Aztecs Open 2026 MW Schedule This Weekend vs Washington State

SERIES RECORD VS. WASHINGTON STATE
> San Diego State owns a 13-10 lead in the all-time series after sweeping the Cougars at home (3-2, 15-2 (7), 12-10) in the final three-game series of the 2025 campaign to clinch a spot in the Mountain West tournament championship.
> Jake Jackson led he Scarlet and Black in that weekend set, batting .700 (7-10) with one homer, two doubles, three RBIs, five runs scored and one stolen base.
> The Aztecs are 11-5 against the Cougars all-time in San Diego, 0-3 in Pullman and 2-2 on a neutral diamond.
> The teams split their first two meetings at the Riverside Invitational in 1984, with SDSU posting a 12-0 shutout after falling by a 5-4 count.

FOR OPENERS (MW EDITION)
> Since the first year of Mountain West baseball action in 2000, San Diego State has compiled a 16-9 record in conference openers, including an 12-3 mark at home. 
> During that span, San Diego State has captured 17 opening series against league opponents—18 if one includes a four-team round-robin event in 2006 when the Aztecs went 3-1.

AZTEC WEEKEND ROTATION
> Head coach Kevin Vance is projected to start the right-handed trio of Rohan Lettow, Drew Talavs and Alec Belardes against the Cougars this weekend. Lettow and Talavs are scheduled to make their fifth consecutive starts, while Belardes is pegged for his fourth start of the year.
> Junior Rohan Lettow (2-0, 2.53 ERA) is slated to take the mound in Friday's series opener. The Arizona State transfer leads the Mountain West with 31 strikeouts and 13.08 strikeouts per nine innings, which rank 31st and 53rd in the nation, respectively. He is also slotted third in the league with 21.1 innings pitched. In his last outing against Saint Mary's on March 6, the Aztec right-hander tossed 4 2/3 innings, yielding two runs (one earned) on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts but did not factor in the decision, as the Scarlet and Black rallied for a 3-2 victory. Previously, Lettow 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, he struck out a career-high 10 batters for the second straight start, surrendering just two hits and two walks in 6.2 innings. In addition, he allowed just one runner to reach scoring position during his stint and retired nine hitters on three pitches or less. On March 11, Lettow was one of two SDSU hurlers named to the College Baseball Foundation National Pitcher of the Year Award, along with Aidan Russell. 
> Drew Talavs (2-1, 4.29 ERA) has been penciled in for his fifth straight Saturday start this week. The Oregon State transfer pitched five innings in his last appearance against Saint Mary's on March 7, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits and two walks with four strikeouts. However, he did not factor in the decision after the Gaels overcame a 7-6 deficit and pulled away for a 12-9 win. Earlier, 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 was also triumphant in another impressive start at Washington on Feb. 28, when he ceded just one run on two hits and three walks while tying his collegiate best with eight strikeouts in six innings. Entering the weekend, Talavs ranks fourth in the conference with 26 strikeouts and is tied for the fourth spot with 21.0 innings pitched.
> The Aztecs are expected to close out the series on Sunday with redshirt sophomore Alec Belardes (1-2, 6.75 ERA) taking the hill. The Arizona State transfer was the winning pitcher in SDSU's mammoth 4-3 victory over No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24, recording his first career win after allowing three runs on three hits with three walks and a trio of strikeouts in 5.2 innings. Belardes set career highs with nine strikeouts and six innings pitched in his ensuing start at Washington on March 2 but was saddled with the hard-luck loss after giving up three runs on six hits and two walks, The San Jose, California, native last appeared in a relief role against Saint Mary's on March 8, when he pitched 3.2 innings (7 H, 5 R) with a pair of strikeouts. Belardes enters the WSU series ranked fifth in the conference with 22 strikeouts and seventh 20.0 innings of work. 

