Aztecs to Wrap Up Road Swing Tuesday at UCR

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State embarks on its final non-conference road trip of the regular season Tuesday when it makes the short drive up the freeway to battle UC Riverside, starting at 6:30 p.m. PT at Riverside Sports Complex.

Coverage will include live stats only, with a link available on GoAztecs.com.

The Aztecs (15-30, 10-11 MW) are coming off a three-game sweep at the hands of UNLV in Las Vegas, April 25-27, falling by scores of 8-5, 13-2 and 10-3. With the results, SDSU sits in fourth place in the conference race, two games behind Nevada and New Mexico, which are tied for second place with nine MW games remaining.

The Aztecs were led by Nevan Noonan and CJ Moran, who both hit .364 for the series (4-11), followed by Finley Bates (.333, (3-9)) and Daniel Arambula (.300, (3-10)). Noonan belted two home runs and posted four RBIs, while Arambula and Jonathan Smith also drove in a pair of runs.

Meanwhile, the Highlanders (13-28, 4-17 Big West) dropped three games this past weekend as well in a non-conference series at Sacramento State, suffering an 8-4 loss and a 2-1 setback followed by a 9-6 defeat. Entering the week, UCR occupies the basement of the Big West standings.

At press time, the pitching matchup for Tuesday’s contest was undetermined.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of April 28, the Aztec staff leads the Mountain West innings pitched (385.0) and is slotted second in strikeouts (357) while ranking fifth in both ERA (7.13) and opposing batting average (.300).

Individually, Peyton Rodgers tops the conference with 23 games pitched, while Xavier Cardenas III is slotted third with 19 appearances, followed by Evan Miranda and Chris Canavan, who are tied for fourth with 18 games apiece.

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

Offensively, SDSU is slotted third in the MW with 90 doubles and 16 triples while ranking fourth with 172 walks. In addition, the Scarlet and Black occupies the sixth position in hits (408) and the seventh spot in batting average (.273), runs scored (245) and RBIs (224).

Finley Bates is tied for the conference lead with 33 walks, while Nevan Noonan ranks fourth with 59 hits and is tied for sixth with 15 doubles.  

Elsewhere, Evan Sipe owns the top spot in the league with 10 sacrifice hits, followed by Drew Rutter (T-2nd, 6) and Jonathan Smith (T-5th, 5).

Additionally, Rutter is tied for second alongside Jake Jackson with four triples apiece.

Jackson and 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.

AZTEC NOTEBOOK
For the season, Nevan Noonan leads the Aztecs with multiple hits in 17 games, followed by Daniel Arambula (15), CJ Moran (12) and Jonathan Smith (11).  Noonan and Arambula are the only two players to start all 45 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 40 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.

After his 3-for-4 performance at UNLV on April 27, Moran has extended his streak of reaching base safely to 18 consecutive games.

Since returning from an injury against UCSD on April 15, a span of nine games, Moran leads the team in batting average (.419), hits (13) and on-base percentage (.486) while contributing three doubles, six RBIs and four runs scored.

For the season, Moran is batting .381 (40-105) with 11 doubles, 22 RBIs and 17 runs scored. The Murrieta, California, native ranks third on the squad with multiple RBIs in seven games, including three in the second game of a doubleheader vs. Northeastern on March 8.

Since March 28, a stretch of 20 games, Noonan is hitting .413 with team highs of 33 hits, four homers and 22 RBIs, followed by Jake Jackson (.333), Arambula (.325), Bates (.318) and Smith (.312).

Jackson has two homers, eight doubles, one triple and 12 RBIs in that span, while Arambula (seven doubles) and Smith (five doubles, two triples) have posted 12 RBIs as well.

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 21 of 27 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 earned his first collegiate victory on April 22 against Cal State Fullerton when he allowed one run on seven scattered hits and three walks in five innings of work.

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 10 games played, collecting eight hits in 23 at-bats (.348) with one double, one triple, seven RBIs and four runs scored.

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 137 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 7-5 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 179-70 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. UC RIVERSIDE
Despite dropping a 7-2 decision at Tony Gwynn Stadium on March 22, the Aztecs still lead the all-time series against the Highlanders 43-30-2 dating back to 1968.

In that contest, SDSU was plagued by four errors, which led to four unearned runs for UCR.

SDSU was held scoreless until the seventh inning when Evan Escobar drove in his first two collegiate runs with a bloop single to right, which plated Dillon Marissett and Xavier Farnum. Previously, Marrisett pinch ran for Zane Kelly, who drew a leadoff walk, while Farnum doubled down the right-field line.

HIGHLANDERS AT A GLANCE
Prior to Tuesday’s encounter with the Aztecs, UC Riverside (13-28, 4-17 Big West) will play host to California Baptist on Monday night.

The Highlanders have faced one additional Mountain West school this year, dropping a pair of games against UNLV, a 10-4 setback in Las Vegas on March 11 and a narrow 7-6 loss at home on April 22.

UCR is led by outfielder Robert Pitts, who is hitting .335 as of April 28, which ranks 12th in the Big West. The Cypress College transfer also tops the squad with 55 hits and a conference-best 19 stolen bases.

In addition, former Aztecs Manoah Chapman (22) and David Whittle (21) own the top two spots on the team in RBIs, respectively. Chapman, who has scored a team-high 21 runs thus far, has started all 41 games at second base, while Whittle has made 34 appearances overall, including 23 starts at catcher, two in right field and one in left.

Collectively, the Highlanders are tied for fourth in the Big West with 44 stolen bases but rank 10th in batting average (.247) and 11th in slugging percentage (.357), on-base percentage (.338) and runs scored (179).

As a staff, UCR pitchers occupy the seventh spot in the league with 340 strikeouts but rank 10th in team ERA (7.55) and opponent batting average (.311).

Marco DiGirolamo (0-1, 3.71 ERA) is tied for the team lead with 19 pitching appearances along with fellow reliever and occasional starter Joshua Martinez (1-4, 6.75 ERA), followed by Matt Hudson (3-1, 4.94 ERA) and Nolan Milliman (2-3, 8.58 ERA), who have seen action in 17 games. Hudson tops the squad with three saves.

Matthew O’Brien (2-4, 7.53 ERA),who was the Highlanders’ second pitcher of the game against the Aztecs on March 25, was credited with the victory after pitching scoreless frames in the third and fourth with three strikeouts.

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 Tuesday’s action, San Diego State returns home for a three-game Mountain West series against New Mexico, May 2-4, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.