Aztecs Return Home to Battle Long Beach State on Wednesday

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State will play seven of its next eight games at home, starting Wednesday, March 4, when it entertains Long Beach State in a midweek clash at Tony Gwynn Stadium. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. PT.

The Aztecs (7-5) are coming off a split in their four-game series at Washington, Feb. 27-March 2, capturing the first two encounters by scores of 9-4 and 3-2, before falling short in the final two contests, 11-2 and 4-1.

Adam Magpoc led the Scarlet and Black with a .353 batting average and six hits for the weekend, while Zach Justice, Jake Jackson, Tyce Peterson and Max Farrell collected four hits apiece.

On Monday, senior right-hander Aidan Russell was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week for his clutch relief performance at No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24, when he collected his second save of the season after retiring all 11 batters he faced to preserve a huge 4-3 victory.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
The Aztecs are projected to start junior right-hander Bryce McKnight (0-0, 6.75 ERA) on Wednesday, while the Dirtbags are expected to counter with freshman lefty Jaxon Baker (0-1, 6.35 ERA).

McKnight will be making his fourth career start and first in a Scarlet and Black uniform after transferring from Arizona. The Phoenix native has appeared in three games as a reliever for the Aztecs thus far, earning his first collegiate save in a three-inning stint at Washington on Feb. 27 when he matched his career high with four strikeouts.

Meanwhile, Baker will take the mound for his third straight start on Wednesday. The Murrieta, California, product made his collegiate debut against San Diego on Feb. 17, offsetting three walks and a hit with a trio of strikeouts in 4 1/3 scoreless innings but did not factor in the decision. However, the LBSU newcomer was tagged for five runs (four earned) in his last outing vs. Cal State Bakersfield on Feb. 22 when he lasted just 1 1/3 innings.

SERIES RECORD VS. LONG BEACH STATE
The Aztecs lead the all-time series against the Dirtbags 89-57-1, including a 47-26-1 mark in San Diego. Additionally, SDSU sports a 41-31 ledger vs. LBSU in Long Beach and is 1-0 on a neutral field after logging a 5-1 victory in 2018 at Lake Elsinore Diamond.

The Aztecs dropped a pair of games to the Dirtbags in 2024, falling short by a 6-3 count at Tony Gwynn Stadium before sustaining a 12-5 setback in Long Beach.

The two teams will square off in rematch at Blair Field in Long Beach on Wednesday, April 14.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of March 3, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeouts per nine innings (11.9) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.23), which rank 13th and 28th in the nation, respectively.

Additionally, SDSU occupies the 48th spot in the country with a league-best WHIP of 1.27.

The Aztecs are also perched atop the conference this week with a .978 fielding percentage.

Elsewhere, San Diego State is slotted second in the MW in both hits allowed per nine innings (7.71) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.69).

Individually, Rohan Lettow tops the league with 27 strikeouts, which is tied for 10th nationally, followed closely by Drew Talavs (2nd - 22) and Alec Belardes (4th - 20).

In addition, Aidan Russell leads the MW with two saves and a 0.90 ERA, while Talavs ranks third in hits allowed per nine innings (5.63).

At the plate, Jabin Trosky is tied for third in hits (17) and shares the sixth spot in doubles (5), one behind teammate Tyce Peterson (6), who is tied  for third.

Collectively, the Aztecs are slotted third in doubles (25), fourth in hits (100) and slugging percentage (.413), sixth in batting average (.250) and eighth in scoring (4.8 runs/game).

STREAKING AZTECS
Outfielder Adam Magpoc owns the team’s longest current hitting streak at six games. The junior transfer set a career high with four hits in the season opener vs. LIU and matched his collegiate best with four RBIs. He also tops the squad with multiple RBIs in three contests.

In addition, shortstop Jabin Trosky tops the squad with multiple hits in six games, followed by Magpoc (4), Jake Jackson (3) and Tyce Peterson (3). Trosky hit safely in the first nine games of the season before his streak was snapped at Washington on Feb. 28.

Elsewhere, first baseman Max Farrell had his streak of reaching base safely snapped at 11 games vs. the Huskies on March 1.

The Aztecs are 7-0 this year when leading after six innings and are 6-0 when out-hitting the opposition.

LONG BEACH STATE AT GLANCE
In four home games last week, the Dirtbags alternated two victories over BYU (10-7, 7-6) with a pair of losses to Washington State (10-4, 9-7), slipping to 4-7 on the season.

Wednesday’s clash will be LBSU’s first true road game of the 2026 campaign. The Dirtbags played three neutral-site contests at the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas, sandwiching a victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi around losses to Pittsburgh and Cal State Bakersfield.

As of March 3, the Beach leads the Big West in walks (69) and on-base percentage (.417) while ranking third in batting average (.254) and fourth in RBIs (56) and runs scored (59).

Individually, the Dirtbags are led by freshman outfielder Trevor Goldenetz, who is slotted fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.500) and is tied for seventh in hits (14) while ranking 10th in batting average (.359).

In addition, sophomore infielder Jake Evans is hitting .345 with a team-best .483 slugging percentage, while fellow classmate Trotter Enright (.289) tops the squad with 10 RBIs, which is tied for ninth in the conference.

On the mound, LBSU pitchers occupy the fifth spot in the Big West in opponent batting average (.252) and the sixth position in strikeouts (82) while ranking eighth in ERA (6.06).

UP NEXT
Following Wednesday’s clash, San Diego State will play host to Saint Mary’s in a three-game series, March 6-8, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.