of March, logging four of his six stolen bases for the season in that stretch.
> Shaun Montoya had his streak of reaching base safely halted at 18 games after going 0-for-5 at the plate in the series finale vs. Air Force on March 26.
> Carrigg and Poncho Ruiz lead the Scarlet and Black with multiple hits in eight games apiece this season, the latter of whom also tops the squad with two or more RBIs in six outings this year.
> Irvin Weems extended his hitting streak to six games after singling with two outs in the third at UC San Diego on March 28.
> Ruiz and Caden Miller own the team's longest hitting streak this season at seven games each. Ruiz had his streak halted vs. San José State on March 10, while Miller's was stopped at UCSD on Tuesday..
> Four players have started all 20 games for the Aztecs this season, including the double-play combo of Miller (2B) and Xavier Gonzalez (SS) along with Ruiz, who has racked up 15 starts at catcher and five at first base. In addition, TJ Fondtain has started 20 games as a hitter or pitcher. Along with six starts on the mound, the Aztec junior has made 12 starts in left field and two more exclusively as a designated hitter.
 
STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> In 2023, the Aztecs have posted 10 or more strikeouts on 11 occasions, including their last four games.
> SDSU pitchers fanned a season-best 14 batters against Washington State in the Tony Gwynn Legacy on Feb. 24.
> Entering the weekend, SDSU is third in the Mountain West with 197 strikeouts; however, its average of 10.1 punchouts per nine innings leads the conference and ranks 50th in the country.
> Individually, TJ Fondtain is slotted third in the league with 35 strikeouts, while Chris Canada is tied for fourth after fanning 33 batters thus far. Omar Serrano (23) has also surpassed the 20-strikeout plateau this season in 16.0 innings, including nine batters looking, which is tied for seventh in the MW.
> San Diego State recorded double-digit strikeouts in 21 of 56 games last year, including a season-high 21 in a 15-inning home loss to Hawai'i on Feb. 28, 2022.
> Collectively, San Diego State led the Mountain West with 9.1 strikeouts per nine innings during the 2022 campaign, which ranked 85th in the nation.
> Dating back to 2019, the Aztecs are 48-33 in their last 81 games when striking out 10 or more batters.
> SDSU completed 27 games with 10 or more strikeouts during the 2019 season, marking the most double-digit strikeout performances for the Scarlet and Black in the MW era (since 2000). SDSU surpassed the previous MW record of 23 set in a 10-6 win at Fresno State on May 11, 2019.
> In 2021, the Scarlet and Black registered 10 or more strikeouts in 18 games, notching a 15-3 record in those contests.
 
GOING, GOING, GONE
> San Diego State has emerged victorious in 53 of its last 85 games dating back to 2019 when launching one out of the park.
> During an admittedly down year in 2022, the Aztecs logged a 7-14 record in games when they hit a home run. This season, they are 5-4.
> Previously, the Scarlet and Black homered in 29 of 46 games during the 2021 campaign, posting a 21-8 record in those contests.
> In addition, SDSU went 17-5 during the 2019 season when going yard and 5-2 in the shortened 2020 campaign.
 
OTHER TRENDS
> The Aztecs are 142-42 over the last six-plus seasons when scoring five or more runs, including a stellar 38-6 record during the 2017 campaign.
> San Diego State is 73-54 in its last 127 games following a loss, including an 14-23 mark in 2022 and a 2-10 ledger this season.
 
LOCAL HEROES
> San Diego State boasts 12 players on its current roster who are alumni of San Diego County high schools, including Brian Leonhardt and Ricky Tibbett (Eastlake); Charlie Rhee, Trevor Fox and Cade Martinez (St. Augustine); DJ Cardinal (Del Norte); Xavier Gonzalez (Hilltop); Maddox Haley (Madison); Brady Lavoie (La Costa Canyon); Evan Sipe (San Marcos); Poncho Ruiz (Mater Dei Catholic) and Tyler Glowacki (Santana).
 