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> As of March 12, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeouts per nine innings (11.2) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.95), which rank 21st and 35th in the nation, respectively.
> In addition, SDSU tops the conference in walks allowed per nine innings (3.81), WHIP (1.39) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.70), which are slotted 66th, 71st and 94th in the country, respectively. 
> The Aztecs also share the league lead with six triples, which is tied for 27th nationally.
> Individually, Aidan Russell leads the MW with a 0.63 ERA and ranks second with two saves while sharing the third position with two victories alongside fellow hurlers Rohan Lettow and Drew Talavs. 
> Lettow tops the league with 31 strikeouts, which is tied for 31st nationally, followed closely by Drew Talavs (4th - 26), Alec Belardes (5th – 22), Bryce McKnight (T6th – 21, Carson Johnson (T6th – 21) and Russell (T9th – 20).
> At the plate, Jabin Trosky finds himself among the league leaders in several categories, including hits (3rd, 25), runs scored (T5th, 18), and batting average (9th, .368).
> Not to be outdone, Adam Magpoc is tied for third with six stolen bases, while Tyce Peterson is slotted third in doubles (8) and shares the fourth position in home runs (3).
> Elsewhere, Dawson Santana has been hit by a pitch seven times, which is tied for the top spot in the conference, while Zach Justice ranks 10th with 15 RBIs.
> Collectively, the Aztecs rank third in hits (145), fourth in doubles (30) and slugging percentage (.396), fifth in batting average (.254) and sixth in scoring (5.4 runs/game).

STREAKING AZTECS
> Zach Justice has wielded a hot bat of late, hitting safely in nine straight games to raise his season batting average from .105 to .302. The Aztec catcher leads the team with 15 RBIs, including 10 in his last five games. 
> In addition, shortstop Jabin Trosky tops the squad with multiple hits in nine games, followed by Jake Jackson's five. Trosky has hit safely in 14 of 17 games this season, including the first nine outings before his streak was snapped at Washington on Feb. 28.
> Justice, Dawson Santana, Adam Magpoc and Anthony Marnell IV are tied for the team lead with multiple RBIs in three games.
> 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 8-0 this season when outhitting the opposition.
> SDSU suffered its first loss this year when leading after eight innings (9-1) in its 3-2 setback on March 10 at Cal State Fullerton.

WASHINGTON STATE AT A GLANCE
> The Cougars dropped three of four games at Texas State last weekend, falling to 6-9 on the season, including a 6-7 mark on the road.
> WSU also suffered a 6-4 defeat and a 5-4 setback to Brigham Young in a pair of neutral-site matchups, Feb. 26-27, at Blair Field in Long Beach, California.
> The Cougars open their home schedule against Grand Canyon in a three-game home series, March 20-22.
> Washington State was pegged for an eighth-place standing in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll. 
> In its first of two seasons as MW members in 2025, the Cougars finished eighth with an 11-19 record in conference play and an 18-36 mark overall. WSU was just 3-23 in true road games a year ago.
> Entering the weekend, the Cougars are slotted fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.364) and sixth in slugging percentage (.376) while ranking seventh in batting average (.243) and scoring (5.3 runs/game).
> Individually, shortstop Gavin Roy (.346) and outfielder Trevor Smith (.321) have started all 15 games for WSU thus far, along with first baseman Ryan Skjonsby (.245).
> Smith tops the squad with 19 hits and ranks 10th in the MW with a .466 on-base percentage, while Skjonsby has a team-high 12 RBIs to his credit. 
> An alumnus of Granite Hills High in El Cajon, California, Smith is one of three WSU players who prepped at San Diego County high schools, including Matt Priest (La Jolla Country Day School) and Dillon O'Neil (San Marcos HS).
> Catcher Alexandre Giguère was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week on March 9 after batting .364 in three games at Texas State with three homers, five RBIs and five runs scored.
> On the mound, Cougar pitchers rank fourth in the conference in ERA (6.02) and opposing batting average (.284) while occupying the eighth spot in strikeouts (101).
> WSU expected to start right-hander Luke Meyers on Friday, left-hander Nick Lewis (0-1, 5.95 ERA) on Saturday and another righty Griffin Smith (1-2, 6.00 ERA) on Sunday.
> Reliever Scott Rienguette is tied for second in the MW with two saves.

STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> Since 2019, the Aztecs are 87-70 in their last 157 games when striking out 10 or more batters, sporting an 8-4 mark this year. 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 95 of its last 152 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 7-1 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 hits the road for a midweek game at No. 12 USC on Tuesday, March 17 in Los Angeles, California. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. PT.