Aztecs Gearing Up for Key MW Home Series vs. Air Force
In a battle of conference contenders, San Diego State returns to Mountain West action this week when it plays host to Air Force in a key three-game series, April 2-4, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
SAN DIEGO - In a battle of conference contenders, San Diego State returns to Mountain West action this week when it plays host to Air Force in a key three-game series, April 2-4, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Both Thursday's opener and Friday’s clash are scheduled to commence at 6 p.m. PT, while Saturday’s finale is slated to begin at 1 p.m.
Coverage for the Aztecs-Falcons series includes live stats for all three encounters, while Friday's showdown will also 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.
In addition, Saturday's contest has been designated Kids Club Day, and the first set of Aztec Baseball trading cards will be given away to the first 100 fans in attendance.
SETTING THE SCENE
> San Diego State (15-15) is coming off a 6-2 defeat at No. 22/25 Arizona State on March 30, as Tyce Peterson accounted for the Aztecs' scoring with a pair of solo home runs.
> Entering the weekend, the Aztecs (4-2 MW) find themselves in a virtual tie with Nevada (6-3 MW) for second place in the Mountain West standings, trailing front-running Air Force (5-1 MW).
> SDSU captured its second straight conference series victory after winning two of three games at Grand Canyon, March 27-29,
> As of April 1, the Aztec pitching staff leads the league in several categories, including ERA (5.82), strikeouts (274) and opposing batting average (.265).
> Since March 17, a span of 10 games, Jake Jackson (.419/.486/.744) and Tyce Peterson (.395/.438/.814) have posted SDSU's top two slash lines. Peterson leads the team with four homers, nine RBIs and 12 runs scored during that stretch, while Jackson has contributed three homers, five doubles, seven RBIs and 11 runs scored.
SERIES RECORD VS. AIR FORCE
> The Aztecs maintain a sizable 123-43 lead against the Falcons in the all-time series that dates back to 1961.
> Air Force is one of five programs SDSU has recorded over 100 victories against. The other four are New Mexico (134), Fresno State (114), UNLV (106) and Utah (104).
> The Aztecs are 68-15 vs. the Falcons in San Diego, 48-27 in Colorado and 7-1 at a neutral site.
> SDSU dropped two of three games to the Falcons at the Academy in 2025, posting a 16-4 victory in the opener experiencing a reversal of fortune in the final two contests by scores of 18-8 and 12-10.
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUPS
Thursday, April 2, SDSU: Rohan Lettow, RHP (3-1) vs. AF: Josh Holst, LHP (0-2)
Friday, April 3, SDSU: Drew Talavs, RHP (2-2) vs. AF: Gaines Estridge, RHP (1-3)
Saturday, April 4, SDSU: Alec Belardes, RHP (2-3) vs. AF: Jordan Watkins, RHP (1-2)
AZTEC WEEKEND ROTATION
> For the fourth consecutive weekend, head coach Kevin Vance is expected to start the right-handed trio of Rohan Lettow, Drew Talavs and Alec Belardes against Air Force. Lettow and Talavs are slated to make their eighth consecutive starts, while Belardes is scheduled for his seventh start of the year.
> Junior Rohan Lettow (3-1, 4.38 ERA) is projected to take the mound in Thursday's series opener. The Arizona State transfer is slotted second in the Mountain West with a 4.38 ERA and 10.95 strikeouts per nine innings while occupying the third spot with 45 strikeouts overall, which ranks 79th in the nation. In addition, Lettow is slotted fourth in innings pitched (37.0), and fifth in opponent batting average (.265). In his last start at Grand Canyon on March 27, the Chandler, Arizona, native absorbed his first loss of the season after surrendering seven runs in just 3.2 innings, as the Scarlet and Black dropped a 9-3 decision. 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 that 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.
