SAN DIEGO – San Diego State continues its road trip this weekend when it travels to the Bay Area to face Mountain West rival San José State in a three-game series, April 5-7, in Santa Clara, California. All three games will be contested at Stephen Schott Stadium on the Santa Clara University campus.
Friday's clash is slated to begin at 6:05 p.m. PT, while Saturday's contest is set for a 2:05 p.m. start, followed by Sunday's finale at 12:05 p.m. Live stats will be available for the entire weekend, with links available on GoAztecs.com.
The Aztecs (9-18, 4-8 MW) split a two-game midweek series against non-conference foe Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, dropping a 6-3 decision in Tuesday's opener before rebounding with a nail-biting 8-7 triumph in 10 innings the following night.
In the latter contest, SDSU persevered through some anxious moments in the bottom ninth when the Mustangs rallied with three runs to tie the score at 7-7 before the Scarlet and Black scored the eventual game-winning run in the 10th on Shaun Montoya's RBI single that plated Brady Lavoie.
Five Aztecs finished with two hits, including Irvin Weems, who tied a career high with four RBIs after driving in Finley Bates for a crucial run on a two-out triple in the top of the eighth.
SDSU sits in a tie for fifth place in the MW standings with San Jose State (9-19, 4-8) after winning two of three games vs. New Mexico at Tony Gwynn Stadium, March 28-29.
Following a 5-2 setback in the opener, the Scarlet and Black roared back with a doubleheader sweep the next day by scores of 8-6 and 13-0, punctuated by Jacob Riordan's no-hitter in the nightcap, which marked the ninth such occasion in program history.
Riordan countered 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 on April 1.
In addition, Turner garnered his fourth MW Freshman of the Week accolade following the UNM series after batting .385 batting with a .692 slugging percentage, nine total bases and four RBIs.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
For the fourth time in the last five weekends, San Diego State is expected to utilize the starting rotation of Jacob Riordan, Omar Serrano and Xavier Cardenas III, while San José State is slated to pitch Michael Rice and Micky Thompson on Friday and Saturday, respectively, with the Spartans' Sunday hurler to be determined.
A graduate transfer from Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Riordan (3-1, 3.60 ERA, 35.0 IP) will be making his fifth start in an Aztec uniform on Friday after tossing the program's ninth no-hitter in SDSU's 13-0 victory over New Mexico in the nightcap of a doubleheader on March 29. The Aztec right-hander offset six walks and a hit batter against the Lobos by matching his season-best with eight strikeouts, giving San Diego State no-hitters in consecutive seasons for the first time in school history.
Saturday's starter Serrano (2-3, 3.43 ERA, 39.1 IP) snapped a three-game losing streak in his last outing vs. New Mexico in the opener of the aforementioned twin-bill at Tony Gwynn Stadium last Friday. The Aztec junior pitched seven scoreless innings of his own, overcoming four hits and one walk with five strikeouts, as the Scarlet and Black held off for an 8-6 victory.
Cardenas (1-3, 7.11 ERA, 31.2 IP) is slated for his seventh start of the year on Sunday after recording one out in a relief appearance against New Mexico during seventh inning of last Friday's doubleheader opener. The SDSU sophomore pitched a career-long seven-plus innings at Hawai'i on March 24, allowing three runs (two earned) on two hits and seven walks but did not factor in the decision after the Rainbow Warriors rallied for a walk-off 6-5 victory in 10 innings. Cardenas earned his first collegiate victory in the completion of a suspended game vs San José State last year, allowing one unearned run while posting season highs of six strikeouts in a season-long 4 1/3 innings of relief, as the Aztecs emerged with a 5-3 triumph.
SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
Despite sitting out two games last month, Colby Turner finds himself among the Mountain West leaders this week, tying for second in batting average (.375) and sharing the sixth spot in hits (36) while ranking eighth in slugging percentage (.625).
The Huntington Beach native has also smacked three triples so far this year, which is tied for fourth in the league and 21st nationally.
In addition, Shaun Montoya is slotted sixth in the conference with six 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 (39.1) while ranking fifth in opposing batting average (.248), seventh in both ERA (3.43) and fewest hits allowed (39) and eighth in strikeouts (32).
Elsewhere, Xavier Cardenas III is slotted fourth in fewest hits allowed (30) and sixth in opponent batting average (.261).
Meanwhile, relievers Issac Araiza and Garvey Rumary are tied for the MW lead with 12 appearances, just ahead of teammates Chris Canavan and Evan Miranda, who share the fifth position with 11 games pitched.
Additionally, Miranda is tied for second in the conference with eight games finished, while Jadon Bercovich is tied for ninth in that category with five.
As a team, SDSU pitchers lead the Mountain West in fewest hits allowed (220) and opponent batting average (.248) while occupying the second spot in strikeouts (253) and the third position in ERA (6.17).
The Scarlet and Black also tops the conference with 8.43 hits allowed and 9.7 strikeouts per nine innings, which rank 39th and 56th in the nation, respectively.
