Game Week Preview
Oregon State at San Diego State
Tony Gwynn Stadium | San Diego, Calif.
Probable Pitching Matchups
Thursday, Feb. 27 | 6 p.m. PT
Coverage: Live Stats
SDSU: Brian Leonhardt, LHP (0-0, 4.50 ERA, 2.0 IP)
OSU: Jake Pfennigs, RHP (1-1, 6.75 ERA, 6.2 IP)
Friday, Feb. 28 | 6 p.m. PT
Coverage: Live Stats | XTRA Sports 1360 AM
SDSU: Michael Paredes, RHP (0-0, 3.86 ERA, 9.1 IP)
OSU: Christian Chamberlain, LHP (1-0, 0.00 ERA, 11.1 IP)
Saturday, Feb. 29 | 6 p.m. PT
Coverage: Live Stats
SDSU: Troy Melton, RHP (2-0, 1.64 ERA, 11.0 IP)
OSU: Nathan Burns, RHP (0-0, 3.64 ERA, 11.2 IP)
Sunday, March 1 | 1 p.m. PT
Coverage: Live Stats | Mountain West Network
SDSU: Aaron Eden, RHP (0-1, 4.50 ERA, 8.0 IP)
OSU: TBA
WHAT'S ON TAP FOR AZTEC BASEBALL
> Fresh off a 2-1 victory at UC Irvine on Tuesday, San Diego State returns home to host Oregon State in a four-game series, Feb. 27-March 1, at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
> The first three games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PT, while Sunday's finale is slated for a 1 p.m. PT start.
> Live stats will be available throughout the weekend, while Friday's game will be broadcast on XTRA Sports 1360 AM with Jon Schaeffer handling the play-by-play responsibilities.
> In addition, Sunday's contest will feature a live stream on GoAztecs.com via the Mountain West Network with Jordan Carruth calling the action.
> The first 300 fans attending the Aztecs-Beavers showdown this Sunday will also receive a free Stephen Strasburg T-shirt.
> After its nail-biter at UC Irvine, San Diego State improves to 6-2 on the year, matching the second-best record through eight games in head coach Mark Martinez's tenure. The Aztecs opened with a 7-1 ledger in Martinez's first season at the helm in 2015 and also posted a 6-2 start in 2018.
> For the third consecutive season, the Aztecs finished with a 2-1 record at the Tony Gwynn Legacy last weekend, defeating Iowa (4-1) and Nebraska (4-2) on consecutive nights before falling to USC (11-5) on Sunday.
SERIES RECORDS
> Oregon State leads the all-time series vs. San Diego State 13-8-1 after the teams split two games in Corvallis last season.
> The Aztecs earned a 4-3 decision in the opener before dropping an 8-1 decision in game two at Goss Stadium.
> The Beavers entered that two-game set as the sixth-ranked team in the country after winning the NCAA title in 2018.
> In its aforementioned victory, SDSU scored two runs with two outs in the top of the fifth, taking the lead for good following an RBI single by Casey Schmitt, who later scored on a fly ball by former Aztec Joe Fitzhugh, which was dropped in the right-centerfield gap.
> Another former SDSU player Adrian Mardueno picked up the win after pitching seven innings of relief, allowing no runs on two hits and one walk with six strikeouts.
> The Aztecs will be seeking to end a four-game losing streak to OSU in San Diego. SDSU's last victory over the Beavers in Tony Gwynn Stadium occurred on Feb. 24, 2012, when the Scarlet and Black romped to an 18-2 victory.
WEEKEND ROTATION
> San Diego State's pitching rotation for the Oregon State series will feature four sophomores, including Brian Leonhardt, who is slated to start the opener on Thursday.
> Leonhardt has made two relief appearances in 2020, pitching one inning each vs. Cal State Fullerton and USC. The Aztec left-hander has given up two runs (one earned) on two hits this year with one strikeout.
> Last season, Leonhardt pitched in nine games with two starts, including SDSU's victory at Oregon State, where he tossed two innings but did not earn a decision. He finished the year with a 6.62 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 17 2/3 innings overall.
> Michael Paredes (0-0, 3.86 ERA) will receive his third consecutive Friday night start after striking out seven batters vs. Iowa on Feb. 21. He pitched six innings in that contest, giving up one run on three hits and one walk but did not get the decision.
