Aztecs Prep for Midweek Clash at California Baptist

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego State baseball team hits the road this week, starting Tuesday, March 18, when it travels up the freeway to face California Baptist in a midweek clash at James W. Totman Stadium in Riverside, California. Game time is set for 6 p.m. PT, and the Aztecs-Lancers showdown will air live on ESPN+ via subscription basis.

SDSU (6-14) captured a series victory over San José State this past weekend, winning two of three games to open its Mountain West schedule, while CBU (10-10) duplicated the feat in a cross-country series against Rutgers in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Aztec third baseman Daniel Arambula garnered Mountain West Freshman of the Week accolades after leading the Scarlet and Black to a doubleheader sweep of SJSU on March 15, when he batted a combined .571 (4-for-7) with two homers, eight RBIs and four runs scored.

SDSU also received a pair of stellar performances in the twin-bill from starting pitchers Omar Serrano and Marko Sipila, who recorded their first victories of the year.

Serrano tossed his second career complete game, allowing just one run on five hits and three walks with a season-high eight strikeouts, as the Scarlet and Black rolled to a big 16-1 run-rule victory.

In his longest stint of the 2025 campaign, Sipila registered a season-high eight strikeouts in eight-plus innings, yielding four runs on eight hits and one walk, as the Aztecs secured a 6-4 decision.

The pitching matchup for Tuesday’s SDSU-CBU game was undetermined at press time.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of March 17, Aztec pitchers lead the Mountain West in strikeouts (187) and innings pitched (178.2) while ranking fourth in ERA (6.40) and fifth in opposing batting average (.293).

Offensively, SDSU tops the conference with nine triples and ranks third in RBIs (108) while sharing the third position in runs scored (118). In addition, the Scarlet and Black is slotted fifth in on-base percentage (.366) while occupying the sixth spot in both hits (184) and batting average (.269).

Individually, Issac Araiza is tied for the MW lead with 11 games pitched, while fellow relievers Chris Canavan and Evan Miranda are tied for third with 10 appearances apiece heading into the week, followed by Peyton Rodgers with nine. Additionally, Rodgers is tied for third in the conference with two saves.

Elsewhere, Marko Sipila leads the league in innings pitched (28.2) while ranking fourth in opposing batting average (.277) and fifth in ERA (4.40).

Garvey Rumary also finds himself among the MW leaders this week, sharing the sixth spot in fewest hits allowed (24) while occupying the seventh position in opponent batting average (.282) and the eighth slot in ERA (5.01).

At the plate, the Aztecs have been paced by freshman CJ Moran (.366), who ranks sixth in the conference with a .460 on-base percentage and is tied for eighth with 26 hits, while Daniel Arambula shares the seventh spot with 17 RBIs.

In addition, Drew Rutter leads the league with five sacrifice hits and is tied for second with three triples, alongside teammate Jake Jackson.

Jackson tied a program record with two triples against Seton Hall on Feb. 14, becoming the first SDSU player to accomplish the feat since James Guerrero against New Mexico on April 9, 2005.

AZTEC NOTEBOOK
CJ Moran owns the team’s longest current hitting streak at eight games and tops the squad with multiple hits on eight occasions this year while sharing the No. 1 spot with two or more RBIs in five outings alongside Finley Bates.

During his eight-game hitting streak, Moran is batting .517 (15-for-29) with seven RBIs and nine runs scored, raising his season average from .262 to .366.

Moran, Daniel Arambula, Nevan Noonan and Drew Rutter have started all 20 games for the Scarlet and Black this season.

Arambula is lone SDSU player to start every contest at one position (third base), while Bates (leadoff) and Moran (cleanup) lead the team with 19 games played in the same spot in the batting order.

San Diego State has emerged victorious in 82 of its last 128 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 4-2 mark this year, a 14-13 ledger during the 2024 campaign and a 14-12 record in 2023.

Since 2019, the Aztecs are 76-62 in their last 138 games when striking out 10 or more batters. SDSU pitchers fanned 17 hitters in its season opener against Seton Hall at the MLB Desert Invitational.

The Aztecs are 173-64 over the last seven-plus seasons when scoring five or more runs, including a stellar 38-6 record during the 2017 campaign.

Against Nebraska on Feb. 16, the Aztecs employed 21 players on the night, including five true freshmen who were making their first career appearances (Evan Escobar, Cody Liscio, Dillon Marrisett, Alito McBean, Hank Tripaldi). Tripaldi singled in his first collegiate at-bat with a grounder through the right side in the eighth.

Escobar made his first three career starts as a shortstop at Cal State Fullerton and the first two games of the Northeastern series.

SERIES RECORD VS. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST
Despite the relative proximity of both schools, the Aztecs have faced California Baptist just four times in program history, posting a 2-2 record in a series that was launched in 1990.

The Lancers claimed a 5-2 victory in San Diego on March 26, 2019, in the last meeting between the two squads.

SDSU has traveled to CBU on one previous occasion, dropping a 4-3 decision on April 9, 1992. Earlier that season, the Aztecs came away with a 9-4 triumph in San Diego after posting a big 14-4 victory at home during the 1990 campaign.

The Aztecs and Lancers will renew acquaintances in a rematch at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Tuesday, April 8 at 6 p.m.

SDSU has faced two other Western Athletic Conference teams this season, dropping a narrow 6-5 contest to Grand Canyon at the MLB Desert Invitational on Feb. 15 in Mesa, Arizona, before rebounding with a 5-4 victory over Seattle in 10 innings on Feb. 20 in the Aztecs’ home opener.

LANCERS AT A GLANCE
California Baptist is coming off a series victory at Rutgers this past weekend, posting a 10-4 victory and a 4-1 triumph, sandwiched around a 5-0 defeat.

The Lancers have faced one additional Mountain West member this season, sweeping a three-game home series from Air Force by scores of 10-3, 13-5 and 4-2, March 7-9.

Last month, outfielder Nicholas Dumesnil was named WAC Preseason Player of the Year and earned a spot on the USA Baseball Golden Spikes Preseason Watch List.

As a team, CBU was picked to finish third in the WAC preseason coaches poll.

Entering the week, the Lancers have four players hitting over .300 in outfielder Bubba Rocha (.362), infielder Chris Ramirez (.344), outfielder Julian Alvarez (.313) and Dumesnil (.312).

In addition, first baseman Ryan Kim (.271, 14 RBIs) has smacked a team-high four home runs, while outfielder Jake Brown (.259) tops the squad with 15 RBIs.

As a team, CBU is slotted second in the WAC in on-base percentage (.414) while ranking fourth in batting average (.288) and seventh in runs per game (6.3).

On the mound, Lancer pitchers lead the conference with a 4.12 team ERA, which ranks 50th nationally, while occupying the second spot in the league in hits allowed per nine innings (8.76) and the third spot in strikeouts per nine innings (9.5).

Noah Smith (1-1, 3.18 ERA, 11.1 IP) leads the team with nine pitching appearances, which is tied for fourth in the WAC, while fellow relievers Alfredo Capacete, Carson Olsen, Julian Orozco, Ryne Palmer and Cameron Teper each have one save to their credit.

UP NEXT
Following Tuesday’s game, San Diego State resumes its conference schedule when it heads to the Palouse region of the Pacific Northwest to battle Washington State in a three-game series, March 21-23, in Pullman, Washington.