SAN DIEGO – San Diego State opens a five-game road swing this week when it battles Cal Poly on back-to-back nights, April 2-3, at Baggett Stadium in San Luis Obispo, California. Both encounters are slated for a 6 p.m. PT start.
Following their brief stay on the Central Coast, the Aztecs will continue north for a three-game series against Mountain West rival San José State, which will be contested April 5-7 at Stephen Schott Stadium on the Santa Clara University campus.
Left-hander Chris Canada (0-2, 11.66 ERA, 19 SO) and righty Jadon Bercovich (1-1, 8.59 ERA, 21 SO) are expected to take the mound for San Diego State in the midweek affairs, respectively, while the Mustangs are slated to start freshman left-handers Josh Volmerding (0-0, 2.31 ERA, 14 SO) and Christopher Downs (0-0, 10.80 ERA, 4 SO).
Live stats will be available for both games at Cal Poly, with links available on GoAztecs.com.
The Aztecs (8-17, 4-8 MW) captured their first series victory of the year after winning two of three games from New Mexico at Tony Gwynn Stadium, March 28-29.
After dropping the opener by a 5-2 count, the Scarlet and Black stormed back with a doubleheader sweep the following day by scores of 8-6 and 13-0, capped by Jacob Riordan's no-hitter, which marked the ninth such occasion in program history.
Riordan offset six walks and a hit batter with a season-high eight strikeouts in the run-rule victory to earn Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors.
Not to be outdone, Colby Turner collected his fourth MW Freshman of the Week certificate following the UNM series after batting .385 batting with a .692 slugging percentage, nine total bases and four RBIs.
In Friday's doubleheader nightcap, Turner went 3-for-4 at the plate with three RBIs, two runs scored and a stolen base, giving teammate Riordan ample offensive support en route to his no-hitter. The Aztec third baseman launched a two-run homer in the fifth inning of that contest to close out the scoring in the Aztecs' romp.
For the week, Aztec pitchers held the Lobos to a .155 batting average for the series after they entered with a conference-leading .332 pace. New Mexico was also the league's top scoring team with an average of 9.4 runs per game, which ranked 18th nationally as of March 27. However, the Lobos averaged just 3.67 runs for the series.
The SDSU offense came to life against UNM, posting a collective .345 batting average (35-102) with nine doubles, three homers and 19 RBIs.
Individually, four Aztecs hit over .400 for the series against the Lobos, including Finley Bates (.467), Shaun Montoya (.467), Tino Bethancourt (.455) and Irvin Weems (.444).
Weems led the team with a a .615 on-base percentage and a 1.111 slugging percentage vs. UNM last week while topping the squad with six runs scored, five RBIs, two homers and three walks. Not to be outdone, the SDSU outfielder advanced seven runners in 10 opportunities for a team-best 70 percent success rate.
Weems enjoyed the first two-homer game of his career after hitting a pair of two-run bombs, accounting for half the team's production in the Aztecs' 8-6 victory in last Friday's doubleheader opener.
SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
Despite sitting out two games earlier this month, Colby Turner finds himself among the Mountain West leaders this week, ranking fourth in batting average (.378), fifth in slugging percentage (.633) and ninth in hits (34).
The Huntington Beach native has also smacked three triples so far this year, which is tied for third in the league and 16th nationally.
In addition, Shaun Montoya is tied for eighth in the conference with four stolen bases.
On the mound, Jacob Riordan leads the MW in opponent batting average (.186) and fewest hits allowed (22) while occupying the sixth spot in strikeouts (39) and the eighth position in ERA (3.60).
Omar Serrano is also listed among the league's top 10, tying for the fourth position in innings pitched (39.0) while ranking seventh in both ERA (3.43) and opposing batting average (.248), as well as eighth in strikeouts (32).
Elsewhere, relievers Issac Araiza and Garvey Rumary are tied for the MW lead with 11 appearances, while teammates Chris Canavan and Evan Miranda share the sixth position with 10 games pitched.
In addition, Miranda is tied for second in the conference with eight games finished, while Jadon Bercovich is tied for eighth in that category with five.