> Troy Melton is expected to get the call on Saturday, with Aaron Eden set to wrap up the weekend with a start in Sunday's contest.
> Melton (2-0, 1.64 ERA) has impressed in his first two starts in 2020, including a career-high seven strikeouts vs. Nebraska on Feb. 22, when he allowed two runs on four hits and two walks in six innings.
> Eden (0-1, 4.50 ERA), meanwhile, yielded five unearned runs in his last start against USC on Feb. 23, where he lasted 4 2/3 innings.
TOUGH AT HOME
Since the start of the 2012 season, San Diego State is 153-98 (.614) when playing at home.
> In 2018, the Aztecs set a program record with 25 home victories at Tony Gwynn Stadium (since 1997), besting the previous standard of 24 set in 1997, 2002 and 2014.
AZTECS AMONG THE MW LEADERS
> Entering the weekend, San Diego State leads the Mountain West with a collective .281 batting average, 76 hits and a 2.28 earned run average, which ranks 32nd in the nation.
> The Aztecs also occupy the second spot in the conference in several categories, including total bases (100), home runs (5), slugging percentage (.370), on-base percentage (.355), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.39) and strikeouts per nine innings (9.4), opponent batting average (.228) and earned runs allowed (18).
> Individually, Ryan Orr leads the conference with 13 hits and ranks second with a .406 batting average, while Matt Rudick and Mike Jarvis share the top spot with eight runs scored, with Jarvis tied for the lead with three stolen bases as well. In addition, Rudick finds himself in a tie for sixth in the league with a .353 batting average.
> Not to be outdone Jacob Flores maintains a lofty perch atop the Mountain West with 18 strikeouts and ranks fourth with a 0.79 earned run average, while Troy Melton (1.64) follows in fifth.
SCHMITT CLIMBING THE CHARTS
> After recording his fourth save of the season at UC Irvine on Tuesday, Casey Schmitt took over sole possession of fourth place on the Aztecs' all-time list with 21 saves for his career, surpassing Michael Cederoth, who recorded 20 from 2011-14.
> As a result. Schmitt is just five saves behind the Aztecs' career leader Royce Ring, who compiled 26 from 2000-02, while Addison Reed (2008-09) and CJ Saylor (2014-17) are tied for second with 24 apiece.
TWO FOR TUESDAY
> With San Diego State's 2-1 triumph at UC Irvine, Aztecs snapped a 13-game losing streak when scoring two runs or fewer.
> In addition, SDSU played its first one-run game of the year, improving to 30-15 in its last 45 games with a winning tally of one marker.
STRIKEOUTS GALORE
> San Diego State recorded 27 games with 10 or more strikeouts during the 2019 campaign, marking the most double-digit strikeout performances for the Aztecs in the MW era (since 2000). SDSU surpassed the previous MW record of 23 set in a 10-6 win at Fresno State on May 11, 2009.
> The SDSU pitching staff has already notched five games with 10 strikeouts this year vs. Virginia Tech, Cal State Fullerton, Iowa, Nebraska and at UC Irvine. Not surprisingly, the Scarlet and Black is 5-0 in those contests.
> In addition, The Aztecs are 21-11 in their last 32 games when striking out 10 or more batters.
OTHER TRENDS
> San Diego State went 17-5 during the 2019 season and has won 12 of its last 15 when hitting a home run.
> In addition, the scoring the game's first run proved to be important for the Aztecs last year, with the team posting a 19-6 record when scoring first in comparison to a 13-17 mark when their opponent scores first. SDSU is 4-1 this season when scoring the first run.
> SDSU is 64-11 in its last 75 games when scoring five or more runs, including a 2-1 mark in 2020.
> San Diego State is 47-17 last 63 games following a loss.
> With their 7-5 victory vs. Virginia Tech, the Aztecs snapped a 17-game losing streak when trailing after six innings.
SCHMITT NAMED TO GOLDEN SPIKES AWARD WATCH LIST
> Junior Casey Schmitt added to his already lengthy list of preseason accolades on Feb. 13 when he earned a spot on the USA Baseball's Golden Spikes Award Watch List, beginning the process of identifying the nation's top amateur player for the 2020 season.
