Aztec Road Show Continues with Four-Game Series at Washington

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State will square off against its second straight Big Ten opponent this weekend when it travels to the Pacific Northwest to face Washington in a four-game series, Feb. 27-March 2, at Husky Ballpark in Seattle.

Friday's opener and Saturday's showdown are scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. PT, while Sunday's and Monday's encounters are slated to get underway at 1 p.m.

Along with live stats, all four games will air live via subscription basis on Big Ten Network+, with a link available on GoAztecs.com.

SETTING THE SCENE
> San Diego State is coming off is one of its biggest victories since at least the 2000 campaign with an inspired 4-3 triumph at No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24.
> Tuesday's conquest marked the Aztecs' first victory over a top-five team since a 15-2 drubbing of No. 5 San Diego at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Feb. 24, 2008.
> The upset of the Bruins also snapped a five-game losing streak to top-five teams for SDSU after falling to No. 1 UC Irvine at the 2009 Irvine Regional, followed by a trio of home losses to No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Vanderbilt and No. 5 UCLA in a three-week span in 2011, along with another home setback to No. 4 Arkansas at the Tony Gwynn Legacy in 2018.
> Aztec starter Rohan Lettow received Mountain West Pitcher of the Week recognition after earning his first collegiate victory in SDSU's 3-0 blanking of BYU at the Tony Gwynn Legacy. The junior right-hander recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts for the second straight start in 6 2/3 innings. > As of Feb. 26, Aztec pitchers lead the Mountain West in strikeouts per nine innings (12.5) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.09), which rank 10th and 35th in the nation, respectively.
> Aztec shortstop Jabin Trosky finds himself among the Mountain West leaders in several categories, ranking second in hits (14) and tying for third in doubles (4) while occupying the sixth spot in batting average (.424).

SERIES RECORD VS. WASHINGTON
> The Aztecs own an 8-6 lead in the all-time series dating back to 1965.
> The teams last met in a season-opening series at Tony Gwynn Stadium in 2012, with the Huskies capturing two of three games. > This weekend's series marks SDSU baseball's inaugural trip to Seattle.
> The two squads played a neutral-site game in 2003 at the Clash of Conferences in Lancaster, California, where UW prevailed, 8-5.

AZTEC WEEKEND ROTATION
>  For the third straight weekend, head coach Kevin Vance is projected to start the right-handed trio of Rohan Lettow, Drew Talavs and Carson Johnson, while another righty Alec Belardes is expected to get the call for Monday's series finale .
> Junior Rohan Lettow (1-0) is slated to take the hill in Friday's series opener. The Arizona State transfer was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week on Feb. 23 after combining on a shutout in the Aztecs’ 3-0 victory over Brigham Young at the Tony Gwynn Legacy. Against the Cougars, Lettow struck out a career-high 10 batters for the second straight start, yielding just two hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings. In addition, he allowed just one runner to reach scoring position during his stint and retired nine hitters on three pitches or less. For the season, Lettow leads the Mountain West with 20 strikeouts, which is tied for fourth nationally as of Feb. 26.

> Fellow classmate Drew Talavs (1-1) is scheduled for his third consecutive Saturday start this week. The Oregon State transfer was saddled with the loss against Utah at the Tony Gwynn Legacy on Feb. 21 after surrendering three runs (two earned) on one walk with six strikeouts in five innings. Previously, Talavs was victorious in his first collegiate start against LIU on Feb. 14, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with a career-high eight strikeouts. The West Linn, Oregon, native ranks third on the team among qualifiers with a 3.60 ERA and 14 strikeouts while occupying the fourth spot with a .216 opponent batting average.

> On Sunday, redshirt sophomore Carson Johnson (0-1) looks to regain the form of his first career start against LIU on Feb. 15, when he struck out a career-high 11 batters in seven-plus innings to earn Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors. In that contest, the Arizona transfer carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before allowing a one-out single. Johnson did not factor in the decision, exiting the game early in the eighth after ceding just one earned run on two hits and two walks for the day. However, he pitched just two innings against San Diego on Feb. 22, surrendering five runs on five hits and four walks. Still, the 6-4 hurler is slotted second on the team with a .182 opposing batting average and ranks third in the Mountain West with 15 strikeouts. Johnson, who followed head coach Kevin Vance to SDSU, was a prep teammate of Rohan Lettow at Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, where the duo helped their squad capture the Class A state championship in 2023.

> The Aztecs are expected to close out the series on Monday with redshirt sophomore Alec Belardes (0-1) taking the mound. The Arizona State transfer was the winning pitcher in SDSU's mammoth 4-3 triumph over No. 1 UCLA, earning his first career victory after allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and a trio of strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings. In his first collegiate start the previous week at UC Irvine, Belardes retired eight of the first nine batters he faced before running into trouble in the fourth when he ceded four runs on four hits and one walk. He came back to fan a pair of hitters in the fifth, finishing with eight strikeouts for the game. However, the Scarlet and Black was unable to rally from a 5-1 deficit, saddling Belardes with the loss. 

