SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State opens its 85th season of baseball competition this weekend when it welcomes the University of Portland for a three-game non-conference series, Feb. 16-18, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Friday's opener is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PT, while Saturday's clash is slated to get underway at 6 p.m., followed by Sunday's finale at noon.
Along with live stats, which will be available for the entire weekend, Friday's game will be aired live on the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.
Those fans presenting their ticket to the SDSU-New Mexico men's basketball game at the gate will receive free admission to the Aztecs-Pilots baseball contest on Friday.
In addition, Sunday's game will offer free admission to all San Diego State University faculty and staff, while children ages 12 and under will be free to run the bases for a short time following the contest.
SETTING THE SCENE
> San Diego State baseball enters a new era this season, as head coach Shaun Cole takes over the reins of the Aztec program after serving the last two years as the team's pitching coach, a role he will also continue in 2024.
> Since Cole's arrival on The Mesa for the 2022 season, SDSU pitchers have led the Mountain West in earned run average, strikeouts, opposing team batting average and fewest hits allowed for two straight years while producing a trio of MLB Draft Picks in TJ Fondtain, Kelena Sauer and Troy Melton.
> The Aztecs return 17 letterwinners, including eight pitchers and five position starters from last year's team that captured a share of the Mountain West regular-season championship.
> Despite a 24-29 overall record, SDSU posted a 18-11 mark during conference play en route to its first regular-season conference title since 2004.
> Starting pitchers Chris Canada and Omar Serrano were selected to the 2024 preseason all-Mountain West team, while the Aztecs predicted to finish fourth in the league's preseason coaches poll.
> San Diego State sports a record of 53-30-1 in season openers dating back to 1936 (SDSU did not field a team from 1943-45). Since attaining Division I status in 1969, the Aztecs are 33-21 in their annual debuts.
> When opening the season at home, SDSU boasts a record of 17-10 in the Division 1 era, a 14-8 mark when beginning the year on the road and 2-3 ledger on a neutral diamond.
AZTEC WEEKEND ROTATION
> For the season-opening weekend vs. Portland, San Diego State is projected to utilize the starting rotation of Chris Canada, Omar Serrano and Xavier Cardenas III.
> Chris Canada is expected to take the mound for the Aztecs on Friday. The SDSU left-hander was selected to the 2024 preseason all-Mountain West team in a vote of the league's coaches on Feb. 8 after receiving the same recognition from Perfect Game the previous week. Canada finished second among MW leaders last season in fewest hits allowed (62) and tied for fifth in strikeouts (72), compiling a 3-5 record with a 5.69 ERA. In addition, he ranked eighth in the conference a year ago in opposing team batting average (.265). In 2023, Canada also posted five or more strikeouts in nine of 13 appearances while yielding two or fewer walks in eight games. The Orange, California, native tied his career high with nine strikeouts in back-to-back outings vs. Air Force and at New Mexico.
> Joining Canada on the preseason all-MW team is Saturday's starter Omar Serrano, who led the league last season with fewest hits (46) and runs allowed (34) while ranking second in opposing team batting average (.237). He also finished third on the Aztecs with career highs in strikeouts (62) and innings pitched (53.0), logging a 1-5 record with a 5.43 ERA and one save. A 6-4 right-hander, Serrano yielded two walks or less in 13 of 16 games and struck out six or more batters four times. The Downey, California, product set a career high with nine strikeouts in 5.1 innings at Fresno State. Serrano came through in the clutch late last year, notching his first career victory after helping the Scarlet and Black clinch a share of the Mountain West championship with a huge performance in the regular-season finale vs. New Mexico when he recorded eight strikeouts against one hit and two walks in 6.1 scoreless innings of relief, as the Aztecs rallied for an 8-6 triumph. For his efforts, Serrano earned a spot on Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's National Players of the Week list.
> Meanwhile, Xavier Cardenas III is slated to get the call in the series finale on Sunday. The sophomore right-hander earned Mountain West Preseason Pitcher of the Year honors from D1Baseball.com on Feb. 7. Cardenas appeared in 15 games with two starts during his rookie campaign in 2023, posting a 1-0 record with a 3.31 ERA and 24 strikeouts in 15.2 innings. He limited the opposition to a .200 batting average and yielded one walk or less in 12 games, fanning multiple batters on seven occasions. Cardenas tossed two scoreless innings in his first career start at UC San Diego on March 28, 2023, recording two strikeouts against one hit and one walk without a decision. He also started the series opener against New Mexico late in the year on May 18, 2023, striking out five batters in 2.2 innings before the Scarlet and Black rallied to win in dramatic fashion by a 5-3 count.
SERIES RECORD VS. PORTLAND
> The Aztecs hold a 2-1 advantage in three all-time meetings with the Pilots, including a 12-3 triumph at home in the last game between the two squads on Feb. 20, 1998, during the San Diego Classic.
> Earlier, SDSU dropped a 12-5 decision to Portland in an elimination game at the NCAA West Regionals in Fresno, California, on May 24, 1991, before rebounding the following season with a 10-0 shutout in San Diego on March 11, 1992.
PORTLAND AT A GLANCE
> The Pilots placed second in the West Coast Conference during the 2023 campaign with a 17-10 league record and a 31-23 mark overall.
> Portland was pegged for another second-place finish in the 2024 WCC preseason coaches poll, while outfielder Jake Holcroft, infielder/outfielder Evan Scavotto, infielder Zach Toglia and pitcher Nick Brink were selected to the preseason all-WCC team. All four players were first-team all-conference selections in 2023.
> Last season, Holcroft broke the single-season school record and led the conference with 83 hits, batting .343 with seven home runs and 43 RBIs. He was the third-toughest player in the WCC to strike out, fanning just once every 10.5 trips to the plate.