As a team, SDSU pitchers lead the Mountain West in fewest hits allowed (202) and opponent batting average (.251) while occupying the second spot in strikeouts (237) and the third position in ERA (6.18).
The Scarlet and Black also tops the conference with 9.8 strikeouts and 8.59 hits allowed per innings, which rank 50th and 53rd in the nation, respectively.
Offensively, SDSU is slotted fifth in the MW this week in batting average (.260) and doubles (51) but ranks sixth in hits (225) and slugging percentage (.383) while occupying the seventh spot in on-base percentage (.334), runs scored (129) and RBIs (113).
STREAKING AZTECS
Shaun Montoya is the lone Aztec to start all 25 games this season, playing exclusively in right field. The SDSU junior has made 30 consecutive starts dating back to last season and has started 75 of the last 77 contests he has appeared in.
Freshman Finley Bates is the only other Aztec to see action in all 25 games thus far, earning 14 starts at second base and 10 at 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 eight doubles and ranks third with a .284 batting average and 29 hits.
Tino Bethancourt has reached base in 12 consecutive outings and owns the squad's current longest hitting streak a tseven games. Since March 9, the SDSU junior has raised his batting average from .231 to .314.
Colby Turner leads the Scarlet and Black with multiple hits in 11 games this season and has compiled two or more RBIs in five different contests.
Additionally, Montoya has nine multi-hit games to his credit this season, while Bates has racked up seven, followed by Bethancourt and Irvin Weems with five apiece.
SERIES RECORD VS CAL POLY
The Aztecs hold a 66-33 lead against the Mustangs in the all-time series that dates back to 1946.
SDSU took two of three games from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo the last time the two teams played in 2018 and was scheduled for a return visit to Baggett Stadium in 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced the remainder of that season to be canceled after 16 games.
The Aztecs are 40-10 vs. Cal Poly in San Diego and 26-23 in San Luis Obispo.
CAL POLY AT A GLANCE
The Mustangs, who were picked to finish seventh in the 2024 Big West preseason coaches poll, are tied for third in the conference standings with a 6-3 record and a 14-11 mark overall.
Cal Poly won two of the three games at Cal State Fullerton this past weekend, dropping an 8-2 decision in the opener on March 28 before sweeping a doubleheader the following day by scores of 5-2 and 6-0.
With the results, the Mustangs snapped a four-game losing streak on the road. Conversely, Cal Poly has posted a 12-7 ledger in 19 home games this season.
Entering the week, Mustang pitchers are slotted fourth in the Big West in team ERA (4.24), opponent batting average (.255) and fewest hits allowed (218) while ranking fifth in strikeouts (233).
As of April 1, Cal Poly also leads the conference in fewest walks per nine innings (3.08), which ranks seventh nationally, while its 3.03 strikeout-to-walk ratio is good for second in the Big West and ninth in the country.
Offensively, the Mustangs are slotted fifth in the league in hits (236) and sixth in batting average (.283) while occupying the seventh position in on-base percentage (.380) and slugging percentage (.373). In addition, Cal Poly ranks eighth in the Big West in runs scored (142) and RBIs (128).
Outfielder Jake Steels leads the Mustangs with a .426 batting average, which ranks second in the league and 25th in the nation, while infielders Alejandro Garza (.360), Ryan Fenn (.330) and catcher Ryan Stafford (.330) are hitting above .300 for the season.
Steels also tops the conference with 40 hits and a .546 on-base percentage while sharing the fourth spot with 27 runs scored. In addition, the Cal Poly senior ranks eighth with a .543 slugging percentage.
Elsewhere, infielder Joe Yorke (.284) is tied for fifth in the Big West with 26 RBIs, while Fenn shares the fifth position as well with eight doubles.
Fenn is an alumnus of Granite Hills High School in nearby El Cajon, while infielder Zach Daudet (Clairemont HS) and left-handed pitcher Caden Pearlman (La Costa Canyon HS) are also graduates of San Diego County high schools.
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.
Aztecs Set for Two Midweek Games at Cal Poly