> Junior Drew Talavs (2-2, 6.75 ERA) has been pegged for his eighth straight start in Friday's showdown. The Oregon State transfer ranks third in the Mountain West with 10.80 strikeouts per nine innings and is slotted fourth with 40 strikeouts overall and sixth with a .273 opposing batting average. 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. Talavs will be looking for a return to that form after logging his shortest appearance of the season at Grand Canyon on March 28, when he gave up seven runs in three-plus innings. He did not factor in the decision, however, as SDSU ultimately prevailed in a 12-11 nail-biter.
> The Aztecs are expected to close out the series on Saturday with redshirt sophomore Alec Belardes (2-3, 6.75 ERA) on the mound. The Arizona State transfer earned his second collegiate victory at Grand Canyon on March 29 when he allowed four runs on four hits and four walks with four strikeouts in 6.2 innings. Belardes was the winning pitcher in SDSU's mammoth 4-3 triumph over No. 1 UCLA on Feb. 24, notching his first career win after yielding three runs on three hits with three walks and a trio of strikeouts in 5.2 innings. The San Jose, California, native 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. Entering the Air Force series, Belardes is tied for fifth in the MW with 36 strikeouts and shared the sixth spots with 36.0 innings pitched while ranking seventh with a .274 opponent batting average.
SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> As of April 1, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.38), walks allowed per nine innings (3.94) and WHIP (1.47), which rank 53rd, 63rd and 86th in the nation, respectively.
> Additionally, SDSU tops the conference with a 5.82 team ERA, a .265 opponent batting average and 274 strikeouts while ranking second with 9.40 strikeouts per nine innings, the latter of which is slotted 74th in the country.
> Individually, Aidan Russell ranks second in the MW with four victories and shares the second spot with two saves, joining fellow teammates Connor Abadie and Bryce McKnight.
> Rohan Lettow finds himself among the league leaders in several categories, including ERA (2nd, 4.38), strikeouts (3rd, 45), victories (T-3rd, 3), innings pitched (4th, 37.0) and opponent batting average (5th, .265).
> Likewise, Drew Talavs is also ranked among the conference top 10 in strikeouts (4th, 40) and opponent batting average (6th, .273).
> Not to be outdone, Alec Belardes shares the fifth spot in the MW this week in strikeouts (36) and is tied for sixth in innings pitched (36.) while occupying the seventh spot in opposing batting average (.274).
> At the plate, Tyce Peterson is listed all over the conference leaderboard in home runs (T-2nd, 7th) doubles (T-2nd, 13), slugging percentage (3rd, .641), hits (T-5th, 39), OPS (8th, 1.048)
> Additionally, Jabin Trosky finds himself among the league's top 10 in hits (T-3rd, 41), runs scored (T-8th, 28) and doubles (T-9th, 9) .
> Trosky has been the third-toughest player in the conference to strike out so far this season, fanning once every 11.2 at-bats, which ranks 49th nationally.
> Elsewhere, Adam Magpoc is tied for second in the MW in sacrifice flies (4) and is slotted third in stolen bases (11).
> Dawson Santana has been hit by a pitch seven times, which is tied for fifth in the conference, while Max Farrell shares the sixth spot with 18 walks.
> Collectively, the Aztecs rank second in the league in stolen bases (36), fourth in hits (283) and fifth in home runs (24), while occupying the sixth, as well as the seventh position in on-base percentage (.363) and scoring (6.0 runs/game).
STREAKING AZTECS
> Tyce Peterson has reached base safely in 20 straight games, marking the longest streak by an SDSU player this season. The Aztec third baseman has raised his batting average from .293 to .333 in that stretch, while improving his on-base percentage (.370 to .407) and slugging percentage (.561 to .641).
> In addition, Jake Jackson has reached base safely in 15 straight outings. The Aztec center fielder has raised his batting average from .283 to a team-high .343 in that stretch, while improving his on-base percentage (.333 to .404) and slugging percentage (.522 to .588).
> Elsewhere, Jabin Trosky tops the squad with multiple hits in 14 games, followed by Peterson and Jackson with 13 apiece.
> Trosky has hit safely in 24 of 30 games this season, including the first nine contests before his streak was snapped at Washington on Feb. 28.