Offensively, SDSU is slotted fifth in the MW this week in batting average (.261), hits (246) and doubles (57) but ranks sixth in slugging percentage (.385) while occupying the seventh spot in on-base percentage (.333), runs scored (140) and RBIs (123).
STREAKING AZTECS
Shaun Montoya is the lone Aztec to start all 27 games this season, playing exclusively in right field. The SDSU junior has made 32 consecutive starts dating back to last season and has started 77 of the last 79 contests he has appeared in.
Montoya owns the Aztecs' longest current hitting streak at eight games, Since March 22, the Rancho Cucamonga native has hit .472 (17-36) with two doubles, two triples and 12 runs scored, raising his batting average from .215 to .296.
Additionally, Montoya and Colby Turner share the team lead with multiple hits in 11 games. Turner also tops the squad with two or more RBIs in five different contests, followed by Irvin Weems with four.
Weems has reached base safely in six straight games, batting .350 (7-20) with two homers, 12 RBIs and seven runs scored. The Las Vegas, Nevada, native tied his career high with four RBIs vs. New Mexico (March 29) and at Cal Poly (April 3).
Freshman Finley Bates is the only other Aztec to see action in all 27 games thus far, earning 15 starts at second base and 11 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 leads the team with nine doubles and ranks third with a .292 batting average and 33 hits.
SERIES RECORD VS SJSU
San Diego State holds a sizable 86-42 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 (122-38), Utah (104-36) and UC Santa Barbara (84-29-1).
SDSU is 47-17 against the Spartans in San Diego and 34-25 on the road. 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 34-16 vs. the Spartans, capturing 12 of 15 series played between the two teams and winning three conference tournament games.
SDSU went 2-2 in four encounters with the Spartans in the Bay Area last season, opening with a 5-3 victory in the completion of a suspended game from earlier in the year in San Diego. The following day, the Aztecs split a twin bill against San José State, posting a 5-0 whitewash in the opener before witnessing a 4-0 reversal of fortune in the nightcap. The Scarlet and Black was upended in the finale by a 7-2 count, as the Spartans scored six unanswered runs to pull away for the win.
Irvin Weems has batted .382 (13-34) in nine career games vs. SJSU with two homers, seven RBIs, seven runs scored and six stolen bases.
SAN JOSÉ STATE AT A GLANCE
Predicted to win the Mountain West in the conference's preseason coaches poll, the Spartans are currently tied for fifth place in the league alongside the Aztecs with a 4-8 record in MW play, sporting a 9-19 mark overall. Stepping out of conference this past week, SJSU dropped two games at UC Santa Barbara by scores of 3-2 in 10 innings and 9-3, March 28-29, before rebounding with an 11-8 triumph at Santa Clara on April 2.
San José State has compiled a 5-7 record at home this season and a 4-12 mark on the road.
SJSU boasts four regulars who are hitting over .300, including Robert Hamchuk (.317), Hunter Dorraugh (.316), Dalton Bowling (.314) and Nathan Cadena (.312).
Cadena and Theo Hardy (.245) are the lone Spartans to start all 28 games this season, while Hamchuk has missed just one contest.
Entering the weekend, Bowling finds himself among the Mountain West leaders in several categories, sharing the top perch with 70 total bases while occupying the second spot with nine home runs and a .686 slugging percentage. The SJSU third baseman is also tied for second in the league with 11 doubles and shares the seventh position with 24 RBIs.
In addition, Hamchuk is tied for fourth in the conference with 38 hits and shares the fifth spot with 26 runs score, while Dorraugh joins four others in the fifth position with six homers.
Despite an array of standout individual performances, San José State ranks second in the MW in strikeouts (260) and fifth in total bases (403), RBIs (139) and runs scored (150) while occupying the basement in team batting average (.250).
On the mound, the Spartans are slotted fourth in the league in opposing batting average (.286) but rank fifth in fewest hits allowed (276) and sixth in both ERA (6.76) and strikeouts (184).
Individually, Micky Thompson (1-3, 7.25 ERA) leads SJSU with seven starts followed by Michael Rice (0-1, 3.38 ERA) and Ethan Ross (1-5, 7.47 ERA), who have made five and six starts, respectively.
Ross (29) and Thompson (27) own the top two spots on the Spartans in strikeouts, while relievers Jesse Gutierrez (20) and Cade Van Allen (19) rank fourth and fifth, respectively.
Van Allen is tied for the Mountain West lead with 12 pitching appearances and tops the conference with 11 games finished while tying for the fourth spot with two saves.
Three SJSU players graduated from San Diego County high schools, including reliever Keaton Chase (Helix), catcher Jacob Campagna (Classical Academy) and infielder EJ Barnes (Francis Parker).
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 their northern California excursion, San Diego State opens a four-game homestand next week with a non-conference clash against Long Beach State on Tuesday, April 9, starting at 6 p.m. PT. The Aztecs will then return to MW play with a three-game series vs. UNLV, April 12-14, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Aztecs Continue Road Trip vs. San José State
