March 27, 2002

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THIS WEEK
San Diego State continues Mountain West Conference action with three-games at Utah beginning Friday (March 29) at 2:00 p.m. (MST) at Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City.

The series continues with contests scheduled for Saturday (March 30) at 1:00 p.m. (MST) and Sunday (March 31) at 1:00 p.m. (MST).

SDSU returns home on Tuesday, March 26, to take on 15th-ranked University of San Diego at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

SERIES RECORDS
San Diego State leads the series with University of Utah, 66-10. The teams first faced each other in 1964 with a majority of their contests coming while both were members of the Western Athletic Conference.

The Aztecs won six of the seven meetings last season including a three-game series sweep at Tony Gwynn Stadium as well as a win during the conference tournament in San Diego. SDSU is 4-2 against the Utes in Salt Lake City since both schools joined the Mountain West Conference two seasons ago.

SCOUTING THE UTES
Utah has compiled a record of 15-12 overall (2-4 MWC) as they head into a home contest vs. Southern Colorado on Wednesday (March 27) prior to facing the Aztecs. The Utes dropped all three games at New Mexico to weeks ago to open league play, then rebounded by winning two of three at UNLV last weekend.

Utah is led offensively by second baseman Adam Castleton (.413, 7 Hr, 32 RBI), first baseman Nate Weese (.376, 9 Hr, 36 RBI) and outfielder Mike Basham (.368, 15 RBI, 10 SB). As a team, the Utes are hitting .320 on the year.

Utah's primary starting pitchers are Cheyenne Rushton (4-1, 4.13), Jason Wylie (3-4, 6.89) and Sean Overholt (0-4, 7.77). Relief ace Mitch Maio has also made three starts this season and has compiled a record of 4-1 with three saves and a 4.13 earned run average. The team ERA stands at 6.51.

MOST RECENTLY
San Diego State got a strong pitching performance from sophomore redshirt Rob Harrand as it defeated Cal State Northridge, 7-2, this past Tuesday at Tony Gwynn Stadium. Harrand improved his record to 3-0, tossing six innings and allowing a run on two hits while striking out six. Anthony Gwynn had a pair of hits including an RBI double while freshman Jake McLintock belted his first homer as an Aztec.

Last weekend, the Aztec won a pair of games at Brigham Young and were leading game three when it was suspended after eight innings due to SDSU's travel plans.

Game one saw all nine SDSU starters collect at least one hit apiece and junior hurler Chris Dunwell hold the Cougar bats in check in a 17-8 win. Third baseman Chad Corona went 4-for-6 with four runs scored and two RBI including a solo homer. Dunwell went 8.1 innings, giving up six earned runs and striking out seven.

On Friday, the Aztecs came back from deficits of 3-0 and 5-4 to claim a 9-7 victory. Sophomore pitcher Daryl Harang improved to 2-1 on the season, picking up the win in relief. Corona, Taber Lee and Garrett Cook collected three hits apiece for the Aztecs, and Royce Ring threw the final 1.2 innings to record his ninth save of the year.

Saturday's game saw SDSU erase a 10-5 deficit by scoring six times in the eighth inning to take an 11-10 lead. The game was suspended after eight innings due to SDSU's travel itinerary, and will be completed prior to the first game of the San Diego State-BYU series in San Diego on April 18.

COACH JIM DIETZ
Aztec head coach Jim Dietz is in his 31st season at San Diego State, where he has compiled a career record of 1209-736-18 (.620). His win total ranks seventh among active Division I coaches. He picked up his 1200th career victory with SDSU's 11-2 win over Southern Utah on March 1.

He was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA) Hall of Fame in a ceremony that took place at the organization's annual convention in Orlando on January 4.

Dietz has announced his retirement effective at the end of the 2002 campaign. He will be succeeded by former Aztec and San Diego Padre Tony Gwynn, who is serving as an assistant coach this season.

GETTING NOTICED
Although the Aztecs are not ranked in any of the polls this week, they are receiving some notice for their start this season.

San Diego State is listed among "others receiving votes" the past three weeks in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN poll.

This week SDSU's vote total ranks them 38th.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior shortstop Taber Lee was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for his effort in last weekend's three-game series at Brigham Young.

Over those three contests, Lee went 10-for-15 (.667 ) with a pair of doubles, four runs scored, three RBI and a stolen base. In addition, he walked twice and had an on-base percentage of .706 for the weekend.

HOME COOKIN'
San Diego has won its 12 if its first 14 home contests at Tony Gwynn

SDSU's streak of nine home wins a row to open the season was ended by Air Force on March 16 in the 7-6 Falcon win. The nine victories in a row betters the Aztecs' previous longest home win streak (since the facility opened in 1997) as SDSU won eight consecutive games at Tony Gwynn Stadium during the 1998 campaign.

