SAN JOSE, Calif. – San Jose State baseball faces a tall order this weekend as they travel to Las Vegas for a weekend set with UNLV. The Spartans currently hold a three-game lead in the conference standings at 11-4 while the Rebels check in at fourth at 7-8.
Games Nos. 34-36
San José State (17-16, 11-4) at UNLV (20-15, 7-8)
Friday, April 12 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, April 13 | 2:00 p.m. PT
Sunday, April 14 | 12:00 p.m. PT
Earl E. Wilson Stadium | Las Vegas, Nev.
scouting UNLV
» The Rebels check in for the weekend series with a conference-best 20-15 overall record and sit in fourth in the conference standings at 7-8.
» Led by Golden Spikes Award Midseason Watchlist member Bryson Stott, the Rebels are one of the top offensive teams in the conference with a .298 collective batting average. They are the frontrunners in the Mountain West in hits, slugging percentage, runs scored, RBI, doubles, walks and are second with 22 home runs.
» In the first series of 2019 between the programs, SJSU swept the Rebels at Municipal Stadium by finals of 2-1, 6-5 and 7-6.
Leading the pack
» San Jose State currently sits atop the Mountain West standings with an 11-4 mark in league play. The Spartans are one of three teams above .500 in conference play.
» The Spartans currently hold a three-game lead over second place San Diego State (7-6)
quite the start
» The Spartans are off to an 11-4 start in conference play through the first 15 league games in 2019. It is by far the program's best start since joining the conference in 2014.
Through 15 Mountain West games:
2014 5-10
2015 3-12
2016 3-12
2017 7-7-1
2018 4-11
2019 11-4
HOME Sweet home
» SJSU is playing its best ball in front of the home crowd inside Municipal Stadium, which was recently rebranded as Excite Ballpark. The Spartans are currently 11-4 in home contests with an 8-1 mark over conference opponents.
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 (.402) and is in the top three in hits (49), runs scored (33) and stolen bases (14-of-16).
» Strahm is the only player in the MW hitting above .400 (minimum 2.0 AB per game).
» Strahm also ranks highly in several NCAA categories as well.
Batting Average 30th
Hits 31st
On base % 42nd
a performance for the ages
» Senior left-handed pitcher Andrew Mitchel put on one of the finest peformances 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 eight saves so far in 2019.
» Bonta-Smith's eight saves are the third-most in school history and are 8th-most in the NCAA this season.
» Bonta-Smith has 13 saves in his Spartan career, second-most in school history. Zack Jones currently holds the record of 15.
mr. k
» Andrew Mitchel leads the Mountain West and ranks 16th in the NCAA with 67 strikeouts. His 13.11 strikeouts per nine innings rank 17th nationally.
when it counts
» SJSU has turned up the heat in conference games this season. Not only do they lead the league, they are the only team in the conference that has a sweep this season over a league opponent, doing so not only once, but twice (vs. UNLV and New Mexico).
» The Spartans are currently the only team in the conference hitting .300 in league play. They also lead the way on the base paths with 25 stolen bases (next closest is New Mexico with 19).
give em the hot stinky cheddar
» SJSU pitchers have been on their A-game throughout the conference slate. They collective have held opponent bats to a .236 average, the lowest in the league while compiling a league-best seven saves courtesy of Finn Del Bonta-Smtih.
» Andrew Mitchel has tallied 47 of his 67 strikeouts against conference batters, both lead the Mountain West.
clark's big day
» Freshman right-hander Jonathan Clark had one of the most impressive outings by a Spartan freshman in recent memory in the series finale vs. New Mexico. Clark pitched a complete game and picked up his second win as SJSU took down the Lobos 5-1.
» Clark surrendered just three hits on the day and put two on base by way of a walk. He retired 21-straight batters between the third and ninth inning before the Lobos tacked on a base hit with one out in the ninth.
» Clark became the first freshman in the conference to record a complete game this season, and is only the second pitcher overall to do so, joining teammate Andrew Mitchel.
» Additionally, Clark became the first Spartan freshman to throw a complete game since Logan Handzlik in 2014.
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.
record book watch
» The following milestones are currently on the radar for Spartan pitchers.
- Tevin Cadola needs just five more wins in 2019 to become the first Spartan since Matt Durkin in 2011 to pick up at least 10 wins in a single season.
- Andrew Mitchel is 43 strikeouts away from cracking the top-10 school record list for single season strikeouts.
- Finn Del Bonta-Smith needs two more saves to achieve a pair of milestones: the single-season and career saves records. With two saves, Finn will tie Zach Jones for both records.