Aztecs Prep for MW Series at Grand Canyon This Weekend

SAN DIEGO - San Diego State embarks on another road trip this weekend when it travels to the desert to face Grand Canyon in a Mountain West series, March 27-29, on the diamond of Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark in Phoenix, Arizona.

Friday’s opener against the Lopes is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PDT, while Saturday’s showdown is slated for a 2 p.m. start, followed by Sunday’s finale at noon.

Along with live stats, the entire GCU series 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.

This weekend's series marks the lone regular-season meeting between the Aztecs and Lopes.

SETTING THE SCENE
> San Diego State jumps back into conference play this weekend after posting an 8-4 home victory over UC Irvine on March 24. With the result, the Aztecs snapped a seven-game slide vs. the Anteaters.
> Zane Kelly was the hitting star for SDSU in that contest, tying his career-high with four RBIs. The junior right fielder belted a two-run homer in the second inning to put the Aztecs in front for good at 4-2 before ripping a key two-run double in the sixth that extended the Scarlet and Black’s lead to 7-2.
> Entering the weekend, the San Diego State pitching staff leads the Mountain West in several categories, including ERA (5.59), strikeouts (257) and opposing batting average (.255).
> Since March 17, a span of six games, Jake Jackson (.400/.484/.600) and Zach Justice (.400/.480/.600) have posted nearly identical slash lines, with Tyce Peterson (.385/.414/.577) not far behind. Jackson and Peterson share the team lead with 10 hits in that stretch, while Justice tops the squad with seven RBIs.

SERIES RECORD VS. GRAND CANYON
> San Diego State owns a 13-8 lead in the all-time series against the Lopes.
> The Aztecs sport a 7-4 record against GCU in San Diego while maintaining a 6-4 mark in Phoenix.
> The teams split a pair of games at Tony Gwynn Stadium in their last two encounters in 2022, as SDSU rebounded with a 2-1 victory after dropping a 7-2 decision.
> The Aztecs faced the Lopes annually from 1993-98, but the series went on hiatus for 20 years before it was revived in 2018, with the Scarlet and Black prevailing by a 5-4 count at the Tony Gwynn Legacy.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Friday, March 27, SDSU: Rohan Lettow, RHP (3-0) vs. GCU: JT Guerrero, RHP (1-3)

Saturday, March 28, SDSU: Drew Talavs, RHP (2-2) vs. GCU: Garrett Ahern, RHP (1-3)

Sunday, March 29, SDSU: Alec Belardes, RHP (1-3) vs. GCU: TBA

AZTEC WEEKEND ROTATION
> For the third consecutive weekend, head coach Kevin Vance is projected to start the right-handed trio of Rohan Lettow, Drew Talavs and Alec Belardes at Grand Canyon. Lettow and Talavs are scheduled to make their seventh consecutive starts, while Belardes is pegged for his sixth start of the year.

> Junior Rohan Lettow (3-0, 2.97 ERA) is slated to take the hill in Friday's series opener. The Arizona State transfer leads the Mountain West with 44 strikeouts and 11.88 strikeouts per nine innings, which rank 39th and 69th in the nation, respectively. He is also slotted second in the league in innings pitched (33.1) and is tied for fourth in fewest hits allowed (28). In his last outing at San José State on March 20, the Aztec right-hander tossed a career-high seven innings, yielding two runs on six hits and one walk with six strikeouts but did not factor in the decision, as the Spartans claimed a 3-2 walk-off victory in 11 innings. 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 collegiate-best 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 (2-2, 5.34 ERA) has been penciled in for his seventh straight Saturday start this week. The Oregon State transfer pitched five innings in his last appearance against UConn on March 21, giving up two runs on seven hits and the walks with four strikeouts. However, he did not factor in the decision after the Aztecs broke a 4-4 deadlock with two runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Huskies. 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 37 strikeouts and a .241 opponent batting average while occupying the 10th spot with a 5.34 ERA.

> The Aztecs are expected to close out the series on Sunday with redshirt sophomore Alec Belardes (1-3, 7.67 ERA) on the mound. The Arizona State transfer was the winning pitcher in SDSU's mammoth 4-3 triumph over No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24, recording his first career victory 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 made his last start against UConn on March 22, when he pitched 4.1 innings (6 H, 5 R) with six strikeouts. Belardes enters the GCU series tied for fifth in the conference with 32 strikeouts while ranking 10th with 29.1 innings pitched. 