WASHINGTON AT A GLANCE
> The Huskies dropped to 1-7 on the season after dropping a wild 14-11 slugfest to Seattle in their home opener on Feb. 24.
> UW rallied from a 9-3 deficit with three runs apiece in the seventh and eighth innings, only to see the Redhawks plate five markers in the ninth to take the lead for good, as a late comeback effort fell short in the bottom of the frame.
> The Huskies compiled a 29-28 overall record in 2025, including a 17-13 mark in conference play. UW secured a spot in the Big Ten tournament but was eliminated in two games.
> The Huskies placed three players on the Big Ten preseason watch list, including pitchers Hayden Lewis and Jackson Thomas, along with first baseman Casen Taggart.
> Last season, Taggart led the team in batting average (.326), walks (46) and on base percentage (.469), finishing with 56 hits, 11 doubles, six home runs and 32 RBIs. The Washington State transfer also fashioned a streak of reaching base safely in 31 straight games during the 2025 campaign.
>  Thomas compiled a 5-4 record with a 4.27 ERA and 48 strikeouts for UW last year, starting 13 of 15 games.
>  Meanwhile, Lewis is a transfer who started seven of 22 games over the last two seasons at New Mexico State, posting a 4-6 record with a 7.43 ERA with 47 strikeouts against seven walks.
>  Entering the week, outfielder Mic Paul tops the squad with a .368 batting average and a .684 slugging percentage, adding one home run, five RBIs and five runs scored.
> Meanwhile, fellow outfielders Braeden Terry (.320) and Daniel Porras (.304) are both hitting over .300 this season. Porras has two home runs to his credit and is tied for the team lead with five RBIs, along with Paul and catcher Ethan Swidler.
> Collectively, the Huskies are hitting .245 through eight games and are averaging 4.1 runs per contest, which rank 15th and 16th in the Big Ten, respectively.
> On the mound, UW pitchers are averaging 8.9 strikeouts per nine innings and have recorded a 7.79 team ERA thus far, which are slotted 10th and 17th in the conference, respectively.
> San Diego State outfielder Reeve Boyd played three games for the Huskies as a redshirt freshman in 2025, doubling home a pair of runs for his first collegiate hit in a 22-0 rout of Seattle on April 15, 2025.
> Eddie Smith enters his second season as head coach of the Washington program after a three-year stint in the same capacity at Utah Valley.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> As of Feb. 26, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeouts per nine innings (12.5) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.09), which rank 10th and 35th in the nation, respectively.
> In addition, SDSU occupies the 53rd spot in the country with a league-best WHIP of 1.27.
> The Aztecs are also perched atop the conference this week with a .979 fielding percentage.
> Elsewhere, San Diego State is slotted second in hits allowed per nine innings (7.35) and third in walks allowed per nine innings (4.06).
> Individually, Rohan Lettow tops the MW with 20 strikeouts, followed closely by Carson Johnson (3rd - 15) and Drew Talavs (4th - 14).
> Additionally, Aidan Russell leads the league with two saves and a 1.13 ERA while ranking third in hits allowed per nine innings (4.50).
> At the plate, Jabin Trosky finds himself among the conference leaders this week, ranking second in hits (14) and tying for third in doubles (4) with teammate Tyce Peterson. 
> Trosky also ranks sixth with a .424 batting average.
> Collectively, the Aztecs are slotted third in hits (68), fourth in batting average (.257) and fifth in scoring (5.4 runs/game).

STREAKING AZTECS
> Jabin Trosky has hit safely in all eight games and  leads the team with multiple hits in five games. 
> In addition, Max Farrell has reached base safely in all eight contests this year, drawing walks against UC Irvine and San Diego to keep his streak intact.
> Dawson Santana and Adam Magpoc are tied for the team lead with multiple RBIs in two contests.
> Magpoc set a career high with four hits in the season opener vs. LIU and matched his collegiate best with four RBIS.
> The Aztecs are 5-0 this year when leading after six innings and are 4-0 when out-hitting the opposition.

STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> Since 2019, the Aztecs are 82-68 in their last 150 games when striking out 10 or more batters. SDSU pitchers fanned a season-high 17 batters in a 12-5 romp over LIU on Feb. 14.
> In that series against the Sharks, SDSU combined for 46 strikeouts, marking the team’s highest total for a three-game set since posting 47 in a sweep of San Francisco in 2019.

OTHER TRENDS
> The Aztecs are 183-75 over the last eight seasons when scoring five or more runs, including a stellar 38-6 record during the 2017 campaign.
> San Diego State has emerged victorious in 91 of its last 148 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 3-1 mark this season.
> The Aztecs have hit three home runs in two contests already this season vs. LIU (Feb. 14) and at No. 1 UCLA (Feb. 24) after collecting three home runs in a game just once during the 2025 campaign vs. Fresno State (April 12, 2025).

UP NEXT
> Following this weekend's series, San Diego State will play seven of its next eight games at home, starting Wednesday, March 4 when it battles Long Beach State at Tony Gwynn Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. PT.