SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to the diamond for a midweek game against non-conference adversary UC Irvine on Tuesday, April 25, at Tony Gwynn Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. PT.
In addition to live stats, the Anteaters-Aztecs clash will air live on the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU is projected to start right-hander Julian Jackson (1-0, 3.37 ERA, 7 SO, 10.2 IP) for the third straight Tuesday night contest, while UCI is expected to counter with righty David Vizcaino (4-2, 7.37 ERA, 29 SO, 40.2 IP).
The Aztecs (16-20) opened their lengthy homestand with a 3-1 record last week, shutting out crosstown adversary San Diego before taking two of three games in a conference series against Nevada.
After knocking off the Toreros, the Scarlet and Black posted a 4-0 whitewash of the Wolf Pack in Friday's series opener, as TJ Fondtain pitched the eighth no-hitter in program history, highlighted by a career-high 14 strikeouts. The SDSU junior came within three outs of a perfect game, retiring 24 consecutive batters before issuing a walk to start the ninth inning.
The Aztecs clinched the series victory the following night with a 4-3 victory, featuring starter Chris Canada's eight strikeouts, while reliever Kelena Sauer moved into a tie for the conference lead with his eighth save. In addition, Fondtain was hit by a pitch and scored on Cade Martinez's sacrifice bunt, while Shaun Montoya, Poncho Ruiz and Cole Carrigg contributed RBI doubles.
However, SDSU was unable to complete the sweep, as Nevada salvaged a 10-4 triumph in the series finale. At the plate, Fondtain belted his team-leading seventh home run of the season, while Carrigg added another RBI double, but it wasn't enough.
Still, the Aztecs collected two Mountain West weekly awards on Monday, as Fondtain was named MW Pitcher of the Week, while Carrigg was tabbed the league's Player of the Week.
Fondtain recorded SDSU's first no-hitter since Stephen Strasburg accomplished the feat in a 5-0 victory over Air Force on May 8, 2009. Additionally, his 14 strikeouts were the most by an Aztec pitcher since Bubba Derby fanned 15 batters vs. Air Force on April 4, 2014.
On the other hand, Carrigg led the Aztecs in batting average (.455), on-base percentage (.571), slugging percentage (1.091) and RBIs (6) 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 the Aztecs' lone tally in their 1-0 shutout of USD, 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 Fondtain with the run support in his historic no-hitter.
With his effort, 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).
On the basepaths, Montoya leads the conference with 14 stolen bases, while Irvin Weems (8) is tied for sixth in the MW in that statistic. Additionally, Fondtain shares the fifth spot with seven home runs, while Martinez (6) and Caden Miller (4) are slotted third and fourth in sacrifice bunts, respectively.
Elsewhere, Ruiz leads the Scarlet and Black with multiple hits in 15 games and is perched atop the squad with two or more RBIs in nine contests.
As of April 24, SDSU leads the Mountain West with 1.44 stolen bases per game and 52 overall, which rank 81st and 94th in the nation, respectively. In addition, the Aztecs are slotted sixth in the conference in batting average (.254), on-base percentage (.344) and slugging percentage (.389).
Conversely, SDSU leads the Mountain West in team ERA (4.68), opposing batting average (.250), strikeouts (342) and fewest hits allowed (296). The Aztecs also find themselves perched atop the conference with 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 46th in the country.
As previously mentioned, Sauer shares the top position the MW with a career-high eight saves, which is slotted ninth in the country, while his 18 appearances are tied for fourth in the conference with Ricky Tibbett, two behind another teammate Eldridge Armstrong III (20), who shares the second spot. Against UCSD on April 11, Armstrong struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his first career save.
UC Irvine (23-13) salvaged the final game of a non-conference home series vs. Kansas State over the weekend, posting a 7-1 triumph after dropping the first two encounters by scores of 6-3 and 6-4.
The Anteaters were picked to finish second in the 2023 Big West preseason coaches poll after placing sixth last year with a 16-14 mark in conference play and a 32-24 record overall.
UCI leads the Big West Conference with a .404 on-base percentage, which ranks 42nd in the nation. In addition, the Anteaters find themselves among the top half of the league in RBIs (2nd, 239), stolen bases (3rd, 34), batting average (4th, .285), slugging percentage (4th, .427), home runs (T-4th, 27) and hits (5th, 345).
On the mound, the Anteaters are slotted fourth in the Big West with 323 strikeouts as a team but rank sixth in opposing batting average (.268) and seventh in ERA (4.88) and hits allowed (335).
Individually, first baseman Anthony Martinez finds himself among the conference leaders with team highs in hits (T-1st, 53), total bases (2nd, 90) RBIs, (T-2nd), batting average (4th, .363), slugging percentage (4th, .616), doubles (T-4th, 13), home runs (9th, 11) and on-base percentage (9th, .449).
In addition, outfielder Caden Kendle (.325) is the only other UCI regular to sport a batting average over .300 and leads the league in runs scored (37) while ranking fifth in RBIs (36) and sharing the sixth spot in hits (49).
Elsewhere, infielder Will Bermudez (.267) is tied for fourth in the Big West with 35 runs scored, while outfielder Chase Call (.269) is slotted seventh in on-base percentage (.453).
Out of the bullpen, Jacob King (1-0, 4.84 ERA) has notched a team-leading six saves, while Max Martin (1-0, 5.40 ERA) has three to his credit.
Despite dropping two games to UCI last season, San Diego State still maintains a 59-39-1 record in the all-time series, including a 31-21 mark at home. The two teams were scheduled to meet in Irvine on March 14; however, heavy rain forced the cancellation of that contest.
The Anteaters escaped with a narrow 3-2 victory in their last visit to Tony Gwynn Stadium on March 1, 2022. The Aztecs were held scoreless before plating single runs in the seventh and eighth innings but could not complete the comeback.
SDSU has won 40 of its last 62 games against Big West opponents, including a 5-2 triumph over UC San Diego at home on April 11.
Following Tuesday's showdown, San Diego State continues its homestand this weekend when it battles UNLV in a three-game Mountain West series, April 28-30, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Aztecs to Host UC Irvine Tuesday Night
