SAN DIEGO – San Diego State resumes its Mountain West schedule this weekend when it ventures to the Central Valley for a key three-game series vs. Fresno State, April 14-16, at Bob Bennett Stadium in Fresno, California.
Friday's clash with the Bulldogs is slated for a 6:05 p.m. PT start, while Saturday's showdown is set to begin at 3:05 p.m., followed by Sunday's finale at 1:05 p.m.
In addition to live stats, all three games will air live on the Mountain West Network, with link to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU (12-17, 7-3 MW) enters the week percentage points ahead of San José State (15-13, 8-4 MW) atop the conference standings, while Air Force (15-19, 8-7 MW) is slotted third, followed closely by Fresno State (15-16, 7-7 MW).
This weekend, the Spartans will play host to fifth-place UNLV (15-17, 7-8 MW) in Silicon Valley, while the Falcons travel to last-place Nevada (13-18, 4-10 MW).
The Aztecs are coming off a 5-2 victory over UC San Diego at home on Tuesday, scoring three runs in the bottom of the eighth to break a 2-2 deadlock and snap a four-game losing streak while defeating the Tritons for the first time in six meetings.
Against UCSD, TJ Fondtain belted his team-leading sixth home run of the season, a solo shot in the sixth, before adding a sacrifice fly in the eighth following Irwin Weems' RBI single.
SDSU has been idle from conference play since capturing all three games of a road series at New Mexico, March 31-April 2. The Aztecs won the opener by a 5-3 count before posting a narrow 3-1 triumph in game two. The Scarlet and Black then pulled away for a convincing 19-7 victory in the finale, scoring 10 runs in the seventh inning and adding four more in the eighth to win going away.
With the results, SDSU completed its second straight sweep of UNM in Albuquerque and clinched its third consecutive series victory against a MW opponent.
Entering the weekend, the Aztec pitchers lead the Mountain West with a 4.94 ERA and a .265 opposing team batting while sharing the top spot in fewest hits allowed (257). In addition, SDSU is perched atop the conference with 9.9 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 47th nationally, while occupying the second position in the league with 276 strikeouts overall.
Individually, left-handers TJ Fondtain and Chris Canada find themselves among the Mountain West leaders in several pitching categories.
A native of Clovis, California, Fondtain is slotted second in strikeouts (49), third in opponent batting average (.238) and fourth in ERA (3.40 ERA) while ranking sixth in innings pitched (45.0). Over his last four starts, the SDSU junior has given up just two earned runs, lowering his season ERA from 6.86 to 3.40 while posting 29 strikeouts against only six walks in 25 1/3 innings. Earlier this season, he fanned nine batters against San José State to set a career high.
In addition, Canada leads the MW with 11.0 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 96th in the nation, and is tied for third in the conference with 44 strikeouts overall. In back-to-back starts against Air Force (March 25) and New Mexico (April 1), the Aztec sophomore matched his career best with nine strikeouts. In 2022, Canada posted his second victory of the year in the Scarlet and Black's 8-5 victory at Fresno State on May 1, when he fanned four batters in five-plus innings of work.
Elsewhere, Kelena Sauer shares the second position in the MW with five saves, which is tied for 41st in the country, while his 12 games finished tops the league. The SDSU is also tied for fifth in the conference with Ricky Tibbett in appearances (14), one behind Eldridge Armstrong III (15), another teammate who is tied for the third spot. On Tuesday, Armstrong struck out the side in the ninth against UCSD to pick up his first career save.
As of April 13, SDSU leads the Mountain West with 1.62 stolen bases per game and 47 overall, which rank 59th and 76th in the nation, respectively. In addition, the Aztecs are slotted fifth in the conference with a .266 team batting average and 175 runs scored while occupying the sixth position in on-base percentage (.354) and slugging percentage (.404).
Individually, Shaun Montoya is perched atop the MW with 14 stolen bases, while his league-leading 0.50 stolen bases per game ranks 51st in the country. In addition, the SDSU outfielder ranks ninth in the conference with a .426 on-base percentage and 16th in with a .317 batting average, trailing teammates Cole Carrigg (12th, .329) and Caden Miller (13th, .326).
Along with Montoya, the Aztecs boast three additional players among the conference top 10 in stolen bases, including Irvin Weems (T-2nd, 8), Carrigg (T-8th, 6) and Tino Bethancourt (T-10th, 5).
Not to be outdone, Fondtain is tied for fourth in the MW in home runs (6) and occupies the fifth slot in slugging percentage (.614).
Poncho Ruiz leads the Scarlet and Black with multiple hits in 13 games and is tied for the top spot on the squad with two or more RBIs in eight contests, joining Fondtain. Additionally, Carrigg has reached safely in his last 11 outings and is tied with Ruiz for the team's longest current hitting streak at five games.
