SAN DIEGO – San Diego State wraps up its non-conference schedule on Tuesday, May 16, when it squares off against UC San Diego at Tony Gwynn Stadium to open a four-game homestand. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. PT, and the contest will air live on the Mountain West Network.
The Aztecs (21-26, 15-11 MW) dropped two of three games in a weekend series at Air Force, May 12-14, falling by scores of 4-2 and 16-10, sandwiched around a 5-4 victory. With the results, SDSU slipped into a tie for second place in the conference standings with San José State (24-24, 15-11 MW), one-half game behind the Falcons (25-27, 16-11 MW), while Fresno State (27-24, 16-14 MW) slotted fourth.
The top four teams in the league will earn a berth in the Mountain West Championships, set for May 25-28 in Fresno, California. The Aztecs need just one win in their upcoming three-game series vs. New Mexico to qualify for the conference tournament and join Air Force, SJSU and Fresno State, all which have clinched berths.
Against the Falcons, first baseman Tino Bethancourt batted .750 (6-8) in a pair of starts with two doubles, two stolen bases and two runs scored, while Irvin Weems hit .545 (6-11) in three games with a pair of doubles, one triple and six RBIs.
Weems drove in three of SDSU's five runs in last Saturday's 5-4 triumph and matched his career-high the following day with another trio of RBIs.
On the flip side, the Tritons (30-18, 18-9 Big West) swept a three-game series at first-place Cal State Fullerton to climb into the second spot in the Big West standings. After posting a 7-4 victory in Friday's opener, UCSD capped an unblemished weekend with an 11-2 triumph and a 4-1 decision.
Win the sweep, the Tritons have recorded 30 wins for the first time as a Division I program and notched their first 30-win season since 2019.
Entering the week, San Diego State pitchers lead the Mountain West in ERA (4.83), opposing batting average (.252) fewest hits allowed (385) and fewest earned runs allowed (217) while ranking second in strikeouts (431).
On the national level, the Aztecs' conference-leading per-nine-inning averages of 8.57 hits allowed and 9.6 strikeouts rank 46th and 47th, respectively.
The Scarlet and Black has posted 10 or more strikeouts on 21 occasions this season and has compiled a 55-36 record over its last 91 games when fanning 10 or more batters dating back to 2019.
Reliever Kelena Sauer is perched atop the conference with a career-high 11 saves, which is tied for sixth in the country, while his 23 games finished also leads the league. Additionally, the SDSU junior is tied for second in appearances (25), one behind teammate Eldridge Armstrong III (26), who owns the top spot.
As of May 15, SDSU leads the Mountain West with 1.34 stolen bases per game and 63 overall. Likewise, the Aztecs top the conference with fewest stolen bases against (25) and runners picked off (8).
Offensively, Cole Carrigg ranks 14th in the conference with a team-best .316 batting average. The SDSU junior also shares the top spot with five triples, which is tied for 19th nationally, and ranks second in the league with 13 stolen bases.
In addition, Shaun Montoya tops the MW with 16 stolen bases, while Weems is slotted fourth in that statistic with 10 to his credit. Cade Martinez also ranks third in the league with seven sacrifice hits, which is tied for 61st in the country.
Poncho Ruiz, who has notched a team-high 36 RBIs, also leads the Aztecs with multiple hits in 16 games and has driven in two or more runs in 10 outings. Not to be outdone, Weems has reached base safely in 12 straight games.
San Diego State will be looking to even the season series at two games apiece after posting a 5-2 triumph at Tony Gwynn Stadium on April 11. Fresh off a hard-luck 5-4 loss to the Tritons in La Jolla the previous night, the Aztecs received clutch pitching from eight different hurlers who managed to strand 10 UCSD baserunners thanks in part to a combined 10 strikeouts.
TJ Fondtain led SDSU with two RBIs, including a solo home run in the sixth inning before adding a sacrifice fly in the eighth, as Ricky Tibbett picked up the victory for the Scarlet and Black, while Eldridge Armstrong III struck out the side in the ninth to collect his first collegiate save.
With the win, the Aztecs defeated the Tritons for the first time in six meetings dating back to last season and improved to 25-9 in the all-time series since 1971. In addition, the Scarlet and Black has won 40 of its last 63 games against Big West opponents.
In three games against UC San Diego this year, Fondtain (.300) and Weems (.273) have each recorded three hits, one homer, three RBIs and three runs scored.
For the season, UCSD has compiled a 21-9 record at home, an 8-6 mark on the road and a 1-3 ledger on a neutral diamond. Comparatively, SDSU is 13-10 at home and 8-16 on the road thus far in 2023.
Entering the week, the Tritons are slotted third in the Big West with a .381 on-base percentage while ranking fourth in slugging percentage (.429) and fifth in batting average (.277).
Individually, the Tritons boast four players with batting averages over .300, including infielders Patrick Hackworth (.345), Doyle Kane (.315) and Matt Halbach (.311), along with first baseman Brandon Larson (.306).
Hackworth ranks second in the Big West with a .476 on-base percentage while occupying the sixth spot in batting average (.345). In addition, Larson finds himself among the conference leaders in RBIs (T-4th, 45), slugging percentage (9th, .556) and home runs (T-11th, 9), while Halbach is tied for eighth with 60 hits.
As a staff, UCSD pitchers are slotted second in the Big West in ERA (4.51) and opponent batting average (.249) while ranking third in strikeouts (443) and fourth in fewest hits allowed (404).
Junior Izaak Martinez (50.2 IP) leads the Tritons with 21 appearances, followed by freshmen Seth Sumner (18 gms, 24.1 IP), Spencer Seid (18 gms, 14.0 IP), Donovan Chriss (16 gms, 19.0 IP) and junior Ryan Rissas (16 gms, 28.2 IP). Martinez ranks third in the Big West with six saves.
Following Tuesday's clash, San Diego State wraps up its regular-season docket later this week when it welcomes New Mexico to Tony Gwynn Stadium for a three-game series, May 18-20. All three contests will air live on the Mountain West Network.
Aztecs to Host UCSD Tuesday Night
