Aztecs Headed to UNLV for MW Weekend Series

 

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to Mountain West competition this weekend when it travels to the Silver State to face UNLV in a three-game series, April 25-27, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both contests on Friday and Saturday are scheduled to commence at 6:05 p.m. PT, while Saturday’s finale is slated for a 12:05 p.m. start.

Along with 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 the action on their TVs or smartphones by downloading the MW app.

SETTING THE SCENE
Entering this weekend’s series, SDSU (15-27, 10-8 MW) finds itself in a three-way tie for third place in the conference standings with Nevada and New Mexico after logging a three-game sweep at San José State, April 17-19.

In the series finale against the Spartans last Saturday, Omar Serrano tossed a four-hit complete-game shutout to earn Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors for the second time in his career.

The Aztecs are coming off a recent split of two non-conference games, dropping an 8-6 decision at the University of San Diego on April 21 before rebounding with a big 13-3 run-rule victory over Cal State Fullerton in eight innings at home the following night on April 22.

Against the Titans, SDSU posted its fourth-highest total of the season with 16 hits, including six for extra bases, highlighted by Jake Jackson’s third home run of the season, a solo shot in the second inning.

The Aztecs had five players finish with multiple hits, including three apiece by Jackson, Jonathan Smith and CJ Moran, while Nevan Noonan and Xavier Farnum collected two apiece.

In addition, SDSU received a boost from Eli Selga, who ripped a two-run double for his first collegiate hit, while starter Alito McBean (5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R) earned his first career victory.

On the flip side, UNLV (20-20, 6-12 MW) occupies the basement of the league standings, two games in back of a three-team logjam for fifth place, consisting of San José State, Washington State and Air Force, as the top six teams advance to the MW Championship, May 21-25, in Mesa, Arizona.

The Rebels are coming off a 7-6 victory at UC Riverside on Tuesday after dropping two of three games at home to New Mexico, April 17-19. Against the Lobos, UNLV sandwiched a 10-3 victory between a 13-7 defeat and a 6-3 setback.

The Aztecs recorded a three-game sweep of the Rebels, March 28-30, at Tony Gwynn Stadium, winning by scores of 3-2, 5-3 and 3-1.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, April 25, SDSU: Aidan Russell, RHP (1-0) vs. UNLV: Carson Lane, RHP (4-3)

Saturday, April 26, SDSU: Omar Serrano, RHP (4-4) vs. UNLV: Reese Lueck, RHP (2-2)

Sunday, April 27, SDSU: Garvey Rumary, LHP (2-4) vs. UNLV: Sam Simon, RHP (1-3)

All three Aztecs starters were victorious in their respective appearances at San José State last weekend.

Against the Spartans on April 18, Russell picked up his second career win and first of the season after allowing two runs on three hits and four walks with four strikeouts in six-plus innings.

The previous night on April 17, Rumary pitched a career-long six innings with four strikeouts, yielding two runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks.

In the series finale at SJSU, Serrano tossed his aforementioned gem, scattering four hits with just one walk and six strikeouts.

Additionally, Serrano and Rumary were triumphant against UNLV last month at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Serrano (7.0 IP) registered a career-high 10 strikeouts against the Rebels on March 29, while Rumary (5.2 IP) completed the series the following day with his first victory of the year after allowing one run on five hits and one walk with five strikeouts.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of April 23, the Aztec staff leads the Mountain West innings pitched (363.0) and is slotted second in strikeouts (339) while ranking fifth in both ERA (6.87) and opposing batting average (.294).

Individually, Peyton Rodgers tops the conference with 21 games pitched, while Evan Miranda and Xavier Cardenas III are tied for third with 18 appearances each, followed by Chris Canavan (17), who shares the sixth spot.

Cardenas shares the second position in the league with five saves, while Rodgers is tied for sixth with three in that statistic.

Elsewhere, Omar Serrano leads the MW in innings pitched (58.0) and is slotted sixth in strikeouts (50) while tying for the fourth spot in victories (4).

Additionally, Garvey Rumary ranks second in opponent batting average (.260) and third in fewest hits (44).

Not to be outdone, Marko Sipila finds himself among the conference leaders as well, occupying the fifth position in both strikeouts (54) and innings pitched (53.1) while ranking eighth in ERA (5.23) and ninth in opposing batting average (.280).

Offensively, SDSU is tied for the MW lead with 16 triples and is slotted third with 83 doubles while sharing the third spot with 161 walks. In addition, the Scarlet and Black occupies the fifth position in hits (389) and the sixth spot in batting average (.276). 

