Aztecs Prep for Tuesday Night Clash at UCR

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to the diamond on Tuesday, March 7, when it travels up the freeway for a non-conference game at UC Riverside, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT.

In addition to live stats, the Aztecs-Highlanders clash from Riverside Sports Complex will air live on ESPN+, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.

SDSU (4-6) took two of three games in its opening Mountain West series at UNLV last weekend, outscoring the Rebels by a 44-22 margin. Highlighting the excursion was a 28-8 victory on Saturday, which marked the Aztecs' highest run-total since April 22, 2007, when they shutout Air Force 31-0 in the second game of a doubleheader at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

SDSU also banged out 49 hits for the series, including 25 in game two on Saturday, which represented the Scarlet and Black's highest figure since it compiled 29 hits in the aforementioned triumph over the Falcons at home in 2007.

The Aztecs hit a combined .383 against UNLV over the weekend, with four starters batting over .400, including Shaun Montoya (.500), Poncho Ruiz (.467), Cole Carrigg (.429) and Xavier Gonzalez (.429).

Ruiz led the squad with seven hits and eight RBIs for the series while tying Montoya for the top spot with eight runs scored. With his totals, Ruiz has recorded at least one hit and one RBI in six straight games.

Additionally, Ruiz received Mountain West Player of the Week recognition on Monday for his efforts, while Drew Giannini was tabbed the league's Freshman of the Week.

Ruiz was one of four players to homer against the Rebels, joining Carrigg, TJ Fondtain and Tino Bethancourt, the latter of whom racked up seven RBIs and was successful in all four stolen base attempts.

Bethancourt set a collegiate best with six RBIs alone in Saturday's win, marking the highest total by an Aztec in that category since Brian Leonhardt drove in six runs in a 17-3 victory at Air Force on May 22, 2021.

On the mound, SDSU ranks second in the Mountain West with a .254 opposing team batting average while occupying the third spot with 94 strikeouts and a 4.45 team ERA.

On the base paths, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West with 20 stolen bases, which is tied for 41st nationally as of March 5. Individually, Montoya tops the conference with six bases swiped, which is tied for 55th in the country. 

Picked to finish last in the 2023 Big West preseason poll, UC Riverside (4-7) dropped two of three games in a home series against Loyola Marymount, winning the middle game by a 10-2 count, sandwiched between a 7-1 defeat and a 5-3 setback. Earlier in the week, the Highlanders posted a 6-5 victory at Southern California on March 1.

UCR is 2-5 at home this season and 1-2 on a neutral field. The Highlanders dropped a pair of games to Washington State, 17-4 and 8-6, last month in Peoria, Arizona, after knocking off Villanova, 7-2, in their season opener.

Despite going hitless in his last three outings, Anthony Mata leads UCR with a .417 batting average, while fellow infielder Anthony McFarland is hitting .389, which ranks seventh among Big West qualifiers. In addition, outfielder Alphonso Mancinas (.250) tops the squad with eight RBIs and two triples, the latter of which is tied for third in the conference, while first baseman Andrew Rivas (.243) has smacked a team-high three doubles to go with a homer and six RBIs.

Collectively, UCR occupies the seventh spot in the conference with a .259 batting average. However, the Highlanders rank 10th with a .346 slugging percentage and last with a .334 on-base percentage.

Despite such deficiencies, UCR is still tied for fourth in the Big West with 13 stolen bases, with catcher Jacob Shanks topping the conference with six in that statistic individually.

As a pitching staff, the Highlanders are fourth in the Big West with a .255 opposing batting average while ranking sixth in strikeouts (73) and eighth in ERA (5.59).

SDSU leads the all-time series vs. UC Riverside, 41-27-2, with the teams first squaring off in 1968.  The Aztecs twice defeated the Highlanders in consecutive weeks during the 2018 campaign, posting a big 19-1 victory in Riverside before completing the season sweep with an 8-6 triumph at Tony Gwynn Stadium. In the former contest, SDSU erupted for 23 hits, exploding for five runs in the fifth, sixth and ninth innings.

The two teams will square off in a rematch on Tuesday, April 4, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The Aztecs have won 38 of their last 57 games against Big West opponents, including a 3-2 victory over Hawai'i on Feb. 27, the final day of the Tony Gwynn Legacy. Previously, SDSU fell short against CSUN by a 7-5 tally in its home opener on Feb. 21.

Following Tuesday's encounter at UCR, San Diego State will travel to the Bay Area for a three-game Mountain West series against San José State, March 10-12, at Excite Ballpark in San Jose, California.