> Peterson leads the team with multiple RBIs in seven games, followed by Dawson Santana, Adam Magpoc and Anthony Marnell IV with six each.
> The Aztecs are 14-1 this season when leading after eight innings and are 13-3 when outhitting the opposition.
MAKING PROGRESS
> The Aztecs enter their series vs. Air Force with a 15-15 record, marking a five-game improvement in their win-loss record from the same point last season after compiling a 10-20 mark through the first 30 games of the 2025 campaign.
> SDSU has averaged a conference-best 3.94 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 (9.4 to 8.5), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.38 to 1.50) and hits allowed per nine innings (9.32 to 11.11).
> In addition, SDSU has posted a .979 fielding percentage so far this season, compared to a .955 clip in 2025.
AIR FORCE AT A GLANCE
> After suffering a three-game sweep at Tarleton State last weekend, the Falcons (11-15, 5-1 MW) rebounded with a big 18-6 run-rule victory at home over Northern Colorado in seven innings on March 31.
> With the win, Air Force moved to 4-0 at home this season, while maintaining a 6-15 mark in road/neutral-site games.
> Picked to finish last in the Mountain West preseason coaches poll, the Falcons are perched atop the conference standings at 5-1 after sweeping UNLV at home, March 13-14, and winning two of three at Nevada, March 20-22.
> Air Force has displayed its proficiency on the basepaths with a league-best 84 stolen bases, which ranks sixth nationally as of April 1.
> Individually, the Falcons sport five of the conference's top 10 stolen base leaders in outfielders Tripp Garrish (1st, 14), Kayden Bradshaw (2nd, 12) and Brooks Burdine (T-4th, 9), along with infielders Ben Niednagel (T-4th, 9), T.J. Oster (T-9th, 8) and utility Luke Elmore (T-9, 8).
> Entering the SDSU series, Bradshaw tops the squad with a .388 batting average, which ranks sixth in the MW, while his team-best 1.050 OPS is slatted seventh.
> In addition, Niednagel (.340), Wyatt Hanoian (.326), Garrish (.324) and Burdine (.300) are also hitting at or above .300 this season.
> Elsewhere, Hanoian is tied for fourth in the conference with 29 RBIs along with catcher Walker Zapp, while Garrish and infielder Landon Boyd share the team lead with five home runs, which is tied for seventh in the MW.
> For all games, Air Force ranks second in the league with an average of 9.2 runs per game and is slotted third in on-base percentage (.415) and RBIs (212), fourth in batting average (.305) and slugging percentage (.463), and fifth in hits (278) and home runs (24).
> The Falcons expected to start left hander Josh Holst (0-2, 5.46 ERA) on Thursday, followed by right-handers Gaines Estridge (1-3, 5.77 ERA) and Jordan Watkins (1-2, 10.67 ERA) on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
> Estridge is tied for the conference lead among qualifiers in fewest walks allowed (7) and ranks third in innings pitched (39.0) while occupying the 10th spot in strikeouts (28) and ERA (5.77).
> In addition, Holst is tied for seventh in the MW in fewest walks allowed (11) and is slotted eighth in ERA (5.46).
> Out of the bullpen, Davis Rhyne (0-0, 8.59 ERA, 1 save) leads the team with 12 games pitched, followed by Marcus Downing (3-0, 4.32 ERA) and Trey Rutledge (2-0, 5.51 ERA, 1 save) with 10 appearances each.
> Collectively, the Air Force staff is slotted fourth in the MW in opposing batting average (.298) while ranking seventh in both ERA (7.24) and strikeouts (210).
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 189-77 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 100 of its last 160 games dating back to 2019 when hitting a home run, including a 12-4 mark this season.
> The Aztecs have homered in each of their last six games, matching the team's longest streak since March 31-April 7, 2023.
> SDSU has 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 week's series, San Diego State closes out its homestand with a midweek clash against UC Riverside on Tuesday, April 7, starting at 6 p.m. PT.