***SCHEDULE UPDATE - Friday, April 12, 11:30 a.m.***
Due to the threat of rain, Saturday's SDSU-UNLV game has been moved up five hours to 1 p.m. PT. As a result of the change, Saturday's contest will not be aired on the Mountain West Network.
SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opens the second half of its Mountain West schedule this weekend when it plays host to UNLV in a three-game series, April 12-14, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
The first two encounters with 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.
In addition to live stats, all three games will air live on the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com. Fans can also catch all the action by downloading the MW app on their TVs or smartphones.
Plenty of promotions are on tap for the upcoming homestand, including Friday night when free rally wigs will be presented to the first 250 fans. Saturday's clash has also been designated a whiteout game, and the first 500 patrons will receive a free rally towel. Meanwhile, Sunday's matchup will feature a free SDSU beach ball giveaway to the first 250 spectators, along with the first set of Aztec Baseball trading cards to the first 100 fans.
SETTING THE SCENE
SDSU and UNLV will be looking to climb back into the Mountain West race this weekend. The Aztecs (10-22, 4-11 MW) are slotted seventh in conference standings, one game behind the Rebels (17-15, 5-10 MW).
San Diego State is coming off a split of two midweek games against Big West foes, dropping a 6-3 decision at home to Long Beach State on Tuesday night before storming back for a big 18-8 victory over UC San Diego in La Jolla the following night.
Against the Tritons, the Aztecs set season highs in hits (22), runs scored (18) and RBIs (17), marking their largest offensive production since April 2, 2023 when they posted 22 hits and 18 RBIs in a 19-7 rout at New Mexico.
Seven players finished with multiple hits for the Scarlet and Black, including Brady Lavoie, who blasted two home runs and compiled four RBIs after replacing an injured Colby Turner in the bottom of the first inning.
In addition, Tino Bethancourt totaled five RBIs on the night, highlighted by his first career grand slam in the fourth that gave SDSU an 8-3 advantage.
Not to be outdone, Shaun Montoya tied a pair of collegiate bests with a game-high four hits and four runs scored, while Jacob McCombs, Cade Martinez and Evan Sipe set career bests with three hits apiece.
Additionally, Sipe notched a collegiate-high four RBIs, while Martinez scored a personal-best three runs, replicating the feat of Jake Jackson, who went 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Following SDSU's five-game road trip from April 2-7, Turner collected his second straight Mountain West Freshman of the Week award and fifth this season after tying for the team lead with a .375 batting average (6-16) and six RBIs. In addition, the Huntington Beach, California, native topped the squad with a .625 slugging percentage and ranked second with a .429 on-base percentage.
Five of Turner's six hits occurred with two outs, while three went for extra bases, highlighted by two doubles and a triple. He was also 3-for-3 in RBI opportunities with runners at third base and less than two outs, including a pair of sacrifice flies.
SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
Entering the weekend, Colby Turner leads the Mountain West with a .378 batting average and shares the top spot with four triples, which is tied for 10th in the nation as of April 11.
The Aztec freshman is also tied for fifth in the league with 29 RBIs and ranks seventh with a .622 slugging percentage.
In addition, Shaun Montoya shares the fifth position in the MW with 43 hits and is tied for sixth with six stolen bases.
On the mound, Jacob Riordan leads the MW in opponent batting average (.197) and fewest hits allowed (26) while occupying the sixth spot in strikeouts (42).
Omar Serrano is also listed among the league's top 10, ranking sixth in innings pitched (43.0), seventh in strikeouts (37) and eighth in ERA (4.60).
Elsewhere, Xavier Cardenas III is slotted for fourth in opponent batting average (.256) and is tied for the fourth position in fewest hits allowed (34).
As a team, SDSU pitchers lead the Mountain West in fewest hits allowed (267), opponent batting average (.252) and strikeouts (297) while ranking sixth in ERA (6.92).
The Scarlet and Black also tops the conference with 9.6 strikeouts per nine innings, which ranks 56th in the nation, and is slotted second in the MW with 8.68 hits per nine innings, which is good for 51st in the country.
Individually, reliever Garvey Rumary is tied for the MW lead with 14 appearances, just ahead of teammates Chris Canavan and Evan Miranda, who share the fourth position with 13 games pitched.
Additionally, Miranda is tied for second in the conference with 10 games finished, while Jadon Bercovich shares the ninth spot in that category with five.
Offensively, SDSU is slotted fourth in the MW this week in hits (298) but ranks sixth in batting average (.267) and total bases (435) while occupying the seventh spot in on-base percentage (.342), slugging percentage (.390), runs scored (171) and RBIs (151).
STREAKING AZTECS
Shaun Montoya is the lone Aztec to start all 32 games this season, playing exclusively in right field. The SDSU junior has made 37 consecutive starts dating back to last season and has started 82 of the last 84 contests he has appeared in.
Montoya has reached base safely in 13 straight games. Since March 22, the Rancho Cucamonga native has hit .473 (26-55) with three doubles, two triples and 13 runs scored, raising his batting average from .215 to .321.
