April 20, 2015
SAN JOSÉ STATE CONTINUES ROAD TRIP AT UC DAVIS
The Spartans travel north to take on the UC Davis Aggies of the Big West Conferenec on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. The matchup is the only meeting between the Spartans and Aggies in 2015 after the schools played twice in the Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament and once in Davis a year ago.
Game 41
San José State (10-30, 3-15 MW) at UC Davis (21-16-1, 5-7 Big West)
Tues. · April 21 · 2:30 p.m.
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Pitching Matchup: Tues. -- LHP Jonathan Hernandez (0-2, 6.60) vs. TBA
Live Audio: Via Stretch Internet
Live Stats: Via Statbroadcast
Radio: None
Social Media: @SJSUAthletics | @SJSUBaseball | #GoSpartans
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All-Time Series: San José State leads, 42-33
SERIES HISTORY
The Spartans lead the all-time series with the Aggies, 42-33, after dropping two of three games against UC Davis last season. The Spartans and Aggies split a pair of games in the 2014 Jack Gifford Memorial Tournament, and then San José State a contest at UCD the following Tuesday. The Spartans have not won in Davis since the 2011 season.
SCOUTING UC DAVIS
Led by 4th-year head coach Matt Vaughn, the Aggies sit at 21-16-1 overall and 5-7 in Big West action. UC Davis enters Tuesday's meeting having lost five of its last six contests to Cal State Fullerton, San Francisco and UC Irvine. Senior catcher Izaak Silva (.378) and redshirt-senior infielders Nick Lynch (.359) and Tino Lipson (.344) pace an Aggies squad that hits .291 as a team. Silva and Lynch lead the club with 24 RBIs apiece, while Lynch's team-best 21 doubles are six more than Silva's second-best of 15.
SPARTANS take one at washington state
San José State opened its four-game set in Pullman, Wash., with a 7-5 win in 11 innings. In that game, Turtle Kuhaulua earned his first career win by working the final 6.0 innings and striking out 11 Cougars. The Spartans would go on the drop the next three games of the series after losing a 4-3 heartbreaker in the second game of the series.
MOUNTAIN WEST PLAY CONTINUES WITH TRIP TO MW-LEADING NEVADA
The Spartans dive back into conference action when they visit current Mountain West-leading Nevada this weekend. Friday's action gets underway at 6:00 p.m. and the series continues Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
BAUTISTA NAMED SAN josÉ State FEBRUARY STUDENT-ATHLETE OF THE MONTH
Sophomore outfielder/designated hitter Brett Bautista was one of two February Spartan Foundation Student-Athletes of the Month, presented by ScholarShare. Bautista hit .480 (12-for-25) and reached base safely in all eight games during the month of February. He drew seven walks and had three multi-hit games, including two three-hit performances.
NEW FACES ALL AROUND
San José State fields one of the youngest teams in the country in 2015. Two transfer juniors, Ozzy Braff (Whitman College) and Dillan Smith (Palomar Community College), join a 16-man freshman class, 15 of which have seen action this season. The Spartans' roster features 25 underclassmen and just nine upperclassmen.
FRESHMAN DUAL THREATS
Four San José State freshmen -- Josh Nashed, Turtle Kuhaulua, Dylan Sugimoto and Corey Olivet -- have seen time on the mound and in the field in 2015. Kuhaulua threw 13.2 innings without allowing an earned run to start his Spartans career and leads the team with five saves in addition to starting 19 games at second base and posting a .215 batting average in 79 at-bats. Nashed had his best outing of the season against Nevada (3/27), tossing 4.2 innings of scoreless ball while scattering two hits to pick up the win. Olivet made his debut on the mound one day later and worked 2.0 scoreless frames while adding a hit at the plate.
MERCURIO A VETERAN IN THE FIELD
Through April 19, senior center fielder Andre Mercurio has 181 games played under his belt. The San Mateo, Calif., resident and Serra High School product owns a .287 career batting average in 698 at-bats with a .997 fielding percentage patrolling the outfield. A 2013 second-team All-Mountain West selection after making all 57 starts that season, Mercurio was hampered by a wrist injury in 2014 that forced him to miss 10 games early in the year and limited him to just 40 starts. Mercurio and Kalei Contrades represent the only players on the roster in their fourth year at San José State. Myles Richard, the third senior on the 2015 Spartans, transferred from Mount Hood Community College before the 2014 season.
CONTRADES EARNS PAIR OF PRESEASON AWARDS
Senior right-hander Kalei Contrades was one of two pitchers to be named to the 2015 Mountain West Preseason All-Conference Team, as voted on by the conference's head coaches, in addition to being selected to the Perfect Game Preseason All-Mountain West team. Contrades is coming off a stellar junior campaign in which he appeared in 17 games, making seven starts, and posted a 5-2 record with a 2.50 ERA in 79.1 innings.
Tom Kunis RETURNS TO SAN JOSÉ STATE AS PITCHING COACH
Tom Kunis, an assistant on former skipper Sam Piraro's staff from 1988-91 and 2009-11, returns for a third stint and an eighth season with the Spartans in 2015. Kunis and head coach Dave Nakama coached together for six seasons (2002-07) at Stanford under Mark Marquess, where the pair aided the Cardinal to two Pac-10 conference titles and five NCAA Tournament appearances, including three Super Regional appearances and two College World Series berths. In his 28 years of coaching, 51 of Kunis' pitchers have been drafted professionally.
SPARTANS TESTED EARLY AND OFTEN IN 2015
Six of San José State's opponents -- Cal Poly, Stanford, UC Irvine, UNLV, Oregon State and San Diego State -- received regional berths last season. Cal Poly and Oregon State each hosted a regional, Stanford won the Bloomington Regional before falling to eventual national champion Vanderbilt in the Nashville Super Regional, and UC Irvine advanced to the College World Series by winning the Corvallis Regional and Stillwater Super Regional.
MOUNTAIN WEST DIGITAL NETWORK COVERAGE
All San José State home games and road conference games will be streamed live on the Mountain West Digital Network. Fans can access the live streams at www.sjsuspartans.com/videos.
NEW MEXICO PICKED TO WIN MOUNTAIN WEST
Defending Mountain West co-champion New Mexico was tabbed to win the conference in 2015, garnering three first-place votes and 30 total points. The poll, voted on by the conference's seven head coaches, placed the Spartans seventh.
SUNDAY FUNDAY AT MUNI
All season long, kids under 12 years old will receive free admission to Spartan baseball games on Sundays. In addition, youth baseball teams are invited to join the Spartans every Sunday at Municipal Stadium for Sunday Funday. Participating teams will take the field with San José State for the national anthem and get to run the bases after the conclusion of the game. Those interested in reserving a date for their team are encouraged to call the Spartan Ticket Office at 408-924-SJTX (7589).