Aztecs Set to Battle UNLV in Home Series

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State wraps up its lengthy homestand this weekend when it plays host to UNLV in a three-game Mountain West series, April 28-30, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

The first two encounters against the Rebels are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PT on Friday and Saturday, while Sunday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. start.

Live stats will be available throughout the week, while Friday's showdown will be broadcast live on the Mountain West Network. Links to both platforms can be accessed on GoAztecs.com.

Entering the weekend, the Aztecs (16-21, 10-6) occupy the second spot in the conference, a game-and-a-half behind first-place San José State (20-17, 13-6 MW), while Fresno State (21-19, 11-10 MW) and Air Force (18-24, 11-10 MW) are tied for third. The Spartans will play host to the Falcons for a three-game set, while the Bulldogs travel to fifth-place New Mexico (19-17, 7-10 MW).

SDSU left-hander TJ Fondtain (4-2, 2.92 ERA, 69 SO, 61.2 IP) was hoisted up on the national stage this week after tossing a no-hitter in his last start vs. Nevada on April 21, bolstered by a career-high 14 strikeouts.

Along with receiving Mountain West weekly recognition for the fourth time in his career, Fondtain was named National Pitcher of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and D1Baseball.com before earning Golden Spikes Award Performance of the Week honors in a nationwide vote. Not to be outdone, the Clovis, California, native was one of 11 student-athletes to Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's national players of the week list.

Fondtain's no-hitter marked the eighth such feat in program history and first since Stephen Strasburg held Air Force hitless in a 5-0 Aztec victory on May 8, 2009. In addition, Fondtain's 14 strikeouts represented the most by an SDSU pitcher since Bubba Derby fanned 15 batters on April 4, 2014.

Over his last six starts, Fondtain has compiled a 3-1 record with a 1.07 ERA, allowing five earned runs in 42 innings while posting a combined 49 strikeouts against only nine walks.

Entering the week, Fondtain (4-2) leads the Mountain West with a .205 opposing team batting average and 61.2 innings pitched while vaulting into the second spot with a 2.92 ERA and 69 strikeouts for the season. Among national leaders, the Aztec junior is tied for 42nd in strikeouts and 70th in ERA.

Fondtain collected his first win of the season against UNLV on March 3 in Las Vegas, yielding four runs (three earned) on four hits and three walks to go with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings, helping the Scarlet and Black claim an 8-5 decision.

Meanwhile fellow lefty, Chris Canada (2-4, 5.29 ERA, 54 SO, 47.2 IP)  earned his first victory in four starts last Saturday, leading SDSU to a 4-3 triumph over Nevada. The Aztec sophomore gave up three runs on three hits and two walks in six-plus innings while striking out eight batters, one short of matching his career high.

For the season, Canada occupies the second spot in the MW with 10.20 strikeouts per nine innings while ranking fourth with 54 strikeouts overall and ninth with a .251 opposing batting average.  

In the Aztecs' 28-8 thumping of UNLV on March 4, Canada started the first 3 2/3 innings but did not factor in the decision, allowing five runs on six hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

Elsewhere, Kelena Sauer shares the top spot in the MW with a career-high eight saves, which is tied for 11th in the country, while his 17 games finished also tops the league. Additionally, the SDSU right-hander is tied for fifth in the conference in appearances (18), two behind teammate Eldridge Armstrong III (20), who is tied for the second spot.  Against UCSD on April 11, Armstrong struck out the side in the ninth to pick up his first career save.

After falling to UC Irvine by a 14-2 count on Tuesday, the Scarlet and Black has slipped to second in the conference with a 4.94 team ERA. However, the Aztecs still lead the MW in strikeouts (351), opponent batting average (.253) and fewest hits allowed (309).

SDSU's average of 9.8 strikeouts per nine innings also tops the league and ranks 44th nationally. The Scarlet and Black has posted 10 or more strikeouts on 17 occasions during the 2023 campaign. Dating back to 2019, the Aztecs are 52-35 in their last 87 games when striking out 10 or more batters.

Along with Fondtain, Cole Carrigg garnered conference accolades as well, earning Mountain West Player of the Week honors after leading the team in batting average (.455), on-base percentage (.571), slugging percentage (1.091) and RBIs (6) in in four games vs. USD and Nevada. The SDSU outfielder also tied for the top spot with five hits, four of which went for extra bases. He hit safely in all four encounters and drove in at least one run in all four contests.

Carrigg smacked a first-inning home run for the Aztecs' lone tally in their 1-0 shutout of USD, which snapped a three-game losing streak to 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.

Carrigg had his season-long 12-game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday vs. UC Irvine but drew walk in the ninth inning to extend his on-base streak to 19 straight games.

For the season, Carrigg leads the team with a .343 batting average, which ranks seventh in the Mountain West. Additionally, the Aztec junior shares the top spot with five triples, which is tied for seventh nationally, and ranks second in the league with 10 stolen bases.

