Aztecs Set For Back-to-Back Midweek Games vs. UCSD, at LBSU

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State takes a break from Mountain West competition for a pair of non-conference games this week when it plays host to UC San Diego on Tuesday, April 14 at Tony Gwynn Stadium before traveling up the freeway to face Long Beach State on Wednesday, April 15. Both contests are set to begin at 6 p.m. PT.

Live stats will be available for both games, while the Aztecs’ crosstown battle against the Tritons will air live on the Mountain West Network, with links to both platforms available on GoAztecs.com.

In addition, SDSU celebrate Filipino Heritage Night when it squares off against UCSD on Tuesday, with the first 200 fans in attendance receiving free Filipino-themed T-shirts.

The Aztecs (19-18, 7-5 MW) dropped a three-game series on the road to New Mexico this past weekend, falling by scores of 5-3, 11-3 and 12-8, to slip into a tie for fourth place in the Mountain West standings with Washington State.

Despite losing two of three games at UC Santa Barbara, April 10-12, the Tritons (15-16) maintain a precarious perch atop the Big West with an 11-4 record in conference play, while the Gauchos and Cal Poly find themselves in the thick of the race with identical 10-5 marks.

In addition, Long Beach State (11-23) occupies the 10th spot in the Big West with a 6-12 ledger after falling short in two of three encounters against Cal State Fullerton over the weekend. Prior to Wednesday’s clash with SDSU, the Dirtbags will play host to No. 10/12 USC on Tuesday.

Individually, Tyce Peterson leads the Aztecs with a .333 batting average, a .646 slugging percentage and nine home runs, while tying Zach Justice for the top spot on the team with 30 RBIs.

PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP VS. UCSD
The Aztecs are projected to start Carson Johnson (1-3, 7.94 ERA) against the Tritons at home on Tuesday, while UCSD is expected to counter with fellow right-hander Evan Seneres (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

Johnson earned his first victory in a Scarlet and Black uniform on April 7 after combining on the 10th no-hitter in program history in the Aztecs’ 1-0 shut out of UC Riverside.

A native of Chandler, Arizona, Johnson retired all six batters he faced in two innings pitched, highlighted by three strikeouts.

Johnson will be making his sixth start of the season and first since March 21 at San José State. In his last three outings, all as a reliever, the redshirt sophomore has recorded eight strikeouts against zero walks in a combined 7 1/3 innings, allowing just two runs on seven hits in that span.

Conversely, Seneres will be pitching in his second career game as a starter after tossing four scoreless innings against Oregon on March 24. The The Triton freshman gave up just one hit and one walk with one strikeout but did not factor in the decision after the Ducks pulled away in the late innings for a 6-0 triumph.

At press time, the pitching matchup for Wednesday’s game at Long Beach State was undetermined.

SERIES RECORD VS. UCSD
The Aztecs own a 29-11 advantage against the Tritons in the all-time series dating back to 1971.

The teams split two meetings last season with each side winning on the opponent’s diamond. SDSU posted a 10-7 victory at Triton Ballpark in the fourth game of the 2025 campaign before experiencing a reversal of fortune at Tony Gwynn Stadium nearly two months later in a 14-3 setback in seven innings.

In last year’s victory, Drew Rutter tied his career high with three hits and scored two runs.

In six career games against UCSD, Jake Jackson is hitting .333 (5-15) with one double, one triple, four RBIs and three runs scored.

Tuesday’s contest marks the first of two games against the Tritons this season. The Aztecs will head across town to La Jolla for the rematch on Tuesday, May 5.

SERIES RECORD VS. LONG BEACH STATE
SDSU leads the all-time series against the Dirtbags 90-57-1, including a 48-26-1 mark in San Diego. Additionally, the Aztecs sport a 41-31 ledger vs. LBSU in Long Beach and are 1-0 on a neutral field after logging a 5-1 victory in 2018 at Lake Elsinore Diamond.