Additionally, Montoya leads the team with multiple hits in 14 games, followed by Turner's total of 12. Turner also tops the squad with two or more RBIs in seven different contests, followed by Irvin Weems, Jake Jackson and Brady Lavoie with four.
Weems has reached base safely in 10 straight games, totaling two homers, 12 RBIs and nine runs scored while drawing nine walks. The Las Vegas, Nevada, native tied his career high with four RBIs vs. New Mexico (March 29) and at Cal Poly (April 3).
Elsewhere, freshman Finley Bates has seen action in 31 games thus far, earning 15 starts at both second base and shortstop while appearing as a late-inning defensive replacement in SDSU's 7-1 victory over Portland on Feb. 18.
A native of Castle Park, Colorado, Bates is tied for the team lead with nine doubles and ranks third with a .292 batting average, 38 hits and 50 total bases while occupying the fifth spot with a .324 on-base percentage and a .385 slugging percentage.
Over his past nine games, Bates has hit .372 with four doubles and eight runs scored.
SERIES RECORD VS UNLV
San Diego State holds a 101-75 advantage in the all-time series dating back to 1978.
The Aztecs are 50-25 vs. the Rebels in San Diego, 48-44 in Las Vegas and 3-6 at neutral sites.
UNLV is one of five programs SDSU has recorded over 100 victories against. The other four are New Mexico (134), Air Force (121), Fresno State (110) and Utah (104).
San Diego State captured four of six meetings against the Rebels during the 2023 campaign, highlighted by a decisive 28-8 triumph in the second game of a road series in Las Vegas.
The Aztecs' 28 runs in that contest marked their highest total since April 22, 2007, when they shutout Air Force 31-0 in the nightcap of a doubleheader at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Eight players finished with multiple hits for the Scarlet and Black, including Tino Bethancourt, who went 3-for-5 with a collegiate-best six RBIs, highlighted by a three-run homer.
UNLV is one of two Mountain West teams the Aztecs will face just once during the 2024 campaign, joining San José State, against whom SDSU dropped all three games of a weekend series, April 5-7.
In 12 career games against the Rebels, Irvin Weems is batting .405 (17-42) with two homers, two doubles and six RBIs and 14 runs scored while stealing six bases.
In addition, Shaun Montoya has compiled a .278 batting average (10-36) in 10 career starts vs. UNLV, recording two stolen bases and nine runs scored.
Last season, Omar Serrano made three relief appearances against the Rebels, yielding just one hit and one walk with 10 strikeouts in a combined nine scoreless innings.
UNLV AT A GLANCE
The Rebels (17-15, 5-10 MW) have won four of their last five, including a two-game midweek sweep at home over Utah Tech by scores of 6-5 and 7-2. Previously, UNLV took two of three encounters from Air Force in a Mountain West series, April 5-7.
With their results, the Rebels raised their home record to 12-7 this season while maintaining a 5-7 mark on the road and 0-1 on a neutral diamond.
Individually, UNLV is led by senior Austin Kryszczuk, who owns a slash line of .353/.483/.672 this week to go with a league-leading 40 RBIs. The Rebel outfielder also finds himself among the MW top 10 in several categories, including walks (T-1st, 25), on-base percentage (2nd, .483), slugging percentage (T-2nd, .672), home runs (T-3rd, 8) and runs scored (T-7th, 30).
In addition, UNLV has received a boost from junior Kade Higgins (.349), who is tied for third in the conference with 44 hits and 13 doubles while sharing the fifth spot with 32 runs scored. The Rebel infielder/outfielder is also slotted eighth in batting average.
Elsewhere, senior outfielder Rylan Charles (.296) occupies the fourth position in the MW with 33 runs scored and shares the sixth spot with seven homers, while senior catcher Parker Schmidt (.342) is tied for sixth with six stolen bases and junior infielder JP Hefft (.341) is slotted seventh with 30 runs scored.
Entering the series, UNLV lead the MW with 343 hits, which is good for 26th in the country as of April 11. Additionally, the Rebels occupy the second spot in the conference in batting average (.300), runs scored (254) and RBIs (230) while ranking third in on-base percentage (.395) and slugging percentage (.467).
On the mound, UNLV is slotted sixth out of seven teams in hits allowed (339) while ranking third in ERA (6.28), fourth in strikeouts (241) and fifth in opposing batting average (.296).
Although, the Rebels' weekend rotation was not revealed at press time, junior Austin Cates (4-2, 2.70 ERA) leads the team with eight starts and 50.0 innings pitched, followed by fellow classmate Sam Simon (3-3, 6.00 ERA), who has seven starts to his credit.
Cates leads the Mountain West with 62 strikeouts while ranking second in both ERA (2.70) and innings pitched (50.0) and fifth in opponent batting average (.262).
Freshman hurler Carson Lane (0-0, 6.66 ERA) was a prep teammate of Aztec third baseman Colby Turner at Huntington Beach (Calif.) High School.
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.
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's series, San Diego State will travel up the freeway for a rematch with Long Beach State on Tuesday, April 16 at Blair Field in Long Beach, California. First pitch is slated for a 6 p.m. PT start, with the Aztecs-Dirtbags clash airing live on ESPN+.
Aztecs Prep for Home Series vs UNLV
