Aztecs Prep for Home Series vs. Saint Mary's This Weekend

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State returns to the diamond this weekend when it plays host to Saint Mary’s in a three-game series, March 6-8, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Friday’s opener is set to get underway at 6 p.m. PT, while Saturday’s showdown is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start, followed by Sunday’s finale at 1 p.m.

Along with live stats, which will be available for the entire weekend, Sunday’s game will air live on the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.

In addition, the first 200 fans in attendance for Friday’s clash will receive a free SDSU roller banner.

The Aztecs are coming off a wild 13-10 slugfest over Long Beach State on Wednesday, as Jake Jackson smacked a three-run homer in the eighth to provide the winning margin. In addition, SDSU also received a first-inning grand slam from Zach Justice, highlighting an eight-run outburst, as the Scarlet and Black sent 12 batters to the plate in the frame.

Earlier, reliever Aidan Russell was named Mountain West Pitcher of the Week for his clutch 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.

At the plate, the Aztecs have been paced by junior transfer Jabin Trosky, who leads the team in batting average (.377), on-base percentage (.421) and hits (20). The SDSU shortstop also ranks second in doubles (5) and stolen bases (3) while sharing the second spot in runs scored (11).

Trosky has hit safely in 11 of 13 games thus far and tops the squad with multiple hits on seven occasions.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
(Subject to change)

Friday, March 6, SDSU: Rohan Lettow, RHP (2-0) vs. SMC: John Damozonio, RHP (2-1)

Saturday, March 7, SDSU: Drew Talavs, RHP (2-1) vs. SMC: Cam Staton, LHP (1-1)

Sunday, March 8, SDSU: Carson Johnson, RHP (0-2) vs. SMC: Jake Hilton, LHP (2-0)

For the fourth straight weekend, San Diego State is projected to utilize the starting rotation of right-handers Rohan Lettow, Drew Talavs and Carson Johnson, while Saint Mary’s is expected to counter with right-hander John Damozonio along with lefties Cam Staton and Jake Hilton.

Lettow (2-0), who owns the team’s top ERA among qualifiers (2.70), recorded his second straight victory in the Aztecs’ 9-4 series-opening triumph at Washington after allowing three runs (two earned) on four hits and two walks in six innings to go with seven strikeouts. The Arizona State transfer leads the Mountain West with 27 strikeouts, which is tied for 10th in the country. He also shares the second spot in the league with 16 2/3 innings pitched.

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, yielding just two hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings.

In addition, Talavs (2-1) earned his second win of the season in SDSU’s 3-2 nail-biter at Washington on Feb. 28 when he ceded just one run on two hits and three walks while matching his career-high with eight strikeouts in six innings. Entering the week, the Aztec junior ranks second in the MW with 22 strikeouts and is slotted fifth with 16 innings pitched. He also finds himself second among team qualifiers with a 2.81 ERA.

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.

On Sunday, Carson Johnson (0-2) seeks to rebound to the level of his first collegiate start against LIU on Feb. 15, when he fanned 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 but did not factor into the decision after yielding just one earned run on two hits and two walks.

However, Johnson has not pitched more than 2 1/3 innings in his last two starts vs. Utah and Washington. Still, the redshirt sophomore ranks fourth on the team with 16 strikeouts.

SERIES RECORD VS. SAINT MARY’S
The Aztecs are 7-12 in the all-time series against the Gaels in a series that was launched in 1938.

SDSU has logged a 5-6 mark against Saint Mary’s in San Diego and a 2-6 ledger on the road.

The Aztecs will be looking to avenge a three-game sweep at the hands of the Gaels last season in Moraga, California. SDSU led on each of the three days but were unable to curtail SMC’s comeback efforts, dropping a wild 19-9 decision in eight innings in the opener, before falling by scores of 5-2 and 7-3 in the final two encounters.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of March 5, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeouts per nine innings (11.8) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.19), which rank 14th and 29th in the nation, respectively.

Additionally, SDSU is slotted 63rd in the country with a league-best WHIP of 1.32.