> With his nomination, Schmitt becomes the fourth Aztec player since 2008 to land on the preseason Golden Spikes Award Watch List, joining Michael Cederoth (2014), Addison Reed (2010) and Stephen Strasburg, who took home the top prize in 2009. In addition, Tyler Adkison landed on the GSA mid-season watch list in 2017.
> In addition, Schmitt enters the 2020 campaign with four preseason All-America honors, including three second-team plaudits from Collegiate Baseball, D1Baseball.com and Perfect Game and a third-team honor from Baseball America.
> As SDSU's starting third baseman in 2019, Schmitt finished second on the team with a .315 batting average, adding eight doubles, five home runs and 36 RBI to merit second-team all-Mountain West distinction. He also appeared in 21 games with four starts as a pitcher, posting a 3-3 record and a 3.77 ERA in 43.0 innings to go with a team-high eight saves.
> In 2018, Schmitt was a consensus freshman All-American, setting an Aztec single-season record with a 0.28 ERA (min. 30 IP) while allowing just one earned run in 32 innings pitched. He also posted a .264 batting average with one home run and 32 RBI, finishing the year as one of only two players nationally to maintain a 2.00 ERA or lower (min. 15 IP) and drive in more than 30 runs.
MORE SCHMITT
> Casey Schmitt gained valuable experience in the summer of 2019 when he played for th Cotuit Kettleers in the Cape Cod League.
> Schmitt collected MVP honors for the championship finals after belting two homers and scoring three runs in Cotuit's 10-3 title-clinching victory over Harwich. He also pitched six scoreless innings in two relief appearances during the finals, striking out eight batters against two walks.
HEAD COACH MARK MARTINEZ
> Mark Martinez begins his sixth season as head coach of the Aztecs and 15th overall as a member of the San Diego State staff after succeeding the late Tony Gwynn on August 20, 2014. He is just the fifth head coach in SDSU history since baseball was elevated to major sport status in 1936.
> During his tenure as the Aztecs' head coach, Martinez has compiled a 181-130 record (.582), highlighted by three Mountain West tournament championships in 2015, 2017 and 2018. He has also posted an 84-64 ledger (.568) in conference regular-season games.
> Since 2015, SDSU has garnered 27 all-Mountain West accolades under Martinez's tutelage, including back-to-back MW Pitchers of the Year Brett Seeburger (2017) and Garrett Hill (2018), as well as 2017 MW Player of the Year Danny Sheehan.
> Additionally, Martinez has mentored three freshman All-Americans in Chase Calabuig (2015), Casey Schmitt (2018) and Jaden Fein (2019), with the latter also receiving Mountain West Co-Freshman of the Year distinction last year.
> In 2017, Martinez recorded his 100th victory for the Scarlet and Black, becoming the fastest head coach in program history to reach the century mark in wins.
> Not to be outdone, Martinez also became the fastest head coach in Mountain West history to win three conference championships when the Aztecs captured the title in 2018.
> Martinez was hired as an assistant coach for the Aztecs in July of 2005 and served for nine years under head coach Tony Gwynn. During that time, he was promoted to the position of associate head coach.
> Since his arrival on The Mesa as an assistant coach, Martinez has witnessed 42 SDSU players get drafted into the professional ranks, with eight of those selections making the major leagues (Stephen Strasburg, Addison Reed, Justin Masterson, Bruce Billings, Quintin Berry, Lance Zawadzki, Greg Allen and Ty France).
> Prior to his arrival at San Diego State, Martinez was an assistant coach at New Mexico for 17 seasons from 1989-2005. During his time as a hitting and infield coach, he helped develop the Lobos into one of the most prominent offensive teams in the country, with UNM ranking among the top 11 nationally in hitting over his final four seasons.
> Martinez served as an assistant at his alma mater, Mesa State College (now Colorado Mesa University) in Grand Junction, Colorado, from 1984-88. He played shortstop at the school from 1982-84, earning all-conference and all-district honors as a senior.
> Martinez graduated from Mesa State with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1984 and completed his master's in sports administration at New Mexico in 1990.
Aztecs Set for Weekend Home Series vs. Oregon State