In their 14 home contests, the Aztecs are hitting .340 with a 3.50 earned average. This compares with their contests away from Tony Gwynn Stadium where the team's batting average is .311 and the team earned run average is 4.30.

SDSU has a .965 fielding percentage at home and a .966 mark on the road.

LEE ON THE OFFENSIVE
Taber Lee has been the Aztecs' top offensive player over the past month.

He is currently on a 10-game hitting streak and has reached safely in 14 of the last 15 games in which he has appeared.

Over the last 10 games, he is batting .561 (23-for-41) with 11 runs scored, 12 RBI, three doubles, five bases on balls and three stolen bases.

He has raised his batting average over 200 points (from .170 to its current .380) since Feb. 22.

MCLINTOCK EMERGES AS TOP HITTER
Outfielder Jake McLintock has made an impression both at the plate and in the field during his first season at SDSU.

The freshman from Bonita Vista High in nearby Bonita, Calif., had his team-longest 12-game hitting streak ended on March 10 at Irvine.

He currently has a six-game streak during which he is hitting .393 (11-for-28) with six runs scored, five RBI, three doubles and a home run.

His .378 batting average is just behind team leader Taber Lee (.380). M

cLintock was projected by Baseball America in the preseason as the Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year.

RING IT UP
Royce Ring continues to be one of the premier relief pitchers in the nation as he notched his ninth save of the season last Friday in the 9-7 win At Brigham Young.

He has come in to pitch in nine save situations and has been successful each time. That number does not include the suspended game vs. Brigham Young in which he came in with a save on the line. That game will be resumed on April 18 in San Diego.

Ring has accumulated 25 strikeouts in his 15.1 innings this season (15 appearances) and has allowed only two runs (one earned), seven hits and three walks.

Opponents are hitting just .132 (7-for-53) against him this season and his ERA stands at 0.69.

STEPHENS SOLID AT FIRST BASE
Junior Jon Stephens, a transfer from Saddleback Junior College, has solidified the first base position since his arrival at San Diego State.

A third baseman through much of his baseball career, he was asked to step in at first base for the Aztecs this season. Through 31 games he has committed only two errors at his new position and is fielding .992 (266 chances). He has one error in SDSU's last 25 contests.

At the plate, Stephens is becoming a force as well. He has hit safely in 6 of the team's last 7 contests.

MANFRED COMES BACK
Senior catcher Brian Manfred made his first appearance in over a month in the game vs. Air Force on March 16. He had not played since Feb. 9 due to a broken bone in his hand.

In the six games in which he has played since returning, he is 6-for-15 (.400) with two doubles, six walks, seven runs scored and five RBI. His on-base percentage over that time is .591.

He is batting .457 (16-for-35) this season in the 14 games in which he has played.

EMBREY SHINES
Sophomore Rielly Embrey continues to produce since returning to the starting lineup in the role of designated hitter.

In SDSU's last five contests, he is hitting .400 (6-for-15) with seven runs scored, four RBI, a double and a home run.

His home run, the first of his Aztec career, was an inside-the-park homer vs. Air Force on March 17. It was the first inside-the-park home run for an Aztec since Malcolm Warfield turned the trick against Hawaii in San Diego in the final game of the 1993 season.

GWYNN CONTINUES STEADY PLAY
Anthony Gwynn, who had an 11-game hitting streak snapped at UC Irvine on March 8, has put together a six-game streak since that time.

He has now recorded at least one hit in 20 of SDSU's last 22 contests.

In his last six games, he is hitting .526 (10-for-19) with seven runs scored, seven runs batted in, a pair of doubles and three stolen bases. He has scored at least one run in all six of those contests.

Gwynn has raised his season batting average 63 points over the last four weeks. He enters the weekend with a .330 average, his highest of the season.

He leads the team in runs (26), walks (22) and stolen bases (16).

COTA KEYS AZTEC OFFENSE
Second baseman Carlo Cota is having a standout season at the plate in his fourth and final year as an Aztec.

He has hit safely in each of SDSU's last seven games. During that streak, he has 10 runs batted in, seven runs scored, four doubles and a triple.

The senior from Calexico leads the team in six offensive categories: at bats (127), hits (41-tied), doubles (13), triples (3), runs batted in (25), and sacrifice flies (3-tied with three others).

In addition, he is second in runs scored (23) and third in stolen bases (6).

Cota is the one of only two players (the other being Jon Stephens) to have started all 31 of SDSU's games this season.

CORONA RESUMES HITTING TEAR
Third baseman Chad Corona has gone 11-for-20 (.550) over his last five games with multiple-hit efforts in four of those contests. During the run he has recorded six RBI, seven runs scored, four doubles and a home run.

After taking a line drive off the ankle during batting practice last Saturday at BYU, he played only two innings of that contest before being lifted. He did not play in Tuesday's win over Cal State Northridge and his status for this weekend is questionable.