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

Elsewhere, San Diego State occupies the second spot in the MW in both hits allowed per nine innings (8.21) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.71).

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 (20) and shares the sixth spot in doubles (5), one behind teammate Tyce Peterson (6), who is tied  for third.

Elsewhere, Adam Magpoc shares the fourth position in the conference with four stolen, while Peterson, Gage Adams, Jake Jackson and Anthony Marnell IV are tied for sixth with two home runs.

Marnell is also slotted 10th with a .545 slugging percentage, while Max Farrell occupies the 10th spot as well with 12 runs scored.

Collectively, the Aztecs rank third in hits (115), doubles (26) and slugging percentage (.426), fourth in batting average (.262) and eighth in scoring (5.5 runs/game).

STREAKING AZTECS
Outfielder Adam Magpoc owns the team’s longest current hitting streak at seven 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 seven games, followed by Magpoc (4), Jake Jackson (4) 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 out-hitting the opposition.

SDSU is also 6-1 on the season when hitting a home run.

STRIKEOUTS GALORE
Since 2019, the Aztecs are 86-69 in their last 155 games when striking out 10 or more batters, boasting a 7-3 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 185-75 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 94 of its last 151 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 6-1 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).

SAINT MARY’S AT A GLANCE
After capturing three of four games against San José State at split venues, Feb. 26-March 1, the Gaels (8-4) posted a 7-2 triumph over UC Davis at home on Tuesday. With the victory, Saint Mary’s improved to 6-3 in home games to go with a 2-1 mark on the road.

As of March 5, the Gaels lead the West Coast Conference in several categories, including batting average (.343), hits (146), home runs (22), RBIs (89), runs scored (95) and slugging percentage (.577).

On the national level, Saint Mary’s enters the weekend ranked ninth in batting average, 12th in hits and 16th in home runs.

Individually, the Gaels are paced by junior outfielder Tanner Griffiths, who is slotted third in the country with a league-best .515 batting average, while fellow classmates Diego Castellanos (7th, .383), Jacob Johnson (8th, .375) and sophomore Brady Petit (9th, .371) all find themselves among the WCC leaders in that category.

In addition, Johnson is perched atop the league with seven home runs and 22 RBIs, which are tied for seven and ninth in the nation, respectively. The Saint Mary’s infielder also shares the third spot in the WCC in hits (18) with Castellanos.

On the mound, the Gaels are slotted third in the conference with a 4.17 ERA and rank third with 109 strikeouts.

SMC is projected to employ the rotation of John Damozonio (2-1), Cam Staton (1-1) and Jake Hilton (2-0) this weekend.

Along with Damozonio, Hilton is tied atop the WCC with two victories and ranks fifth with a 1.50 ERA. Additionally, Staton is tied for eighth with 17 strikeouts, while Damozonio (16), Hilton (14) and Sam Kretsch (14) find themselves among the league’s top 20. Kretsch (1-0) collected two saves in the Gaels’ series against San José State.

Saint Mary’s sports four players on its roster who prepped at San Diego County high schools, including infielder Brady Petit (La Costa Canyon), catcher Brett Williams (San Marcos), pitcher Talin Gardini (Patrick Henry) and pitcher Noah Waldeck (Tri-City Christian).

The Gaels are under the direction of Eric Valenzuela, who enters the third year of his second stint with the program and ninth overall after spending the previous four seasons as head coach at Long Beach State.

Prior to his first tour of duty at Saint Mary’s from 2014-19, Valenzuela worked under the late Tony Gwynn at San Diego State, serving four seasons as the Aztecs' pitching coach and recruiting coordinator from 2010-13. While at SDSU, Valenzuela was a member of an Aztec staff that helped the Scarlet and Black capture the 2013 Mountain West tournament championship. 

UP NEXT
Following this weekend’s action, San Diego State will make the short drive up to Orange County to battle Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, March 10, starting at 6 p.m. PT. The Aztecs-Titans clash will air live on ESPN+.