Evan Sipe (10) and Drew Rutter (6) own the top two places in sacrifice hits, with the latter sharing the second spot in triples (4) alongside Jake Jackson.

Jackson and Jonathan Smith have already tied the program record with two triples in a game this year. Jackson accomplished the feat in the season opener vs. Seton Hall on Feb. 14, followed by Smith’s performance at Air Force on April 7.

Additionally, Nevan Noonan ranks third in the league with 15 doubles and shares the third spot with 55 hits overall.

AZTEC NOTEBOOK
For the season, Nevan Noonan leads the Aztecs with multiple hits in 16 games, followed by Daniel Arambula (14), CJ Moran (11) and Jonathan Smith (11).  Noonan and Arambula are the only two players to start all 42 games for the Scarlet and Black this season.

In addition, Arambula is lone Aztec to start every contest at one position (third base), while Bates (leadoff) leads the team with 38 games played in the same spot in the batting order.

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

In SDSU’s 6-4 victory over Fresno State on April 12, Noonan belted his first two home runs in an Aztec uniform, including a two-run shot in the first inning before adding a solo blast in the fourth.

With his effort, Noonan completed San Diego State’s first game with multiple home runs since Shaun Montoya hit a pair at Nevada on May 17, 2024.

Bates had his season-long streak of reaching base safely in 15 straight games snapped last Monday at USD. During that previous streak, the Aztec infielder raised his season batting average from .233 to .283, posting team highs of 17 walks and a .529 on-base percentage.

Over the past 17 games, Noonan is hitting .420 with team highs of 29 hits and 18 RBIs, followed by Jake Jackson (.362) and Jonathan Smith (.343).

Jackson has two homers, six doubles, one triple and 12 RBIs in that span, while Smith has contributed one home run, five doubles, two triples, 10 RBIs and five stolen bases.

In a doubleheader at Air Force on April 6, Jackson recorded eight consecutive hits across two contests and tied a single-game school record with four doubles in the opener, helping the Scarlet and Black to a big 16-4 victory.

All 17 of San Diego State’s freshmen have seen action this season, including pitcher Aaron Kniffin, who returned from an injury to make his collegiate debut against California Baptist on April 8. The Scottsdale, Arizona, native allowed one unearned run vs. the Lancers on one walk in 1 2/3 innings. He also fanned a season-high three batters at USD on April 21.

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 has started 20 of 26 games at shortstop, belting his first collegiate home run vs. Fresno State on April 12, while Tripaldi made his first career start at Washington State on March 22. 

Previously, McBean earned his initial career start on the mound in the Aztecs’ home opener against Seattle on Feb. 20. The SDSU left-hander notched his first collegiate victory last Tuesday against Cal State Fullerton.

In addition, catcher Xavier Farnum made his first career start at USC on April 1, finishing with one hit, one walk and a run scored, while Keynen Gomez earned his first collegiate start at second base vs. California Baptist on April 8.

Farnum has started six of his last eight games played, collecting eight hits in 22 at-bats (.364) with one double, one triple, seven RBIs and four runs scored.

Against UCSD on April 15, SDSU welcomed back the services of another freshman CJ Moran, who had been sidelined the previous 15 games with an injury.

Despite the setback, Moran has a current streak of reaching base safely in 15 straight games. The Murrieta, California, native is batting .383 for the season (36-94) with nine doubles, 22 RBIs and 16 runs scored. He is tied with Arambula for second with multiple RBIs in seven games, including three in the second game of a doubleheader vs. Northeastern on March 8.

The Aztecs are 14-0 this season when leading after seven innings and 13-2 when outhitting the opposition. SDSU is also 13-1 this year when limiting opponents to five runs or fewer.

San Diego State has emerged victorious in 85 of its last 135 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 7-3 mark this year, a 14-13 ledger during the 2024 campaign and a 14-12 record in 2023.

Since 2019, the Aztecs are 77-63 in their last 140 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 179-69 over the last seven-plus seasons when scoring five or more runs, including a stellar 38-6 record during the 2017 campaign.

SERIES RECORD VS. UNLV
After sweeping the Rebels in March, San Diego State raised its record to 105-77 in the all-time series, which dates back to 1978.

The Aztecs are 54-27 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 (123), Fresno State (114) and Utah (104).

In that home series last month, SDSU posted winning scores of 3-2, 5-3 and 3-1 to complete its first sweep of the Rebels since 2018.

Aztec pitchers limited UNLV to a .181 team batting average that weekend after it entered the series with a .299 clip, which ranked second in the conference at the time. In addition, SDSU’s offense came through in the clutch, posting six RBIs with two outs during the series.

