SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State baseball will play the first of five games in the Midwest will a two-game series vs. the Michigan Wolverines Tuesday and Wednesday at Ann Arbor.
Games Nos. 24-25
San José State (14-9, 8-4) at Michigan (15-7)
Tuesday, March 26 | 1:00 p.m. PT
Wednesday, March 27 | 1:00 p.m. PT
Ray Fisher Stadium | Ann Arbor, Mich.
scouting the wolverines
» Michigan checks into the two-game series with a 15-7 overall record. Led by seventh-year head coach Erik Bakich, the Wolverines are hitting .285 with 21 home runs. The pitching unit is holding opponent bats to a .217 average and touts a 3.35 ERA.
» Junior left-hander Tommy Henry is one of the top pitchers in the nation. He ranks fifth in the NCAA with a 0.45 ERA and has struck out 53 batters while compiling a 5-1 record.
» This will be the third meeting all-time between the Spartans and Wolverines. The first game was played on 3/2/2016 as the Spartans lost 6-5. One year later on 2/27/17, Michigan picked up another win in a 6-2 final.
Leading the pack
» San Jose State currently sits atop the Mountain West standings with a 8-4 mark in league play. The Spartans are one of just three teams above .500 in conference play.
Last time out
» SJSU took 2-of-3 at Fresno State to tighten their grip on the first-place standings. After combining for just six hits in the first two games, the Spartan bats took over with 15 hits in the series finale in a 7-5 win.
HOME Sweet home
» SJSU is playing its best ball in front of the home crowd inside Municipal Stadium. The Spartans are currently 8-3 in home contests while hitting .297 .
20-20 vision
» The Spartans have scored 20 runs not once, but twice already in 2019. The first time came in the series finale at Santa Clara in a 20-10 victory.
» The second time was in the series finale at New Mexico as the Spartans walked away with a 22-18 victory in a nine-inning game that lasted 4:52.
strahm stays strong
» Kellen Strahm has established himself as one of the most feared hitters in the Mountain West this season. The junior leads the conference in batting average (.449), on-base percentage (.532), and hits (40). He ranks second in runs scored (27) stolen bases (12).
» Strahm is the only player in the MW hitting above .400 (minimum 2.5 AB per game). The next closest player is teammate James Shimashita (.386).
» Strahm also ranks near the top in several NCAA categories as well.
Batting Average 6th
Hits 8th
On base % 21st
Stolen Bases 40th
a performance for the ages
» Senior left-handed pitcher Andrew Mitchel put on one of the finest performances ever seen on the mound in SJSU history on March 8 in the Spartans 4-1 win over Air Force. The Atwater, California, product tossed a complete game with a remarkable 18 strikeouts, the most thrown at any level in the NCAA this season.
» The strikeout total ranks second-most in a nine-inning game in school history and the most since 1964. It is also the second-most in Mountain West history behind Stephen Strasburg's 23 vs. Utah on April 11, 2008.
MW pitchers of the week
» The Spartans have been honored by the league office in back-to-back weeks as Andrew Mitchel and Fineas Del Bonta-Smith were the Mountain West Pitchers of the Week. Mitchel earned the honor first for his 18-strikeout performance while Bonta-Smith picked up the award after a combined effort in the UNLV series in which he secured a win to improve to 2-1 and tallied two saves to bring his season total to five.
fantastic finn
» Fineas Del Bonta-Smith has been outstanding in closing out games this far for the Spartans. After recording five total saves in 2018, Finn has already tallied seven saves in the first 2018-19.
» Bonta-Smith's seven saves are tied for the third-most in school history and are sixth in the NCAA this season.
» Bonta-Smith has 12 saves in his Spartan career, tied for the second-most in school history. Zack Jones currently holds the record of 15.
second year for sanfilippo
» Head coach Brad Sanfilippo had an outstanding first season at the helm of SJSU baseball as interim coach in 2018, leading the Spartans to a 27-30 overall record and a third-place finish in the Mountain West standings with a 16-14 record, their most conference wins since 2008. Sanfilippo was promoted to head coach following the season on June 12, 2018.