AZTECS ON MLB ROSTERS
> San Diego State has five former players on Opening Day rosters across Major League Baseball, including first baseman Ty France (Seattle Mariners), infielder David Hensley (Houston Astros), pitcher Garrett Hill (Detroit Tigers), infielder Alan Trejo (Colorado Rockies) and catcher Seby Zavala (Chicago White Sox). In addition, Aztec Hall of Famer and 2019 World Series MVP Stephen Strasburg is listed on the 60-day IL with the Washington Nationals.
 
AZTECS IN MLB DRAFT
> Since 1965, San Diego State has had 224 student-athletes chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft.
> In 2022, former Aztec right-hander Troy Melton was picked by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round of the MLB Draft with the 117th selection overall, giving the Scarlet and Black 27 selections overall since 2015.
> The previous year, SDSU had five individuals drafted by MLB organizations.
> Infielder Mike Jarvis was selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round with the 163rd pick in 2021, while catcher Wyatt Hendrie also went to the Pirates shortly thereafter in the seventh round in the 193rd spot overall.
> In addition, the New York Mets grabbed center fielder Matt Rudick in the 13th round (382nd overall); right fielder Jaden Fein was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 15th round (443rd overall), while right-handed pitcher Michael Paredes was snapped up by the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round (549th overall).

HEAD COACH MARK MARTINEZ
>   Mark Martinez is in his ninth season as head coach of the Aztecs and 18th overall as a member of the San Diego State staff after succeeding the late Tony Gwynn on August 20, 2014. He is just the fifth head coach in SDSU history since baseball was elevated to major sport status in 1936.
>   During his tenure as the Aztecs' head coach, Martinez has compiled a 240-2001 record, highlighted by three Mountain West tournament championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018. 
>   Since 2015, SDSU has garnered 41 all-Mountain West accolades under Martinez's tutelage, including MW Pitchers of the Year Brett Seeburger (2017), Garrett Hill (co-2018) and Troy Melton (co-2022), as well as 2017 MW Player of the Year Danny Sheehan and 2022 MW Co-Freshman of the Year Irvin Weems.
>   Additionally, Martinez has mentored three freshman All-Americans in Chase Calabuig (2015), Casey Schmitt (2018) and Jaden Fein (2019), with the latter also receiving Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year distinction that season.
>  Along with on-field success, the Aztecs have excelled academically during Martinez's tenure, posting the highest APR and the best team GPA in the history of the program. Over the past eight years, SDSU has had 69 players earn Mountain West all-academic honors while setting team records for the number of scholar-athletes.  
>   In 2017, Martinez recorded his 100th victory for the Scarlet and Black, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the century mark in wins.
>   Not to be outdone, Martinez also became the fastest head coach in Mountain West history to win three conference championships when the Aztecs captured the title in 2018.
>   Martinez was hired as an assistant coach for the Aztecs in July of 2005 and served for nine years under head coach Tony Gwynn. During that time, he was promoted to the position of associate head coach.
>   Since Martinez's arrival on The Mesa, the Aztecs have had 50 student-athletes chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, with 12 of those selections making the big leagues (Stephen Strasburg, Addison Reed, Justin Masterson, Bruce Billings, Quintin Berry, Lance Zawadzki, Greg Allen, Ty France, Seby Zavala, Alan Trejo, Garrett Hill and David Hensley).
>  Prior to his arrival at San Diego State, Martinez was an assistant coach at New Mexico for 17 seasons from 1989-2005. During his time as a hitting and infield coach, he helped develop the Lobos into one of the most prominent offensive teams in the country, with UNM ranking among the top 11 nationally in hitting over his final four seasons.
>   Martinez served as an assistant at his alma mater, Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado, from 1984-88. He played shortstop at the school from 1982-84, earning all-conference and all-district honors as a senior.
>   Martinez graduated from Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa) with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1984 and completed his master's in sports administration at New Mexico in 1990.
>   During the 2021-22 offseason, Martinez signed a three-year contract extension that will keep him at San Diego State through the 2026 season.