Individually, the Aztecs were led by Daniel Arambula, who hit .556 for the series and posted a .667 on-base percentage with four hits and three walks while topping the squad with four runs scored.

Xavier Cardenas III saved all three games in SDSU’s home sweep of the Rebels last month.

REBELS AT A GLANCE
UNLV (20-20, 6-12 MW) finds itself looking up at the rest of the conference after dropping two of three games against New Mexico last weekend in Las Vegas.

With their results, the Rebels slipped to 13-7 at home for the season while maintaining a 7-13 record in road/neutral contests.

UNLV is led by seniors Cole Koniarsky (.374) and Dean Toigo (.373), who are slotted second and third in the Mountain West in batting average this week. Toigo also tops the conference in RBIs (49) and is tied for third in home runs while ranking fifth in slugging percentage (.639).

In addition, fellow classmate JP Hefft is tied for sixth in the conference with 35 runs scored, while Koniarsky occupies the seventh position with a .447 on-base percentage.

Collectively, the Rebels are slotted third in home runs (36) and fourth in both batting average (.289) and slugging percentage (.423) while ranking sixth in RBIs (215) and runs scored (242).

On the mound, Friday’s projected starter Carson Lane leads the Mountain West in ERA (3.96) and opposing batting average (.222) while sharing top spot with fewest hits allowed (43) and tying for third in strikeouts (58).

Lane did not factor into the decision in his last appearance against the Aztecs on March 28, when he gave up one run on three hits and three walks to go with seven strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings before SDSU plated two runs in the seventh and eventually hung on for a 3-2 victory.

Saturday’s scheduled starter Reese Lueck ranks third in ERA (4.19) and is tied for fifth in fewest hits allowed (49). He pitched the final four innings of UNLV’s 5-3 defeat to the Aztecs on March 29, when he gave up one unearned run on two hits and two walks.

Additionally, Sunday’s expected starter Sam Simon was tagged with the loss in the Rebels’ 3-1 setback to SDSU on March 30, after giving up two runs (one earned) on six hits and three walks with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Out of the bullpen, meanwhile, closer Alex Overbay is tied for sixth in the conference with three saves.

As a staff, UNLV hurlers lead the league in fewest hits allowed (347) and occupy the second spot in opposing batting average (.266) while ranking third in strikeouts (335) and fourth in ERA (5.75).

Sophomore right-hander LJ Mercurius was a prep teammate of Aztec outfielder Zane Kelly at Faith Lutheran High School in Las Vegas.

Junior left-hander Evan Vasiliou, a transfer from Utah Tech, graduated in 2021 from Grossmont High School in San Diego County.

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 eight years and nine of the last 12.

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: Mike Jarvis and Wyatt Hendrie (Pirates), Matt Rudick (Mets), Jaden Fein (Nationals) and Michael Paredes (Twins).

LOCAL HEROES
San Diego State sports eight players on its current roster who are alumni of San Diego County high schools, including Xavier Farnum (Christian), Trevor Fox (St. Augustine); Jake Jackson (Madison); Nevan Noonan (Francis Parker); Peyton Rodgers (Torrey Pines); Eli Selga (Cathedral Catholic); Connor Shaw (Westview); and Evan Sipe (San Marcos).

MW TO HOST 2025 BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP IN MESA, ARIZONA
The Mountain West, in partnership with the Arizona Sport and Entertainment Commission, will host the Credit 1 Baseball Championship, May 21-24 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The agreement marks the first time the MW baseball tournament will be held on a neutral field and in the state of Arizona.

“Hosting the baseball championship in a first-class venue like Sloan Park is a tremendous opportunity for the Mountain West, our baseball student-athletes and our fan base,” said MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez.

The six-team double elimination format begins on Wednesday, May 21, with the No. 3 seed facing the No. 6 seed. The second game will feature the No. 4 and No. 5 seeds.

On Thursday, May 22, the top two seeded teams square off with the winners from Wednesday. The winners of Thursday’s first two contests advance to Friday, while the losing teams battle in elimination games. The MW champion will be crowned on Saturday, May 24, earning the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Ticket information for the 2025 Credit Union 1 Mountain West Baseball Championship will be available at a later date.

UP NEXT
Following their desert road trip, San Diego State continues its road swing on Tuesday, April 25, when it makes the short drive up the freeway to face UC Riverside, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT. The Aztecs will be looking to avenge a 7-2 defeat to the Highlanders in San Diego on March 25.

-SDSU-