March 1, 2018
San Jose, Calif.--- The San José State baseball team (5-4) will play its first Mountain West series this year against San Diego State Friday, March 2 at 6:00 p.m. (PT) inside Municipal Stadium. On Saturday, game two will be held at 3:00 p.m. and game three will be played on Sunday at 12:00 p.m. The Spartans are riding a three-game win streak heading into their series with the 2017 Mountain West Champions.
Be sure to check www.sjsuspartans.com and twitter:@SJSUBaseball for updates about game cancellations due to the possibility of rain.
GAMES 1-3
San José State (5-4) vs San Diego State (6-3)
Friday • March 2, 2018 • 6:00 p.m. • Municipal Stadium
Saturday • March 3, 2018 • 3:00 p.m. • Municipal Stadium (MWN)
Sunday • March 4, 2018 • 12:00 p.m. • Municipal Stadium (MWN)
MOUNTAIN WEST NETWORK: LIVE VIDEO for Saturday and Sunday
LIVE STATS:
SOCIAL MEDIA: @SJSUBaseball
POSSIBLE STARTING PICHERS FOR GAME
FRIDAY
LHP Brandon Ross (0-1) vs RHP Harrison Pyatt (0-0)
RHP Fin Del Bonta-Smith (0-1) vs RHP Garrett Hill (1-0)
RHP Nick Morales (1-0) vs RHP Daniel Ritchenson (0-1)
Pitching Staff
This season, the eight Spartan newcomers that have pitched on the roster have accounted for 60 of the 83 strikeouts this season. They have also accumulated for three of the teams five wins. In the last two games, the Spartan pitchers have held 2 of 28 runners in scoring position.
Series History: San Diego State
The Aztecs are ahead in the all-time series 55-20.
San Diego State comes to San Jose after dropping their first away game of the season 9-4 to UC Irvine. Last season the Spartans lost all six games against the Aztecs.
Last 6 meetings
5/7/17 San Diego State L, 6-5
5/6/17 San Diego State L, 5-3
5/5/17 San Diego State L, 8-4
4/2/17 San Diego State L, 5-1
4/1/17 San Diego State L, 7-3
3/31/17 San Diego State L, 5-4
San Diego State
Overview: San Diego State is led by fourth year head coach Mark Martinez. Martinez is the only coach in program history to post 100 wins in his first three seasons. The offense is led by freshman Matt Rudick who has posted a .414 batting average through nine games played. He has posted a multi-hit performance for the third consecutive game heading into the series against San José State.
Last time out: The Aztecs travel to Municipal Stadium after losing their road opener 9-4 to UC Irvine. They bring a 6-3 record into conference play this weekend. In the last week, the Aztecs have recieved wins over Arizona, Grand Canyon, and Michigan.
Pitching: 13 of the 16 pitchers on San Diego State's roster are posting an ERA below 4.00. They have a team ERA of 2.74 and have pitched 99 strikeouts to 39 walks.
Fresh Faces
This season, the Spartan baseball team features four fresh faces in the coaching staff: Interim head coach Brad Sanfilippo, assistant coach Tyler LaTorre, volunteer assistant coach Clay Cederquist, and volunteer assistant coach Michael Breen.
Brad Sanfilippo is making his second stint with the Spartans after serving two seasons as recruiting coordinator and third base coach during the 2013 & 14 seasons. Sanfilippo has coached more than 20 players into the MLB draft.
Tyler LaTorre comes to the Spartans after two seasons at San Francisco State as the team's pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. He brings nearly a decade of professional baseball experience to the San José State baseball team. LaTorre has helped players such as Tim Lincecum, Hunter Strickland, and 2014 World Series MVP Madison Bumgarner.
Clay Cederquist joins the Spartan squad after serving as head coach of the Dodge City A's summer collegiate baseball team. Currently he is an associate scout for the Miami Marlins. He is also the first base and hitting coach at American River Community College in Sacramento, California.
Michael Breen is a 2017 graduate of San José State. He started games at second base, third base, shortstop, right field, left field and designated hitter in his Spartan career. Breen was a three-time Academic All-Mountain West honoree.
Shane "Timbo" Timmons
The three-time letter winner from Mission Viejo, California has started in 112 of the last 113 games for the Spartans. No San José State baseball player has more homers the last four seasons than Timmons with 19. He is currently fifth in all-time in home runs. The current record was set nearly 20 years ago by John Fagan with 25 home runs. The 2017 second team All-Mountain West first baseman finished in the top-10 in several MW conference categories: ninth in slugging percentage (.648), tied for seventh in triples (2), fifth in home runs (7), tied for sixth in hit by pitches (6), first in sacrifice flies (5) and tied for eighth in stolen bases (5).
He is the first Spartan to lead the team in batting average two consecutive seasons since Kevin Frandsen in 2003 and 2004 seasons. Frandsen would become a 12th round pick in the 2004 MLB Draft, and play nine seasons of major league baseball. He would later be inducted into the San José State Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
Bautista is Back
After Bautista redshirted the 2017 season and played only 10 games of 2016, the senior returns to the Spartan lineup without missing a step. Bautista, who has not recorded a hit since March 1 2016, has a team leading batting average of .500 through four games with eight hits and six RBI's.
In the last three games Bautista is 8-for-12 with two runs and six RBI's.
Last time out
The San José State baseball team defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs 7-4 Tuesday night at Municipal Stadium.
The last time the Spartans had a record above .500 nine games into the season was in 2011 under head coach Sam Piraro when the team started 8-1.
An offensive surge in the third inning gave the Spartans a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the night.
In the Spartans third, Kellen Strahm (1-for-5, 2R), Kyle Morrison (1-for-4, 2R), and Brett Bautista (2-for-4, R, RBI) loaded the bases with no outs. Shane Timmons (1-for-3, R, 2RBI) stepped up to the plate and singled to left center and drove Strahm home for a 3-2 lead. David Campbell (1-for-3, RBI, BB) was walked with one out which allowed Morrison to score. Johnny Mendoza (0-for-1, 2 RBI) hit a sacrifice fly to right field which sent Bautista home. Sawyer Pittman (2-for-4, RBI) singled up the middle with two outs which drove home Timmons for a 6-2 lead over the Mustangs.
In the Spartans fourth with one out, Timmons hit a sacrifice fly to center field that allowed Morrison to score his seventh run of the season. This gave the Spartans a 7-2 lead heading into the back half of the game.
The Spartan bullpen once again helped preserve a win for the team. Andrew Mitchel (1-0) entered the game in the third inning and pitched for 4.2 innings. The junior transfer from Grossmont College logged five strikeouts along with his first career win at San José State.
Wesley Clawson (0-1) notched his second save of the season when he relieved Cameron Keup at the top of the ninth inning.