SAN DIEGO – San Diego State jumps back into action this weekend when it travels north to the Bay Area, May 5-7, for five key Mountain West encounters with San José State split between two venues.
The Aztecs will face the Spartans in a pair of meetings on Friday at Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium on the University of California campus in Berkeley, starting at 4:05 p.m. PT. The teams will complete an earlier contest suspended by rain after three innings in San Diego on March 10, with SJSU maintaining a 2-0 lead, to be followed immediately by another nine-inning make-up game from March 11.
On Saturday, San Diego State will lock horns with the Spartans in a twin bill at Stanford University's Klein Field at Sunken Diamond, starting at 1:05 p.m. PT, with both contests slated for a seven-inning duration.
The two squads will return to Berkeley on Sunday for a single nine-inning game, beginning at 12:35 p.m. PT.
Live stats will be available throughout the weekend on GoAztecs.com.
SDSU (18-22, 12-7 MW) took over sole possession of first place in the Mountain West standings after winning two of three games at home over UNLV last weekend, while San José State (20-20, 13-9 MW) slipped into second after suffering a swept at third-place Air Force (22-24, 14-10 MW).
Against the Rebels, the Aztecs opened with a pair of comeback wins by scores of 4-2 and 5-2 before dropping the finale by a 4-1 count. Despite the setback, SDSU still claimed its sixth series victory against a conference opponent in seven opportunities this season.
Following the series, the Aztecs garnered two conference weekly accolades as Kelena Sauer was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week, while Cade Martinez was tabbed MW Freshman of the Week.
Sauer collected saves in consecutive victories against UNLV, giving him 16 for his career, which ranks sixth in school history. In SDSU's 4-2 triumph over the Rebels on April 28, the 6-3 right-hander posted two strikeouts and induced a flyout in the ninth inning before posting his 10th save of the year the following night, preserving the Aztecs' 5-2 win. With his effort the Mililani, Hawai'i product became the first SDSU pitcher to reach double digits in saves since CJ Saylor notched 13 during the 2017 campaign.
In that latter contest, Martinez also drove in the go-ahead run with a single up the middle in the second inning.
Along with his MW honor, Sauer was recently named to the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Midseason Watch List.
Collectively, Aztec pitchers are perched atop the Mountain West this week in ERA (4.77), opposing batting average (.244), strikeouts (380), fewest hits allowed (320) and few earned runs allowed (185).
On the national level, SDSU's per-nine-inning averages of 8.24 hits allowed and 9.8 strikeouts rank 34th and 38th, respectively.
Individually, TJ Fondtain leads the league in ERA (2.93), opponent batting average (.200) and innings pitched (67.2) while ranking second in strikeouts (76). Among national leaders, the Aztec junior is tied for 37th in strikeouts and 62nd in ERA.
Just one week after pitching the eighth no-hitter in program history, Fondtain (5-2) persevered for his second straight victory on April 28 vs. UNLV, allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in six innings to go with seven strikeouts.
Over his last seven starts, Fondtain has compiled a 4-1 record with a 1.31 ERA, allowing seven earned runs in 48 innings while posting a combined 56 strikeouts against only 11 walks. In that span, SDSU is 6-1 as a team, outscoring the opposition 34-17.
Fellow left-hander Chris Canada (3-4) is slotted second in the MW with 10.40 strikeouts per nine innings while ranking fourth with 62 strikeouts overall and fifth with a .245 opposing batting average. Despite giving up consecutive first-inning homers in his last start against UNLV on April 29, the Aztec sophomore secured his second straight win thanks to eight strikeouts, including three in the second.
Elsewhere, Sauer shares the top spot in the conference with a career-high 10 saves, which is tied for sixth in the country, while his 19 games finished also leads the league. Additionally, the SDSU junior is tied for fourth in appearances (21), two behind teammate Eldridge Armstrong III (23), who shares the top perch.
As of May 4, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West with 1.35 stolen bases per game and 54 overall. Likewise, SDSU tops the conference with fewest stolen bases against (22) and runners picked off (8).
Individually, Cole Carrigg ranks ninth in the conference with a team-best .343 batting average. The Aztec junior also shares the top spot with five triples, which is tied for 12th nationally, and ranks second in the league with 11 stolen bases.
Additionally, Shaun Montoya tops the conference with 14 stolen bases, while Cade Martinez is slotted third with seven sacrifice hits, which is tied for 36th in the country.
Predicted to finish second in the Mountain West preseason poll just ahead of the Aztecs, the Spartans experienced a three-game sweep at Air Force last weekend, dropping a narrow 6-4 decision in the opener before falling in a pair of lopsided losses by scores of 12-3 and 24-12.