Elsewhere, Shaun Montoya tops the conference with 14 stolen bases and ranks eighth with a .416 on-base percentage, while Cade Martinez is slotted third in the MW with six sacrifice hits, which is tied for 46th in the country.

Not to be outdone, Fondtain (.262) has displayed his prowess at the plate, tying for fifth in the league with seven home runs, while Poncho Ruiz tops the squad with 31 RBIs.

As of April 27, SDSU leads the Mountain West with 1.41 stolen bases per game and 52 overall, which rank 83rd and 99th in the nation, respectively. In addition, the Aztecs are slotted sixth in the conference in batting average (.252), on-base percentage (.343) and slugging percentage (.344).

Defensively, SDSU leads the MW with fewest stolen bases against (22) while sharing the top position with seven runners picked off. In addition, the Aztecs have committed just three errors in their last 11 games.

Picked to finish first in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll, UNLV (16-23, 7-11 MW) is slotted sixth in the conference race, one-half game behind New Mexico entering the week.

After dropping two of three non-conference home games to California Baptist over the weekend, the Rebels traveled to Cornhusker State, splitting a pair of encounters with another non-league opponent Creighton in Omaha, Nebraska. UNLV won Tuesday's opener 10-7 before suffering an 8-7 defeat the following day.

Entering the series, the Rebels are second in the MW with 300 runs scored and 7.7 runs per game, the latter of which is tied for 61st in the country. In addition, UNLV shares the second spot in the league with 258 RBIs while ranking third in hits (401), batting average (.286), on-base percentage (.377) and slugging percentage (.435).

Individually, outfielder Alex Pimentel (.347) and catcher Jacob Sharp (.343) are slotted sixth and eighth in batting average, respectively, among conference leaders. Pimentel is tied with Carrigg for the Mountain West top spot in triples (5) and occupies the third spot in on-base percentage (.472), while Sharp shares the fifth position in home runs (7) and ranks seventh in slugging percentage (.591).

The Rebels have also received a boost from outfielder Rylan Charles (.282, 5 HR, 30 RBIs), who ranks fourth in the league in runs scored (38), just ahead of Sharp (36), who is tied for fifth in that category. Elsewhere, infielder Paul Myro shares the eighth spot in the MW with 34 RBIs.

Conversely, UNLV pitchers have largely struggled this season, ranking sixth in the conference this week in ERA (6.81), opponent batting average (.316), hits allowed (451) and strikeouts (273).

Although, UNLV's weekend rotation was not revealed at press time, Noah Beal (1-3, 6.25 ERA) leads the team with nine starts and 44 2/3 innings pitched, while Josh Sharman (5-1, 6.26 ERA, 41.2 IP) and Joey Acosta (1-4, 6.91 ERA, 43.0 IP) have made seven apiece.  

Sharman is tied for the MW lead in victories, while Jack Sellinger (3 saves) tops the squad with 15 appearances and is tied for eighth in the conference with 45 strikeouts.

After winning two of three games at UNLV in early March, San Diego State holds a 99-74 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1978. The Aztecs captured the opener by an 8-5 count followed by a decisive 28-8 triumph in the second contest.  However, the Scarlet and Black was unable to complete the sweep, suffering a narrow 9-8 setback in the finale.

The Aztecs are 48-24 against the Rebels in San Diego, 48-44 in Las Vegas and 3-6 at neutral sites.

During Mark Martinez's nine-year tenure as head coach on The Mesa, SDSU sports a 24-19 record vs. UNLV, including a 12-8 mark at home, an 11-10 ledger on the road and a 1-1 record on neutral fields.

In the aforementioned rout of the Rebels, SDSU's 28 runs and 25 hits marked the team's highest totals since a 31-0 shutout over Air Force in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Tony Gwynn Stadium on April 22, 2007, during which the Scarlet and Black compiled 29 hits to tie a school record.

SDSU also banged out 29 hits against Colorado State on May 6, 1990, while the Division I program record for runs was established on May 5, 2006, in a 36-11 rout at Air Force.

Eight players finished with multiple hits for the Aztecs, including Tino Bethancourt, who went 3-for-5 with a collegiate-best six RBIs, highlighted by a three-run homer, while Fondtain smacked his first grand slam of the season.

Hitless in his previous four games, Caden Miller broke out of his slump with a career highs of four hits and four runs scored, while Carrigg and Ruiz finished with three hits and three RBIs apiece.

In addition, the Scarlet and Black received two hits each from Fondtain, Weems, Xavier Gonzalez and Drew Giannini. After playning the first two games of the series, Giannini was named MW Freshman of the Week, batting .429 with three hits, two RBIs and a pair of runs scored while compiling an .857 slugging percentage.

In 11 career games vs. UNLV, Ruiz is batting .372 (16-43) with one homer, four doubles, 14 RBIs and 12 runs scored.

Following this weekend's series, San Diego State hits the road for a non-conference game at CSUN on Tuesday, May 2, in Northridge, California. First pitch is set for 3 p.m. PT, and the contest will air live on ESPN+.