April 30, 2014
BASEBALL SET TO HOST FRESNO STATE IN HOME FINALE
San José State baseball wraps up its home portion of the 2014 season with a weekend series against Mountain West foe Fresno State which begins Friday night at 6:00 p.m. It will be the one and only meeting of the regular season between the two teams that haven't met in a series since 2012. The call on Kalei Contrades to be the Friday night starter, a role in which he thrived in last week at San Diego State. Sunday, the seven seniors will be honored prior to the 1:00 p.m. start and the Spatans Fan Appreciation Luau will take place at Blethen Field following the game.
GAMES #47-49
vs. FRESNO STATE (24-22, 11-13 MW)
FRIDAY, MAY 2, 6:00 PM PDT
SATURDAY, MAY 3, 1:00 PM PDT
SUNDAY, MAY 4, 1:00 PM PDT
MUNICIPAL STADIUM (5,200)
SAN JOSE, CALIF.
VIDEO: MW DIGITAL NETWORK
RADIO: KSJS 90.5 FM
WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK?
San José State went 1-3 last week, dropping two of three to Mountain West foe San Diego state and taking a 12-5 loss at #1-ranked Cal Poly (Collegiate Baseball). Friday night's game ended in heartbreaking fashion when SJSU allowed two runs to score in the bottom of the 11th inning for a 3-2 loss. San José State answered in Saturday's game with a 9-5 win. A four-run top of the ninth propelled SJSU to victory.
MOUNTAIN WEST OUTLOOK
SJSU remained sixth out of seven in the Mountain West standing after this weekend's play. The one win alone over San Diego State gave the Spartans some more space from seventh place Air Force which was swept by Fresno State. UNLV also pulled off a sweep over New Mexico and the two teams enter this week at the top of the standings with identical win percentages (.667). Third place Nevada had the weekend off from Mountain West action.
WHAT'S LEFT
San José State will host its final home games this week with a 6:00 p.m. Tuesday night matchup against Santa Clara and a weekend series versus Fresno State. SJSU's seven seniors will be honored prior to Sunday's game. The short ceremony will began at approximately 12:40, with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. Then the team finishes the year on a five game road trip that includes midweek matchups with San Francisco (5/6) and Stanford (5/13). The Spartans conclude Mountain West play with a three-game set at Air Force (5/9-11).
TIME TO GET KRAZY
It's time for Spartan baseball fans to get Krazy this Sunday afternoon with renowned cheerleader and SJSU alum Krazy George leading the charge at Municipal Stadium. Try to keep up with his beat of the drum as the Spartans close out the home season with the rival Fresno State Bulldogs in a 1:00 p.m. start. Famously know for inventing the wave at a 1981 Oakland A's playoff game versus the New York Yankees, Krazy George will be at Municipal Stadium to get fans on their feet for the final time in 2014!
FAN APPRECIATION LUAU THIS SUNDAY
Join the Spartan baseball players and coaches at the Fan Appreciation Luau which will follow the final home game of the season this Sunday. The Luau taking place at Blethen Field will be a chance to celebrate the 2014 season and honor the senior class. For more information and to purchase your tickets, contact Mikey Riley at 408-924-1287 or baseball@sjsu.edu.
STREAKING SPARTANS
Andre Mercurio's first-inning base hit on Sunday made it his 20th consecutive game reaching base. He is batting .312 on the streak which includes 24 hits, six walks and he was hit seven times. Matt Lopez has reached base in his last 16 games which includes a career-long 12-game hit streak. Five other Spartans have hitting streaks alive of three or more games.
STAY HOT SHELLY
Spartans right fielder Sheldon Daquioag is on a six-game hit streak during which he is 11-for-24 (.458) with three runs, three RBI and only one strikeout.
VALDEZ CAREER WATCH
Infielder Jacob Valdez continues to climb the ranks of the top-10 all-time in multiple categories of the SJSU baseball record book. This past week he moved up to eighth in runs with 120 and fourth in at-bats with 729. The senior from Tracy, Calif., with 211 hits, is three shy of Nate Corrick in eighth and six shy of Anthony Contreras in seventh.
SPARTANS' SOS SECOND IN THE COUNTRY
After bouts with #1-Cal Poly and one of the MW's best teams record-wise last week, the Spartans' strength of schedule according to Boyd's World is second in the Country. Only Stanford has played a tougher schedule this season according to the site's April 28th Iterative Strength Ratings. San José State's opponents have a combined record of 323-223-2 (.591).
Rank | Team | 2014 Record |
1. | Stanford | 18-18 |
2. | San José State | 13-31 |
3. | California | 17-21 |
4. | Arizona State | 23-17 |
5. | Long Beach State | 20-21 |
6. | Hawai'i | 15-25 |
7. | Washington State | 18-22 |
8. | Utah | 13-25 |
9. | Florida | 30-15 |
10. | Cal State Fullerton | 21-17 |
SJSU BATTING LEADERS
Freshman Brett Bautista continues to lead the squad in batting with a .310 average. Matt Lopez tops the total hits column at 47, but Kyle Gallegos with 46, Bautista and Sheldon Daquioag each with 45 are close behind. Lopez leads the scoring categories with 21 runs and 25 RBI. Gallegos leads the team in doubles (10) and stolen bases (8), while Matt Carroll is the club's leader with four home runs.
SCOUTING SANTA CLARA
The Santa Clara Broncos (19-24) come into Tuesday night's game winners of two straight and in five of the last seven. The Broncos took two of three from Loyola Marymount last weekend. The team is 6-7 on the road this year and is 6-9 in games at Municipal Stadium in the last 10 seasons. Jose Vizcaino, Jr., leads the team in batting with a .324 average while Stevie Berman and Greg Harisis are also hitting over .300. As a team, the Broncos hit .261 to their opponents .284 average. The pitching staff has a 4.37 ERA and RHP Nick Medeiros (1-0, 6.06) will start Tuesday night.
LAST MEETING
SJSU defeated Santa Clara 10-7 on April 15 at Stephen Schott Stadium. SJSU belted a season-high eight extra base hits in the game. Johnny Melero, who will start Tuesday for SJSU, picked up his second win of the year that night. The Spartans have a 12-18 record against the Broncos in the last 10 seasons.
SCOUTING FRESNO STATE
The Fresno State Bulldogs (24-22, 11-13 MW) enter into the series winners in five of the last six games. They swept last place Air Force in their most recent MW action (4/25-27). Jordan Luplow leads the team in batting with a .381 average while Chris Mariscal and Taylor Ward are also hitting over .300. The Bulldogs have shown balanced power this season having four players with at least four home runs. They lead the conference in that category with 30. A 3.57 team ERA ranks third in the MW, with Tim Borst (3-2, 2.69 leading the pack of starters. Garrett Mundell has appeared in 22 games (3 starts) and leads the staff with a 1.41 ERA. The Bulldogs are coached by Mike Batesole in his 12th season.
LAST MEETING
San José State swept a three-game series in Fresno the last time these two faced each other in 2012. The Spartans beat the Bulldogs by a combined 14 runs in the series.