> Scavatto hit a career-high .310 last year with 44 RBIs, which ranked ninth in the conference. He also was one of two Portland players to record double-digit home runs after going yard on 10 occasions.
> Toglia matched that total with 10 dingers of his own, finishing with a .315 batting average and 33 RBIs. He ranked among the top 15 players in the WCC in home runs, slugging percentage and walks.
> Brink, meanwhile, posted a 6-0 record with a 2.02 ERA and 60 strikeouts in 14 appearances last season. The Pilot hurler made nine starts leading the conference in ERA while ranking seventh nationally in that statistic.
> Brink is slated to start Friday's season opener, while fellow right-handers Sam Stuhr and Joey Gartrell are projected to get the call on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
> Stuhr was inactive last season after transferring from Oregon State, where he appeared on the Beavers' 2022 roster but did not pitch. He last played collegiately in 2021 at Lower Columbia College in Longview, Washington, where he notched a 2-0 record with a 2.36 ERA and 32 strikeouts in 26.2 innings across seven games.
> Portland alumnus Geoff Loomis is ninth season at the helm of the Pilots program after spending the previous 13 years as the head coach at Pacific Lutheran University. His career record stands at 499-408 (.550), including a 174-211 mark (.452) at UP. Loomis enjoyed a Hall of Fame career as a player for the Pilots from 1990-92 and still holds the school's career record for batting average (.372). He earned Pacific-10 North Division Player of the Year honors in 1992 and received all-Pac-10 North recognition in 1991 and 1992. Loomis was selected in the 1992 Major League Baseball free agent draft by Oakland and played in the Athletics' minor league system from 1992-93. He was presented with Oakland's Minor League Affiliate Player of the Year award in 1993.
OUTFIELD LEADERSHIP
> San Diego State returns 17 letterwinners and five starters from last year's squad that captured a share of the Mountain West regular-season championship, including outfielders Shaun Montoya and Irvin Weems.
> Last season, Montoya was a second-team all-Mountain West selection who ranked third in the league with 16 stolen bases. The Rancho Cucamonga native led the Aztecs in hits (56) and doubles (15) while tying for the top spot in total bases (85) and runs scored (36). Additionally, he finished second on the squad in batting average (.298) and on-base percentage (.388).
> In 2023, Montoya also fashioned the team's second-longest reached base streak at 18 games. He also tied for second on the squad with multiple hits in 14 starts and crafted a season-long seven-game hitting streak.
> Weems, meanwhile, battled a shoulder injury last year to post a slash line of .266/.400/.406 with three homers, 19 RBIs and 29 runs in 48 games. The Las Vegas product led the Scarlet and Black with 26 walks and a .400 on-base percentage while ranking fourth in the conference with 11 stolen bases.
> In addition, Weems collected multiple hits in eight games and totaled two or more RBIs in four contests. He garnered MW Player of the Week accolades after batting .500 with five RBIs, five runs scored and one stolen base in a series victory at home over Air Force in March 2023.
NOTHING LIKE HOME COOKIN'
> Despite facing an array of challenging opponents on annual basis, San Diego State is 294-220 (.572) when playing at home since the start of the 2007 campaign.
> In 2018, the Aztecs set a program record with 25 home victories at Tony Gwynn Stadium (since 1997), besting the previous standard of 24 set in 1997, 2002 and 2014.
LOCAL HEROES
> San Diego State sports nine players on its current roster who are alumni of San Diego County high schools, including Trevor Fox and Cade Martinez (St. Augustine); Manoah Chapman and Jake Jackson (Madison); Xavier Gonzalez (Hilltop); AJ Klubeck (Westview); Brady Lavoie (La Costa Canyon); Evan Sipe (San Marcos); and Nico Tomasello (Granite Hills).
AZTECS IN MLB DRAFT
> Since 1965, San Diego State has had 227 student-athletes chosen in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, including 31 selections since 2015.
> Former Aztec center fielder Cole Carrigg was taken by the Colorado Rockies as a catcher in the Competitive Balance "B" Round with the 65th overall pick of the 2023 MLB First-Year Player Draft; pitcher TJ Fondtain was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 14th round (423rd overall), while fellow hurler Kelena Sauer went to the Toronto Blue Jays shortly thereafter in the 15th round (454th overall).
> With its selections, SDSU has had multiple players picked in six of the last seven years and nine of the last 11 overall.
> In 2022, former Aztec right-hander Troy Melton was chosen by the Detroit Tigers in the fourth round with the 117th selection overall.
> The previous year, in 2021, SDSU had five individuals drafted by MLB organizations.
> Infielder Mike Jarvis was selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round with the 163rd pick, while catcher Wyatt Hendrie also went to the Pirates shortly thereafter in the seventh round in the 193rd spot overall.
> In addition, the New York Mets grabbed center fielder Matt Rudick in the 13th round (382nd overall); right fielder Jaden Fein was selected by the Washington Nationals in the 15th round (443rd overall), while right-handed pitcher Michael Paredes was snapped up by the Minnesota Twins in the 18th round (549th overall).
MOUNTAIN WEST TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO SAN DIEGO
> The Mountain West Championship returns to "America's Finest City" this season and will be conducted at Tony Gwynn Stadium, May 23-26. The top four teams in the MW regular-season standings will qualify for the double elimination tournament, with the winner receiving an automatic berth into NCAA regional competition. NCAA Regionals will be held May 31-June 3.
> SDSU has hosted the MW Championship on five previous occasions, most recently after the 2022 season. The Aztecs also welcomed the event in 2018 when the Scarlet and Black claimed its fifth tournament crown in a six-year span.
(Link to complete release at top right of page)
Aztecs to Host Portland in Season-Opening Series
