SAN JOSE, Calif. - San Jose State baseball will look to keep the winning ways alive as they ready themselves for a four-game weekend series against the Wolverines of Utah Valley. The teams will begin play on Friday beginning at 6:00 p.m. PT before playing a Saturday doubleheader that begins at 1:00 p.m. The series concludes on Sunday with a noon first pitch. All four games will be streamed on the Mountain West Network where fans can watch live with Daniel Barrera on the Spartan call.
San Jose State (3-5) vs. Utah Valley (1-7)
Friday-Sunday, Feb. 28-March 1, Excite Ballpark
QUICK GLANCE AT THE OPPONENT
» The Wolverines of Utah Valley have opened the season with a 1-7 mark, winning their season opener before dropping the last seven.
» Second baseman Mitch Morales leads the Wolverine offense with a .353 batting average with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored.
» Utah Valley is led by 12th-year head coach Eric Madsen, who is just two wins away from reaching 300 for his career.
HISTORY LESSON
» The Spartans and Wolverines have met just one previous occasion prior to this weekend. That was a 6-5 SJSU victory in Sacramento on March 9, 2008.
LAST TIME OUT
» The Spartans plated at least four runs in three separate innings and held on for dear life in the end to win a 13-10 final over the University of San Francisco Dons. The game lasted 4:02.
» SJSU scored five runs in the third, four in the fifth and four more in the sixth to take a 13-4 lead into the eighth inning. USF rallied to score five of their own in the eighth and plated one more in the ninth before a strikeout left the tying run at the plate.
THE LONG BALL IS BACK, BACK, BACK...
» After hitting just 11 round-trippers in 2019, SJSU has already put a dent into that total by hitting four homers in the first eight games. Ruben Ibarra has two of those blasts while Ryan Belluomini and James Shimashita have the others.
A WELCOME BOUNCE BACK
» Opening the season 0-5 put the Spartans in a hole early, but SJSU has recovered nicely since and is currently riding a 3-game win streak entering this weekend's series.
» The bounce back began with the Spartans overcoming an 0-7 loss in the first game to take down 2019 Big East Champion Creighton in games two and three to win the series.
» The Spartans as a whole batted .264 for the series with four hitters batting better than .300. James Shimashita had a .417 clip with five hits and five RBI. In game three, the sophomore knocked a critical 3-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to give the Spartans a late 8-6 lead. They went on to win in the ninth in walk-off fashion, 9-8.
IBARRA'S TRIUMPHANT RETURN
» After having to sIt in the bleachers the entirety of 2019, designated hitter/first baseman Ruben Ibarra was thirsty for his chance to get back on the diamond. He wasted no time getting back into the flow of things as he batted .417 with five hits, a double and a homer over the opening series.
» Ibarra leads the Mountain West with a .414 average and has a team-high 12 hits and two homeruns. The redshirt sophomore has also tallied three doubles and five RBI through eight games.
» Ibarra's 12 hits rank second in the Mountain West and his two homeruns rank third.
VIOLA SEEING THE BALL WELL
» Senior third baseman Troy Viola is off to a solid start in his final campaign, batting .300 with nine hits and three RBI. He also leads the team with four doubles.
» Viola's four doubles is tied for the conference lead and ranks 31st in the NCAA.
CLARK RETURNS TO FORM
» Sophomore right-handed pitcher Jonathan Clark has bode well in his second season. Clark leads the clubhouse with 14 strikeouts, which ranks third in the Mountain West.
» Clark is allowed 2.89 hits per nine innings, which leads the conference and ranks 52nd nationally.