San Jose State Game Notes  | Nevada Game NotesÂ
April 23, 2015
SAN JOSÉ STATE resumes mountain west action at 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 at 2:00 p.m. before concluding Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
Games 42-44
San José State (10-31, 3-15 MW) at Nevada (31-10, 16-5 MW)
Fri.-Sun. · April 24-26 · 6:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m.
Pitching Matchup: Fri. -- RHP Josh Nashed (3-3, 5.11) vs. TBD
Sat. -- RHP Hilario Tovar (1-3, 9.00) vs. LHP Christian Stolo (4-1, 3.06)
Sun. -- TBD vs. RHP Jason Deitrich (5-2, 3.12)
Live Video: www.sjsuspartans.com/videos
Live Stats: Via Gametracker & Statbroadcast
Radio: Mountain West Digital Network
Social Media: @SJSUAthletics | @SJSUBaseball | #GoSpartans
facebook.com/SJSUSpartans
All-Time Series: San José State leads, 86-74
Â
Walk-Off Single Spoils Spartans' Comeback Bid At UC Davis
San José State rallied back in the ninth to tie its midweek contest at UC Davis, 5-5, but the Aggies walked off in the bottom half and handed the Spartans a 6-5 loss at Dobbins Stadium. The Spartans took the opening game from the Wolf Pack at Municipal Stadium in late March on a walk-off hit by pitch in the bottom of the ninth.
SPARTANS CLOSE OUT ROAD TRIP WITH VISIT TO STANFORD
The Spartans conclude their 10-game roadie when they travel across town to Sunken Diamond on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for a rematch with the Cardinal. San José State dropped a 13-8 decision to Stanford at home on March 3.
SERIES HISTORY
The Spartans lead the all-time series with the Wolf Pack, 86-74, after dropping two of three games against them at the end of March. In its trip to Peccole Park last season, San José State scored three runs in the top of the 10th inning to take the middle game of the series, 7-4. The Spartans last won a series at Peccole Park when they swept the Wolf Pack in 2006.
SCOUTING NEVADA
Led by second-year head coach Jay Johnson, the Wolf Pack sits at 31-10 overall and stands atop the Mountain West at 16-5 in conference. Nevada is coming off an eight-game road trip in which it went 5-3, including a sweep of San Diego State last weekend. The Wolf Pack's .303 team batting average and 3.89 ERA are both tops in the conference, while senior Austin Byler's .532 on base percentage leads the nation. Junior second baseman Ryan Howell leads the conference with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs to go along with his .346 average.
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).