Aztecs Travel to UNLV Seeking Outright MW Regular-Season Title

SAN DIEGO -- San Diego State wraps up its regular-season schedule this week when it travels to the Silver State to battle UNLV in its final three-game series as Mountain West members, May 14-16, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Both Thursday's opener and Friday's clash are scheduled to get underway at 6:05 p.m. PT, while Saturday’s finale is set for a 12:05 p.m. start.

Along with live stats, all three games will 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.

SETTING THE SCENE
> The Aztecs (32-20, 15-6 MW) captured at least share of the Mountain West regular-season championship with a 4-1 victory over San José State on May 10 after Air Force rallied for a 10-9 triumph over Washington State.
> SDSU can clinch the outright conference title with one victory this week over the Rebels (28-23, 9-12 MW).
> The Aztecs' crown marks their first MW regular-season championship since the 2023 campaign and fourth overall (2002, 2004).
> Kevin Vance becomes with first head coach in SDSU baseball history to win a conference regular-season title in his first season at the helm of the program.
> Regardless of this week's outcomes, the Aztecs will be the No. 1 seed for the Mountain West Championship, set for May 21-24 at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona.
> SDSU owns a combined 8-1 record against three of the league’s other top teams, including Air Force (3-0), Nevada (3-0) and Washington State (2-1).
> The Aztecs' 32 victories this season matches their highest win-total since the 2019 campaign when the Scarlet and Black finished with a 32-25 ledger.
> As of May 13, the SDSU pitching staff leads the MW in ERA (4.87) and opposing batting average (.251) while ranking second in strikeouts (466) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.10).

SERIES RECORD VS. UNLV
> SDSU holds a 106-70 advantage in the all-time series, which dates back to 1978.
> The Aztecs are 54-27 vs. the Rebels in San Diego, 48-47 in Las Vegas and 4-6 at neutral sites.
> UNLV is one of five programs SDSU has recorded over 100 victories against. The other four are New Mexico (134), Air Force (126), Fresno State (117) and Utah (104).
> Last year, the Aztecs posted an 8-0 shutout of the Rebels in the first round of the Mountain West Championship after each team registered a three-game sweep on their respective home fields.
> Among SDSU returners, Zane Kelly hit .280 (7-25) in seven games against UNLV in 2025, smacking three doubles with five RBIs, four runs scored and a stolen base.

PROMISE DELIVERED
> After posting a 20-39 overall record last year, San Diego State has completed a dramatic turnaround in 2026, capturing the Mountain West regular-season championship under the direction of first-year head coach Kevin Vance.
> The Aztecs enter their series at UNLV with a 32-20 ledger, marking a 14-game improvement in their win-loss record from the same point last season after compiling an 18-34 mark through the first 52 games of the 2025 campaign.
>  SDSU pitchers have averaged a conference-best 3.79 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 (9.1 to 8.5), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.40 to 1.50) and hits allowed per nine innings (8.56 to 11.11).
> In addition, SDSU has posted a .979 fielding percentage so far this season, compared to a .955 clip in 2025.

SDSU IN MW RANKINGS
> As of May 13, the Aztecs lead the Mountain West in WHIP (1.37), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.40) and walks allowed per nine innings (3.79), which rank 39th, 42nd and 43rd in the nation, respectively.
> In addition, SDSU tops the conference with a 4.87 team ERA and a .251 opponent batting average while occupying the second spot with 466 strikeouts and 9.10 strikeouts per nine innings, the latter of which ranks 65th in the country.
> The Aztecs are also tied for the MW lead with 14 saves, as Aidan Russell shares the individual lead with four in that category, while Issac Araiza is tied for fifth with three saves of his own.
> Not to be outdone, Russell is tied for third in the conference with a team-high six victories.
> Starter Rohan Lettow ranks second in the MW in both ERA (3.67) and strikeouts (87) while occupying the third spot in opponent batting average (.240) and the fourth position in innings pitched (62.2).
> Likewise, Alec Belardes is slotted ninth with 57 strikeouts, while Drew Talavs ranks 10th in that category with 55 punchouts of his own.
> Reliever Bryce McKnight occupies the fourth spot in ERA (4.10) and ranks ninth in opponent batting average (.279).
> Despite sitting out four games earlier this month, Tyce Peterson is still listed all over the conference leaderboard in several categories, including doubles (T-2nd, 19), slugging percentage (3rd, .611), OPS (6th, 1.001), home runs (T-6th, 12) and RBIs (T-10th, 43). Peterson's 19 doubles are tied for 29th nationally.
> Additionally, Jake Jackson shares the third spot in home runs (13) and is slotted sixth in slugging percentage (.598). Zane Kelly has also climbed into the MW top 10 in home runs, tying for 10th in that statistic (9).
> Elsewhere, Jabin Trosky slotted sixth in the league with 68 hits and ranks 10th with four sacrifice bunts. The Aztec shortstop has been the second-toughest player in the conference to strike out so far this season, fanning once every 11.9 at-bats, which ranks 43rd in the country.
> Other players among the MW leaders include Dawson Santana, who is tied for second in walks (35), while Adam Magpoc shares the fifth spot in stolen bases (16). In addition, Max Farrell is tied for seventh in both triples (3) and stolen bases (13).
> Collectively, the Aztecs rank second in the league in stolen bases (68) and third in home runs (54) and are slotted fifth in hits (506) while occupying the sixth position in batting average (.284), slugging percentage (.440) and on-base percentage (.370).
> Not to be outdone, SDSU has vaulted to the top of the Mountain West with a .979 team fielding percentage.