San José State has compiled an 11-7 record at home this season and a 9-13 mark on the road.
SJSU boasts four regulars who are hitting over .300, including second baseman Charles McAdoo (.345) and shortstop Theo Hardy (.342), who enter the weekend ranked seventh and 10th in the conference, followed by first baseman Hunter Dorraugh (.340) and outfielder Jack Colette (.304).
McAdoo finds himself among the MW leaders in several other offensive categories, including hits (5th, 59), doubles (T-6th, 14), total bases (8th, 91) and on-base percentage (9th, .423).
In addition, third baseman Dalton Bowling (.291) ranks fifth in the league in both RBIs (40) and doubles (15) while sharing the fifth spot in home runs (8).
Not to be outdone, Colette is tied for the MW lead in triples (5) and shares the third slot in stolen bases (9), while Dorraugh occupies the fourth position in doubles (16) and ranks sixth in on-base percentage (.450).
As a team, San José State sits among the top half of the conference in several offensive categories, including batting average (3rd, .282), on-base percentage (3rd, .374), slugging percentage (3rd, .437), doubles (3rd, 93), hits (4th, 403), home runs (4th, 36) and RBIs (4th, 234).
On the mound, the Spartans occupy the second spot in the Mountain West in opposing batting average (.271) and fewest hits allowed (371), but rank fourth in ERA (5.82), sixth in strikeouts (300) and last in saves (4).
Micky Thompson, Jonathan Clark and Aaron Eden have made 10 starts apiece for SJSU, while Darren Jansen leads the team with 19 appearances on the season.
A transfer from Washington State, Thompson (2-3) ranks sixth in the league in ERA (4.15) and seventh in opposing batting average (.251), while Clark (2-3, 5.43 ERA) is slotted fifth in strikeouts (57) and ranks ninth in opponent batting average (.253).
Jack White (5-2, 3.69 ERA, 14 GP) is tied for second in the MW in victories. The SJSU reliever was credited with the win on March 10 when the two teams squared off at Tony Gwynn Stadium. He pitched three scoreless innings, giving up one hit without a walk while striking out the side in the ninth.
Eden is a former SDSU pitcher who compiled a 7-3 record and 4.47 ERA in three seasons on The Mesa from 2019-21, when he combined for 74 strikeouts in 114 2/3 innings. This season, Eden is 1-4 with a 6.26 ERA and 23 strikeouts in 41.2 innings for SJSU.
In addition, Nate Hansen competed as a freshman for the Aztecs during the 2021 campaign when he went 2-0 with a 5.91 ERA and six strikeouts in 10.2 innings over nine games. He was a prep teammate of current SDSU infielder Tino Bethancourt at Oak Ridge High in El Dorado Hills, California. Hansen is 2-0 with a 3.09 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 23.1 innings over 15 games.
Despite dropping seven straight to the Spartans, San Diego State still holds a sizable 84-40 lead in the all-time series, which dates back to 1938.
The Aztecs' 44-game advantage in head-to-head meetings vs. San José State ranks as the fourth-largest spread against a single opponent in program history behind Air Force (120-33), Utah (104-35) and UC Santa Barbara (84-29-1).
SDSU is 46-17 against the Spartans in San Diego and 33-23 in San Jose. In addition, the Aztecs have won all five meetings vs. SJSU on a neutral field.
Since San José State joined the Mountain West during the 2013-14 academic year, San Diego State is 32-14 vs. the Spartans, capturing 12 of 14 series played between the two teams and winning three conference tournament games.
During Mark Martinez's nine-year tenure as head coach on The Mesa, SDSU sports a 27-12 record against the Spartans, including a 14-6 mark at home, an 11-6 ledger on the road and a 2-0 record at a neutral park.
In their lone meeting of the season at Tony Gwynn Stadium on March 10, San José State prevailed by a 7-4 count, scoring six unanswered runs to erase a 4-1 deficit. The Aztecs received two hits apiece from Tyler Glowacki and Cole Carrigg, the latter of whom contributed a two-run triple.
In addition, TJ Fondtain recorded nine strikeouts in seven innings of work, yielding four runs on five hits without a walk in 109 pitches but did not factor in the decision.
In six games against the Spartans last season, Carrigg hit .333 (9-27) with one homer, five runs scored, five RBIs and four stolen bases.
Following its northern California excursion, San Diego State continues its road swing next weekend when it travels to the Front Range of the Rockies to battle Air Force, May 12-14, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Aztecs Head North for Busy Weekend vs. SJSU
