THE SCHEDULE
Friday's lid-lifter between San Jose State and Fresno State is set for a 6:00 p.m. first pitch. Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 1:00 p.m. and Sunday's finale is also set for a 1:00 p.m. first pitch.
Each game of the series will be televised on the Mountain West with the one and only Daniel Barrera on the call.
FOCUSING ON FRESNO
Fresno State enters the weekend with a record of 10-18 after dropping its most recent series to San Diego State.
San Jose State is 91-168 all-time against Fresno State but the two teams haven't met since 2019 (Spartans went 2-4 that season). The Bulldogs are currently 2-12 on the road this season.
SINGLES
> The San Jose State-Fresno State rivalry has been as competitive as any throughout the Mountain West in recent years. Since Spartan head coach Brad Sanfilippo took over at the helm for SJSU, the two teams have split their last 12 meetings.
>After leading the bullpen in strikeouts a season ago, junior Jonathan Clark tops the team through three appearances and has already matched last year's total of 17 strikeouts.
> Sophomore Robert Hamchuk ranks No. 6 in the Mountain West in on-base percentage as the month of April winds to a close, notching an OBP of .477 entering the Fresno State series.
> The Spartans have been one of the nation's cleanest teams in the field this season, currently ranking No. 7 in all of Division I in fielding percentage (98.2 percent).
CLARK'S ELEVEN
Junior Jonathan Clark tallied 11 strikeouts at Creighton on Saturday, the most for a Spartan against a power conference opponent since Apr. 16, 2015 (Turtle Kuhaulua, 11 vs. Washington State). The total marked the program's most in any game since Apr. 5, 2019 (Andrew Mitchel, 11 vs. New Mexico).
BIG ERNT ENERGY
In last month's historic victory over California, sophomore Trevor Ernt became the first Spartan to go six-plus innings out of the bullpen since May 4, 2016 (Zach Wallace vs. Grand Canyon). Ernt was tremendous in relief, earning the first win of his career after allowing just one run and striking out eight in six innings of work.
SCORING ON SAN DIEGO STATE
San Jose State scored 20 runs in its season-opening series against first-place San Diego State, marking the most runs allowed by the Aztecs in a league series since May 10-12, 2019.
NOT BAD FOR STARTERS
The Spartans scored 12 runs in their Opening Day victory over San Diego State. The explosion marked the program's first double-digit run total in an Opening Day game since Feb. 20, 2009 (15-5 vs. Saint Joseph's).
HERE'S A NOTE
Senior Reece Hernandez has proven to be one of the toughest batters in the nation to strike out as the month of April draws to a close. Hernandez ranks No. 36 nationally and is third in the Mountain West in the category, going down on strikes just twice in 23 at-bats.
THREE'S COMPANY
The Spartans have proven to be one of the nation's top three-bag teams early on this season, ranking No. 3 in all of Division I in triples per game (0.5).
TRANSFER OF POWER
The Spartans welcomed in a quintet of Division I transfers this offseason to help bolster the 2021 roster. None has made a bigger impact than Washington State transfer Nelson Padilla, who has notched a team-leading eight RBI while hitting .233 at the dish.
EXPERIENCE AT THE TOP
While sophomore Robert Hamchuk may be leading San Jose State in batting average, the team's next seven top hitters are all upperclassmen.
GOING STREAKING
Senior Ruben Mercado heads back to San Jose as the club's hottest hitter. Mercado currently owns a two-game hitting streak to top the team.
Jack Colette, Robert Hamchuk and Ruben Ibarra each notched six-game hit streaks earlier in the 2021 campaign. Those mark the team's longest of the season.
NEW FACES ON THE BENCH
While head coach Brad Sanfilippo and assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Thomas Walker are both back from the 2020 campaign, SJSU did add a pair of new faces to the coaching staff.
Seth Moir is now the program's pitching coordinator after spending the last four years in the Minnesota Twins scouting department. Prior to joining the Twins organization, Moir served as the Director of Baseball Operations at UCLA and won a national championship with the Bruins in 2013.
Director of Player Development Andre Mercurio has also joined the crew. Mercurio played for the Florence Y'alls of the Frontier League in each of the last four seasons, joining the Y'alls after graduating from San Jose State in 2015. Mercurio shined both in the outfield and in the classroom in his playing days with the Spartans, receiving 2012 Academic All-WAC honors before being named to the 2013 All-WAC team.
SOCIAL MEDIA
The baseball program can be found on both Twitter (@SanJoseStateBSB) and Instagram (@sjsubaseball).