SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State baseball program garnered two Mountain West accolades on Monday, as TJ Fondtain was named MW Pitcher of the Week, while Cole Carrigg was tabbed the league's Player of the Week. The announcement was made at the conference office in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
With his award, Fondtain earned the fourth conference weekly honor of his career, while Carrigg merited such distinction for the first time as a collegian. Both players played prominent roles in helping the Aztecs to a 3-1 record last week.
A native of Clovis, California, Fondtain tossed the eighth no-hitter in program history in SDSU's 4-0 victory over Nevada on April 21 at Tony Gwynn Stadium. The Aztec junior came within three outs of a perfect game, retiring 24 consecutive batters before issuing a walk to start the ninth inning.
However, Fondtain remained undaunted and set down the next three batters to record SDSU's first no-hitter since Stephen Strasburg accomplished the feat in a 5-0 triumph over Air Force on May 8, 2009.
Not to be outdone, Fondtain established a career high with 14 strikeouts, including five straight to start the game, en route to his second career complete-game shutout. His 14 strikeouts were the most by an Aztec hurler since Bubba Derby fanned 15 batters vs. Air Force on April 4, 2014.
With his performance, Fondtain also helped the Scarlet and Black register consecutive shutouts for the first time since March 9 and March 11, 2014 vs. Nevada (3-0) and at CSUN (12-0). Earlier in the week, SDSU blanked USD, 1-0 on April 18.
Over his last six starts, Fondtain has compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.07 ERA, yielding five earned runs in 42 innings while posting a combined 49 strikeouts against only nine walks.
Along with his MW accolade, Fondtain was one of 11 student-athletes honored as National Players of the Week by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper for this effort.
Carrigg, meanwhile, led the Aztecs in batting average (.455), on-base percentage (.571), slugging percentage (1.091) and RBIs (6) last week while tying for the top spot with five hits, four of which went for extra bases. The SDSU outfielder hit safely in all four games and drove in at least one run in all four contests.
Carrigg belted a first-inning home run for SDSU's lone tally in a 1-0 victory over San Diego on April 18, which snapped a three-game losing streak vs. the Toreros. The Turlock, California, native also delivered a key three-run triple in the sixth inning of the Aztecs' 4-0 whitewash of Nevada on Friday, providing TJ Fondtain with the run support in his historic no-hitter.
Additionally, Carrigg smacked a run-scoring double against Wolf Pack in the sixth inning of SDSU's 4-3 win on Saturday, helping the Aztecs secure their fourth conference series victory in five weekends this season. He also topped the squad with two hits on Sunday, including an RBI double in the first inning and later stole a base.
With his performance, Carrigg owns a 12-game hitting streak, which marks the team's longest of the season, and has now reached safely in 18 straight outings. He is currently ranked among the Mountain West leaders in triples (T-1st, 5), stolen bases (2nd, 10) and batting average (7th, .354).
San Diego State returns to the diamond on Tuesday, April 25, when it plays host to UC Irvine in a non-conference clash at Tony Gwynn Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. PT.
2023 San Diego State Baseball MW Weekly Honorees
TJ Fondtain (Pitcher – April 24)
Cole Carrigg (Player – April 24)
Irvin Weems (Player – March 27)
Maddox Haley (Freshman – March 20)
Poncho Ruiz (Player – March 6)
Drew Giannini (Freshman – March 6)