Aztecs Set for Two Early Week Games vs. USD, CSU Fullerton

SAN DIEGO – San Diego State will be back in action early this week for a pair of non-conference games when it faces the University of San Diego and Cal State Fullerton on successive nights at alternating venues, April 21-22.

The Aztecs will square off against the Toreros on Monday in a crosstown battle at Fowler Park before returning to the friendly confines of Tony Gwynn Stadium for a clash with the Titans on Tuesday. Both games are scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. PT.

Along with live stats, Monday’s contest will air live via subscription basis on ESPN+, while Tuesday’s matchup will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network. Links to all three platforms will be available on GoAztecs.com. In addition, fans can catch Tuesday’s action on their TVs or smartphones by downloading the MW app.

SDSU (14-26, 10-8) finds itself in a three-way tie for second place in the Mountain West standings with Nevada and New Mexico after posting a three-game sweep at San José State this past weekend.

Aztec pitchers posted a collective 1.33 ERA in the series and limited the Spartans to a .154 batting average along with one extra-base hit.

Omar Serrano punctuated the weekend with a 2-0 complete-game shutout after starters Garvey Rumary and Aidan Russell also emerged victorious in their respective outings.

Offensively, SDSU was paced by freshmen Daniel Arambula (.417) and CJ Moran (.400) on their Bay Area excursion, with Finley Bates (.364) not far behind. Arambula led the Scarlet and Black with five hits in the series, while Moran tied sophomore Jake Jackson with three RBIs.

Entering the week, Aztec hurlers lead the Mountain West in innings pitched (347.0) and are slotted second in strikeouts (329) while ranking fifth in both ERA (6.95) and opposing batting average (.293).

At the plate, SDSU tops the conference with 16 triples and ranks fourth with 75 doubles but occupies the sixth spot with a .274 batting average and the seventh position in both RBIs (197) and runs scored (216).

The Aztecs will be looking to complete the season sweep of the Toreros after posting a 10-4 triumph at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Feb. 25. In that contest, SDSU raced to an 8-0 advantage in the first two frames, buoyed by Jackson’s three-run homer in the first, while Moran’s two-run single highlighted a wild second inning.

With the victory, the Aztecs raised their record to 80-63-3 in the all-time series against USD dating back to 1962.

The Toreros (14-24, 9-3 WCC) climbed into sole possession of second place in the West Coast Conference after recording a home sweep of Portland over the weekend.

For the season, USD is led by junior infielder Jack Gurevitch, who finds himself among the league leaders in several categories, including batting average (2nd, .380), hits (2nd, 57), home runs (T-4th, 8) and RBIs (T-8th, 31).

In addition, outfielders Austin Smith (.346) and Rex Watson (.267) are tied for fourth in the WCC with 36 RBIs apiece and share the 11th spot with six homers each.

As a team, the Toreros are slotted third in the league in on-base percentage (.370) and are slotted fourth in batting average (.266) and slugging percentage (.409) while ranking fifth in RBIs (192) and sixth in runs scored (219).

On the mound USD pitchers occupy the second spot in strikeouts (342) and are slotted fourth in opposing batting average (.277) but rank just seventh in ERA (6.78).

Meanwhile, Cal State Fullerton (20-19, 11-7 Big West) is slotted third in the Big West standings after winning two of three games in a home series against Long Beach State, April 17-19.

The Aztecs will be looking to avenge a 7-1 setback against the Titans in Fullerton on March 4. In that game, Cal State Fullerton broke open a tight 2-1 score with a combined five runs in the seventh and eighth innings to win going away. Drew Rutter drove in SDSU’s lone run of the night with a single in the top of the sixth.

With the loss, the Aztecs slipped to 27-49-1 in the all-time series vs. the Titans dating back to 1964.

Entering the week, Cal State Fullerton ranks second in the Big West in RBIs (267) and runs scored (291) while occupying the third spot in batting average (.295), on-base percentage (.392) and slugging percentage (.475).

Individually, the Titans are paced by freshman infielder Carter Johnstone, who is slotted fourth in the league in batting average (.365) and shares the fourth spot in hits (54) along with outfielder Andrew Kirchner (.323), followed by infielder Maddox Latta, who ranks seventh in that category with 51 hits of his own.

Kirchner tops the Big West with 53 RBIs and is tied for third with 10 home runs, while Latta ranks fifth with a .359 batting average.

As a staff, Fullerton pitchers are slotted third in the league in strikeouts (341) but rank seventh in ERA (5.51) and ninth in opponent batting average (.289).

UP NEXT
San Diego State jumps back into Mountain West play when it travels to Sin City for a three-game series against UNLV, April 25-27, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.