SAN JOSE, Calif. – The top two teams in the Mountain West baseball standings will square off this weekend in a three-game series at Excite Ballpark as the 12-6 Spartans host 8-6 Fresno State Thursday through Saturday. All three games will be streamed on the Mountain West Network.
Games Nos. 37-39
Fresno State (21-12, 8-6) at San Jose State (18-19, 12-6)
Thursday, April 18 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Friday, April 19 | 6:00 p.m. PT
Saturday, April 20 | 2:00 p.m. PT
Excite Ballpark | San Jose, Calif.
the stakes are high
» The weekend series at Excite Ballpark features the top two teams in the Mountain West standings. SJSU currently sits in first with a 12-6 overall record while Fresno State checks in two games back at 8-6. This three-game series is huge for both programs as they look to win the regular season
conference title.
scouting freSNO STATE
» Fresno State is 22-12 overall and riding a two-game win streak into Thursday's opening game. They have won their last two Mountain West series, including taking 4-of-5 from Air Force in, since falling 2-1 to the Spartans in late March.
» Led by 17th year head coach Mike Batesole, the Bulldogs excel in all areas of the game. Their pitching unit leads the Mountain West in ERA at 3.71. Starters Ryan Jensen and Davis Moore have each eclipsed 50 strikeouts on the season, the only pair of teammates to do so among Mountain West teams this year.
» Offensively, the Spartans will have their hands full with the duo of Zach Ashord and McCarthy Tatum. Ashford holds the third-best BA in the conference with a .374 clip while Tatum is the MW RBI leader with 44.
» This will be the second series between the programs this year. In the the first, played in Fresno, the Bulldogs took game one 3-1, but SJSU battled back and won game two 2-1 and game three 7-5 to claim the series.
quite the start
» Through the first 15 games, the Spartans had an 11-4 start in conference play, 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.
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 (.406) and is in the top three in hits (52), runs scored (36) and stolen bases (14-of-16).
» Strahm is one of just two players in the MW hitting above .400 (minimum 2.0 AB per game).
» Strahm also ranks highly in several NCAA categories as well.
Batting Average 20th
Hits 47th
On base % 25th
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 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 15th in the NCAA with 76 strikeouts. His 13.15 strikeouts per nine innings rank 16th 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).
» In conference play, the Spartans are hitting a league best .291
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 .241 average, the lowest in the league while compiling a league-best seven saves courtesy of Finn Del Bonta-Smtih.
» Andrew Mitchel has tallied 52 of his 76 strikeouts against conference batters, both marks 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.
- Andrew Mitchel is 34 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.
- Tevin Cadola needs 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.
laying it down
» When it comes to moving runners over, there are few better that do it better than the Spartans. SJSU ranks second in the conference and 27th nationally with 26 sacrifice bunts this season. Senior Aaron Pleschner has been the biggest contributor to that number and ranks sixth in the nation with 10 sac bunts on the year.
a program rejuvenated
» Enough cannot be said about the job Brad Sanfilippo has done his two seasons at the helm. The Spartans have compiled 28 conference wins under his watch, and still have 12 league games to go in 2019. To put that number in perspective, SJSU had just 33 conference wins combined in the first four seasons as a member of the the Mountain West.
2014: 10 wins
2015: 6 wins
2016: 7 wins
2017: 10 wins
2018: 12 wins
2019: 16 wins
» The Spartans' 16 wins this season are the most conference wins since SJSU won 17 in 2008 as a member of the WAC. The school record for conference wins is 25 set in 1979 as a member of the NCBA.