Defensively, the Aztecs are tied for the Mountain West lead with six runners picked off while sharing the top spot with the fewest stolen bases against (21).
Meanwhile, Fresno State has dropped six straight, including a 10-7 home loss to Long Beach State on Tuesday after suffering a three-game sweep at Air Force, April 6-8. Consequently, the Bulldogs sport an 11-8 record at home, a 3-6 mark on the road and a 1-2 ledger at a neutral site.
On the mound, the Bulldogs rank second in the conference in ERA (5.11) while occupying the third spot in opposing batting average (.273), strikeouts (274) and fewest hits allowed (293).
Left-handed pitchers Ixan Henderson (3-2, 3.47 ERA) and Jake Dixon (3-3, 5.09 ERA) have made eight starts apiece for Fresno State, along with righty Roman Angelo (2-4, 4.66 ERA).
Henderson leads the Mountain West in strikeouts (53) and opposing batting average (.213) while ranking fifth in ERA (3.47) and tying for sixth in fewest hits allowed (37). In addition, his 53 strikeouts are tied for 68th in the country.
Last season, Henderson went 2-0 against SDSU, allowing a combined three runs (two earned) in 12 2/3 innings while offsetting seven hits and nine walks with 11 strikeouts.
Not to be outdone, Dixon owns a conference-best 7.00 strikeout-to-walk ratio, which ranks 19th nationally, with his scant six walks leading the MW.
In addition, Angelo is tied for third in the league with 44 strikeouts, the same total as the Aztecs' Canada, while his opponent batting average of .241 ranks fifth.
Out of the bullpen, Tommy Hopfe is tied for 17th with a league-leading six saves, while Zach Statzer is second in the conference with 16 appearances overall.
Offensively, infielder Murf Gray leads the Bulldogs with a .313 batting average, which is tied for 20th in the MW, while outfielder Bobby Blanford (.291) tops the squad in hits (30), doubles (7), on-base percentage (.380) and slugging percentage (.485).
Gray has garnered three straight MW Freshman of the Week accolades, meriting his latest recognition on April 9 after hitting .375 with a double, triple and two RBIs in four combined games vs. UC Irvine and Air Force.
Fresno State has also received a key contribution from infielder Ben Newton (.242), who leads the team with 17 RBIs while ranking second in hits (29) and doubles (6).
However, the Bulldogs have struggled collectively on offense for much of the season, occupying the basement of the Mountain West in most categories, including batting average (.248), on-base percentage (.325), slugging percentage (.358), hits (258) and runs scored (146).
The Aztecs, who have faced Fresno State more than any other team in school history, own an all-time record of 108-109 against the Bulldogs in a series dating back to 1939. SDSU is 51-56 against Fresno State in San Diego, 50-50 in Fresno and 7-3 at neutral sites.
During Mark Martinez's nine-year tenure as head coach on The Mesa, SDSU is 18-20 vs. the Bulldogs, including a 7-11 mark at home, a 10-8 ledger on the road and a 1-1 record on a neutral field.
In Martinez's first year at the helm of the Aztecs in 2015, the Scarlet and Black split two games with Fresno State at the Mountain West Championship, dropping the opener, 15-7, before rebounding in game four with a 7-6 victory in 10 innings en route to the capturing the tournament crown.
San Diego State won two of three games in its last visit to the Central Valley during the 2022 campaign, bookending a 6-2 defeat in game two with an 8-4 triumph in the opener, followed by a similar 8-5 conquest in the series finale.
The Aztecs had five players bat over .300 during that weekend, including Cole Carrigg, Caden Miller and TJ Fondtain, who hit at a .333 clip, followed by Irvin Weems (.308) and Shaun Montoya (.300).
Fondtain led the team with nine total bases and tied Brian Leonhardt for the top spot with four RBIs, highlighted by his first collegiate homer, a three-run shot in the first inning of the opener that gave the Scarlet and Black a 5-0 lead. He also tripled and scored in game three while adding an RBI double.
In 15 career games vs. the Bulldogs, Caden Miller is hitting .434 (23-53) with one homer, 10 RBIs, 14 runs scored and two stolen bases. In addition, Poncho Ruiz is hitting .333 (10-30) in nine career outings against Fresno State with two homers, eight RBIs and seven runs scored.
Following this weekend's excursion, San Diego State returns to "America's Finest City" for consecutive games against the University of San Diego, April 18-19. The Aztecs will play host to the Toreros at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Tuesday before making the short drive across town to USD's Fowler Park for the rematch on Wednesday. Both contests are scheduled for a 6 p.m. PT start.
Aztecs Set for Key MW Series at Fresno State