AZTEC NOTEBOOK
> Jabin Trosky leads the team with multiple hits in 22 games, followed by Tyce Peterson (20), Jake Jackson (19) and Max Farrell (18).
> In addition, Peterson tops the squad with two or more RBIs in 12 contests, followed by Jackson (10), Zane Kelly (9) and Dawson Santana (9).
> Jackson has reached base safely in 17 consecutive games, scoring at least one run in 14 of those contests, while belting seven homers.
> The Aztecs are 28-1 this season when leading after eight innings and are 27-3 when outhitting the opposition.
> SDSU  is also 23-4 when scoring over six runs this year and sports a 9-3 record in one-run games.

STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> Since 2019, the Aztecs are 95-71 in their last 166 games when striking out 10 or more batters, sporting a 16-5 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.

GOING, GOING, GONE
> San Diego State has homered in 10 of its last 13 games, going yard on eight occasions during a sweep at Fresno State last month, including a season-high four round-trippers in game two.
> The Aztecs also went deep twice in game two of their weekend series against San José State  climbing to third in the Mountain West with 54 home runs so far this season and easily surpassing their meager total of 22 from a year ago.
> With three games remaining in the regular season, SDSU is on pace to hit 57 home runs this year, which would tie for the second-highest total since 2001 after the 2017 team (62) and the 2006 squad (57).
> The Aztecs have smacked three home runs in four other contests this year vs. LIU (Feb. 14), at No. 1 UCLA (Feb. 24), at New Mexico (April 12) and vs. UC San Diego (April 14) after collecting three home runs in a game just once during the 2025 campaign vs. Fresno State (April 12, 2025).
> SDSU homered in nine straight games from March 22 to April 4 but had its streak snapped in a 1-0 shutout of UC Riverside on April 7.
> The Aztecs’ streak of nine straight games with at least one home run is their longest since at least the 2002 campaign. In 2009, SDSU fashioned a stretch with at least one long ball in seven consecutive games from April 5-17 that season.
> Jake Jackson (13 HR) and Tyce Peterson (12 HR) own the top two spots on the team in home runs thus far, giving the Aztecs two double-digit home run hitters in the same season since Erik Castro (12) and Cory Vaughn (10) accomplished the feat in 2009.

OTHER TRENDS
> The Aztecs are 202-78 over the last eight seasons when scoring five or more runs, including a 24-5 mark this year. The Scarlet and Black posted a stellar 38-6 record when scoring five or more run during the 2017 campaign.
> SDSU is 19-12 in games after a win and 12-8 in games following a loss.

UNLV AT A GLANCE
> Entering the week, the Rebels (28-23, 9-12 MW) find themselves tied for sixth place in the Mountain West standings with Grand Canyon.
> UNLV captured a series victory at Fresno State, May 8-10, posting an 11-6 decision and a 17-1 romp in seven innings before dropping a 14-13 slugfest.
> With their results, the Rebels move to 11-11 away from Las Vegas this season while maintaining a 17-12 record at home.
> Individually, UNLV boasts four regulars who find themselves among the MW top 10 in batting average, including shortstop Drew Barragan (2nd, .384), outfielder Jack Salmon (4th, .366), third baseman Gunnar Myro (8th, .355) and outfielder Nin Burns II (10th, .347).
> Barragan leads the league in several categories, including hits (76), RBIs (59), slugging percentage (.717) and OPS (1.190) while ranking second in batting average and runs scored (60) and sharing the third spot in home runs (13). 
> In addition, second baseman Marcos Rosales (.309) tops the conference in runs scored (66) and is tied for second in doubles (19), while first baseman Jonny Rodriguez (.270) shares the second spot in RBIs (52) and the sixth position in home runs (12).
> Not to be outdone, Burns is listed among the MW leaders is several categories, including OPS (4th, 1.039), RBIs (T-4th, 51), runs scored (8th, 50), batting average (10th) and on-base percentage (10th, .442).
> As a team, the Rebels lead the Mountain West in batting average (.316), hits (554), on-base percentage (.416), slugging percentage (.525), runs (455) and scoring (8.9 runs/game).
> At the national level, UNLV ranks seventh in runs (455) and scoring (8.9 runs/game) while occupying the 11th spot in batting average (.316). The Rebels are also slotted 15th in hits (554) and slugging percentage (.525).
> On the mound, UNLV is expected to start left-hander Parker Dillhoff (4-3, 6.92 ERA) and  right-hander Carson Lane (2-4, 8.07 ERA) on Thursday and Friday, respectively, while the starter for Saturday's finale is undetermined a press time.
> Entering the series, Dillhoff leads the conference with 89 strikeouts and ranks 10th with a .283 opponent batting average, while Lane is slotted sixth with 60 punchouts of his own.
> Out of the bullpen, Colton Sundloff (2-0, 4.97 ERA) tops the squad with 24 relief appearances this year, while Jase Evangelista (4-1, 5.75 ERA) and Jacob Gomberg (1-4, 9.72 ERA) are tied for the team lead with three saves apiece.
> Collectively, the UNLV pitching staff leads the MW in strikeouts (489) and is slotted fifth in opposing batting average (.301), but ranks last in walks (268) and ERA (7.79).

UP NEXT
> Following Saturday's showdown, San Diego State begins its postseason quest next week when it travels to the desert for the 2026 Mountain West Championship, May 21-24, at Sloan Park in Mesa, Arizona. The top-seeded Aztecs will face the winner of the first-round matchup pitting the fourth and fifth seeds on Friday, May 22 at 1:05 p.m. PT.