Aztecs Welcome UC Riverside for Midweek Clash on Tuesday

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State jumps out of conference play on Tuesday, April 7, when it welcomes UC Riverside to Tony Gwynn Stadium for a midweek battle, starting at 6 p.m. PT.

SDSU will celebrate The Eras Night against UCR, with the first 50 fans receiving a free Aztec-themed friendship bracelet and sticker.

Freshman right-hander Jake Frohn (0-2, 3.86 ERA) is projected to make his third consecutive midweek start on Tuesday, while the Highlanders are expected to counter with junior lefty Josh Martinez (1-4, 13.85 ERA).

Frohn pitched two innings in his last start at No. 22/25 Arizona State, where he gave up two runs on two hits and one walk with a pair of strikeouts but did not factor in the decision after the Sun Devils went ahead to stay with two runs in the fifth en route to a 6-2 victory.

Meanwhile, Martinez endured a rough outing in his last start against Cal Poly on March 29 when he faced just five batters without recording an out, allowing three runs on two hits and three walks.

The Aztecs (18-15, 7-2 MW) captured all three games in a home series vs. Air Force, April 2-4, to complete their first sweep of the Falcons since 2021 and first in San Diego since 2015.

Following the Air Force series, third baseman Tyce Peterson was named Mountain West Player of the Week, while first baseman Max Farrell earned conference Freshman of the Week honors.

Entering the week, Peterson finds himself among the Mountain West leaders in several categories, including home runs (2nd, 8), doubles (3rd, 13), hits (T-3rd, 43), slugging percentage (4th, .641) and OPS (5th, 1.061). Additionally, Kirkland, Washington, native is currently slotted second on the team with a .336 batting average and 26 RBIs.

Jake Jackson leads the Aztecs with a .339 batting average, contributing six homers and 19 RBIs, while Peterson, Jabin Trosky (.319, 32 runs) and Zach Justice (.318, 27 RBIs) are all hitting over .300 for the year.

Not be outdone, Adam Magpoc (.298) is tied for second in the MW with a team-best 12 stolen bases, while Farrell is slotted fourth with 10.

As a team, SDSU pitchers lead the Mountain West in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.38), walks allowed per nine innings (4.04) and WHIP (1.46), which rank 52nd, 70th and 73rd in the nation, respectively.

Additionally, the Aztecs top the conference with a 5.62 team ERA, a .261 opponent batting average and 309 strikeouts while ranking second with 9.60 strikeouts per nine innings, the latter of which is slotted 60th in the country.

Offensively, San Diego State ranks second in the league in stolen bases (45), third in hits (283) and fourth in home runs (20), while occupying the sixth position in on-base percentage (.375) and scoring (6.4 runs/game).

Meanwhile, the Highlanders (8-22, 3-9 Big West) have dropped seven of their last eight decisions, suffering a three-game sweep at Cal State Fullerton last week.

Third baseman Lucas Bonham leads all UCR regulars with a .293 batting average and six home runs and ranks second on the team with 20 RBIs, trailing utility player Jarren Sanderson (.283, 4 HR), who has driven in 22 runs this season.

Two former Aztecs are currently playing for the Highlanders, infielder Manoah Chapman (.281, 1 HR, 12 RBIs) and catcher/pitcher David Whittle (7 H, 1 2B, 5 R). Chapman was also a prep teammate of Aztec outfielder Jake Jackson at Madison High in San Diego.

Despite dropping two games to UCR last season by scores of 7-2 and 7-6, the Aztecs still lead the all-time series 43-31-2 dating back to 1968.

Following Tuesday’s clash, the Aztecs will head to New Mexico for a crucial three-game Mountain West series against the Lobos, April 10-12.