San Diego State will be looking to sweep the season series from the Dirtbags after posting a wild 13-10 victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium on March 4. In that contest, Jake Jackson belted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to provide the winning margin. In addition, the Aztecs 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.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
As of April 13, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.36), walks allowed per nine innings (4.01) and WHIP (148), which rank 54th, 67th and 80th in the nation, respectively.

Additionally, SDSU tops the conference with a 5.71 team ERA and a .265 opponent batting average while ranking second with 340 strikeouts and  9.50 strikeouts per nine innings, the latter of which is slotted 60th in the country.

Offensively, Tyce Peterson finds himself among the conference leaders in several categories, including home runs (2nd, 9), doubles (2nd, 16), slugging percentage (3rd, .646), hits (T-4th, 48), doubles (3rd, 14) and OPS (7th, 1.059).

Additionally, Jabin Trosky is tied for seventh in the MW in hits (47) and triples (2) while sharing the eighth spot in doubles (11).

Trosky has been the second-toughest player in the conference to strike out so far this season, fanning once every 12.6 at-bats, which ranks 30th nationally.

As a team, the Aztecs rank second in the league in stolen bases (45), fourth in hits (350) and home runs (33) and fifth in slugging percentage (.429) while occupying the sixth spot in batting average (.278) and scoring (6.1 runs/game).

Not to be outdone,  SDSU has vaulted to the top of the Mountain West with a .977 team fielding percentage.

AZTEC NOTEBOOK
Tyce Peterson leads the Aztecs with multiple hits in 16 games and tops the squad with two or more RBIs in nine outings.

In addition, Jake Jackson is tied for second on the squad with multiple hits in 14 games, alongside Jabin Trosky.

SDSU is 18-1 this season when leading after eight innings and are 17-3 when outhitting the opposition.

The Aztecs also sport a 7-3 record this year in one-run games.

UCSD AT A GLANCE
Infielder/outfielder Anthony Potestio leads the Tritons with a .300 batting average, 29 runs scored and eight stolen bases, while first baseman Gabe Camacho (.252) tops the squad with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs and ranks second with 28 runs.

Collectively, UCSD ranks second in the Big West in both home runs (38) and walks (165), while occupying the third spot in on-base percentage (.374) and slugging percentage (.409) and the fourth position in scoring (6.2 runs/game). However, the Tritons are slotted 11th in batting average (.236) and hits (243).

On the mound, Connor Etnire (3-0, 1 save) leads UCSD with 15 games pitched, followed by fellow relievers Julian Cazares (1-1, 2 saves) and Nathan Huy (0-1) with 14 appearances apiece.

As a staff, the Tritons rank eighth in the conference in ERA (6.45) and strikeouts (257) while occupying the ninth spot in opposing batting average (.295).

Through 31 games, UCSD owns a 6-6 record at home and a 9-10 ledger on the road.

LONG BEACH STATE A GLANCE
Entering the week, outfielder Trevor Goldenetz (.369) and infielder Jake Evans (.356) own the top two batting averages on the Dirtbag squad, which rank second and sixth in the Big West, respectively.

Not to be outdone, infielder Dylan Lima is tied for the conference lead with 38 RBIs and shares the fifth spot with eight home runs.

As team, the Beach is slotted third in the Big West in walks (157) and fourth in on-base percentage (.373) while ranking sixth in batting average (.250), RBIs (163), runs scored (171)

On the hill, Tyler Gebb (1-0) leads the Dirtbags with 16 appearances, followed by fellow relievers Caleb Anderson (1-5) and Ka’imi Kahalekai (0-3), who have pitched in 15 games apiece, with the latter posting a team-high two saves.

Collectively, the Dirtbags occupy the fourth spot in the Big West in strikeouts (296) and the sixth position in opponent batting average (.270) while ranking eighth in ERA (6.70).

UP NEXT
Following Wednesday’s clash at Long Beach, San Diego State will enjoy a weekend bye in its Mountain West schedule before returning to the diamond for two additional non-conference games early next week. The Aztecs will play host to Seattle on Monday, April 20 at a special 11 a.m. starting time before driving up to the San Fernando Valley to face CSUN on Tuesday, April 21 at 6 p.m. PT.