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> As of March 26, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.45), WHIP (1.45), walks allowed per nine innings (4.13) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.93), which rank 55th, 80th, 82nd and 99th in the nation, respectively.
> Additionally, SDSU owns a conference-best 5.59 team ERA and occupies the second spot in the MW in strikeouts per nine innings (10.1), the latter of which is slotted 44th in the country. 
> Individually, Rohan Lettow tops the league in strikeouts (44), while Drew Talavs (37) ranks fourth in that category, with the Aztec hurlers tying for 39th and 99th in the nation, respectively. Not to be outdone, Alec Belardes (T5th – 32) and Bryce McKnight (9th – 25) also find themselves among the league’s top 10 in strikeouts this week.
> In addition, Lettow is slotted second in the league among qualifiers in both ERA (2.97) and innings pitched (33.1) and is tied for second in victories (3) while ranking third in opposing batting average (.224). 
> Elsewhere, Aidan Russell also shares the second spot in both wins (3) and saves (2), while Talavs is tied for sixth in innings pitched (30.1) and ranks fourth in opposing batting average (.241). 
> At the plate, Jabin Trosky finds himself among the MW leaders in several categories, including hits (3rd, 35), doubles (4th, 9) and runs scored (7th, 26).
> Trosky has been the second-toughest player in the conference to strike out so far this season, fanning once every 13.3 at-bats, which ranks 34th nationally.
> Not to be outdone, Tyce Peterson shares the top perch in the league in doubles (12) and is tied for fifth in hits (32).
> Additionally, Adam Magpoc shares the third spot in both stolen bases (9) and sacrifice flies (3). 
> Elsewhere, Dawson Santana has been hit by a pitch seven times, which is tied for fourth in the conference, while his 16 walks are tied for seventh.
> Collectively, the Aztecs rank second in the MW in stolen bases (34) and fourth in both hits (235) and doubles (48) and while occupying the sixth position in batting average (.274), slugging percentage (.405), home runs (18) and scoring (6.0 runs/game).

STREAKING AZTECS
> Zach Justice has reached base safely in 18 consecutive games, marking the longest streak by an SDSU player this season. The Aztec catcher raised his batting average from .182 to .317 during that span, while his on-base percentage climbed from .240 to .430.    
> Earlier, Justice had his team-best 10-game hitting streak snapped against Washington State on March 14.
> In addition, Tyce Peterson has reached base safely in 16 straight outings. The Aztec third baseman raised his batting average from .293 to .320 in that stretch, while his on-base percentage improved from .370 to .397.
> Elsewhere, Jabin Trosky tops the squad with multiple hits in 12 games, followed by Peterson and Jake Jackson with 10 apiece.
> Trosky has hit safely in 21 of 26 games this season, including the first nine contests before his streak was snapped at Washington on Feb. 28.
> Anthony Marnell IV leads the team with multiple RBIs in six games, followed by Justice, Adam Magpoc and Dawson Santana with five each.
> The Aztecs are 13-1 this season when leading after eight innings and are 11-2 when outhitting the opposition.

MAKING PROGRESS
> The Aztecs enter their series at Grand Canyon with a 13-13 record, marking a six-game improvement in their win-loss record from the same point last season after compiling a 7-19 mark through the first 26 games of the 2025 campaign.
>  SDSU has averaged a conference-best 4.13 walks per nine innings thus far, compared to a 5.69 pace for the entire 2025 season.
> The Aztecs have also shown improvement in several other categories compared to last year, including strikeouts per nine innings (10.1 to 8.5), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.45 to 1.50) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.93 to 11.11).
> In addition, SDSU has posted a .977 fielding percentage so far this season, compared to a .955 clip in 2025.

GRAND CANYON AT A GLANCE
> The Lopes (8-18, 0-3 MW) have dropped five straight, including a 5-4 setback at Arizona on March 24. The Wildcats scored all five runs in the first three innings, as a late GCU rally fell short.
> The Lopes are 6-6 at home this season but are just 2-12 away from Brazell Field.
> Picked to finish third in the conference's preseason coaches poll, Grand Canyon suffered a sweep in its inaugural Mountain West series at Washington State, March 20-22, falling by scores of 7-3, 6-5 (10) and 6-2.
> Individually, second baseman Jake Sanko leads the Lopes with a .375 batting average, followed by infielder/outfielder Billy Scaldeferri (.295), who tops the squad with 20 RBIs, while first baseman Cannon Peery (.258) has clubbed a team-high five home runs.
> Entering the weekend Peery's five dingers are tied for third in the league, while Sanko's average is slotted seventh.
> For all games, GCU slotted fifth in the league in home runs (19) but ranks just ninth in batting average (.239), on-base percentage (.339), slugging percentage (.375) and scoring (4.9 runs/game).
> On the flip side, the Lopes' pitching staff has fared a little better, occupying the fourth spot in the MW in team ERA (6.44) and strikeouts (197) but ranks last in opposing batting average (.315)
> GCU is expected to start right-hander JT Guerrero (1-3, 4.60 ERA) on Friday, and another righty Garrett Ahern (1-3, 4.82 ERA) on Saturday, while Sunday's starter is undetermined.
> Guerrero is slotted fifth in the league with a 4.60 ERA, while Ahern also finds himself among the conference leaders in ERA (7th, 4.82), strikeouts (T7th, 29) and opponent batting average (T7th, .268)
> Reliever Cam Cunnings, who tops the Lopes with 10 appearances, has two saves to his credit, sharing the team lead with Billy Gregory.
> Scaldeferri was a prep teammate of Aztec designated hitter Anthony Marnell IV at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada. Both were seniors on the 2023 squad that captured the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Class 5A South Region championship.
> In addition, Lopes relief pitcher Dillon Orr was also a prep teammate of SDSU counterpart Colton LaFave at Shadow Ridge High School in Surprise, Arizona, where both players graduated in 2022.

STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> Since 2019, the Aztecs are 87-71 in their last 158 games when striking out 10 or more batters, sporting an 8-5 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 187-77 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 98 of its last 156 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 10-2 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 remains in the Valley of the Sun to face No. 18/22 Arizona State on Monday, March 30 at Phoenix Municipal Stadium. Game time is set for 6:30 p.m. PDT, and the contest will air live via subscription basis on ESPN+.