Corona's .377 batting average ranks just behind Taber Lee (.380) and Jake McLintock (.378) among the Aztec regulars.

GETTING SOME SUPPORT
Chris Dunwell (4-2) notched his fourth win of the season last Thursday at BYU to tie Rory Shortell for the team lead in wins among the pitching staff.

He was the beneficiary of 17 SDSU runs on 20 hits as his teammates staked him to a 7-0 lead after one inning.

In five of his previous six starts this season, the Aztecs had scored a total of 12 runs. The only time he had previously received significant run support was in the 11-2 win over Southern Utah on March 1.

In Rory Shortell's eight starts, SDSU has scored a total of 85 runs and has been in double figures in scoring on four of those occasions.

RECORD WATCH
Over the past two weeks, two new SDSU individual records have been set and another tied.

Second baseman Carlo Cota's sacrifice fly in the 14-5 win over Air Force on March 17 was the 14th of his career, establishing a new Aztecs mark. He eclipsed the mark of 13 career sacrifice flies that he had shared with current major league umpire Kerwin Danley (1980-83) and former Yankee shortstop Bobby Meacham (1979-81).

Royce Ring's save against the Brigham Young last Friday give him a career total of 18, bettering the school record of 17 held by former Baltimore Oriole hurler Mark Williamson (1981-82).

Ring has a chance to set a new SDSU single-season save mark after getting his ninth of the year last weekend. The school record is 12 set by Curtis Smith during the 1979 season

Pitcher Rory Shortell hit his 10th batter of the season at BYU last Friday, giving him a career total of 28. He is now tied for the Aztec record in that category with Jeremy Cook (1997-2000).

GETTING DEFENSIVE
San Diego State enters the weekend with a team fielding percentage of .966, a mark that ranks second in the Mountain West Conference behind UNLV's .967.

The Aztecs have committed seven errors in their last eight games for a .976 fielding percentage over that span.

The school record for defensive percentage is .966, set during the 1996 campaign. The exact percentage that year was .96560 while the current squad is sporting a .96591 fielding percentage.

STRIKING 'EM OUT
The SDSU pitching staff has recorded just under one strikeout per inning so far this season.

Aztec hurlers have struck out 260 batters in 270.1 innings.

Junior Chris Dunwell leads the staff in total strikeouts with 47 in 46.0 innings.

Royce Ring leads the team in strikeouts per nine innings with a projected average of 14.7 (25 Ks in 15.1 innings pitched).

KER-PLUNK
With 36 hit batters through the first 31 games of the season, the Aztec pitching staff is on pace to surpass the school record for most hit batters in a season.

The SDSU mark of 60 was set by the 2000 squad over the course of 60 contests.

At its current pace, Aztecs hurlers could plunk 71 batters by season's end (over it's 61-game regular season schedule).

San Diego State has hit three or more batters in a game four times this year with a high of four coming at Loyola Marymount on Feb. 26.

AZTEC PLAYER NOTES
Chad Corona leads the team in home runs with five, but has not hit a homer at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

Corona has hit safely in six of the last seven contests in which he has appeared (10-for-27).

Garrett Cook is hitting .389 (14-for-36) since February 22 and has raised his average from .167 to .300 over that span.

Junior right-hander Eric Human has been effective in his last two relief appearances, allowing two hits and striking out two in 3.2 innings of work to lower his earned run average to 4.66.

Second baseman Carlo Cota has 14 multiple-hit games this season, including four three-hits efforts.

The team's longest current hitting streak is 10 games by Taber Lee. The longest this season belongs to freshman Jake McLintock (12 games).

In six conference games (including the susended BYUcontest), Lee is hitting .630 (17-for-27)with nine runs scored and eight runs batted in.

AZTEC TEAM NOTES
The Aztecs' 21-9 start is their best mark at this point of the season since the 1992 campaign when they were 23-7 after the first 30 games of the year. SDSUfinished 39-18 that season and 18-8 in the Western Athletic Conference.

San Diego State is 7-3 over its last 10 games (not including the suspended game vs. BYU on March 23).

The Aztecs have been in double figures in hits in 18 of their 31 games and in doubles figures in runs on nine occasions.

Aztecs pitchers have reached double figures in strikeouts in 11 games this season.

SDSU is 4-2 in one-run games and 11-2 in contests decided by five runs or more. Opponents have reached double figures in runs just three times this year.

San Diego State has hit just 12 home runs this season, five by one player (Corona) and one each by seven others. Only five of the team's nine homers have come at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

SDSU is averaging 7.4 runs and 11.5 hits a game compared to their opponents' 4.7 runs and 7.9 hits per contest.

SCHEDULE ADDITION
The Aztecs have added a home game against UC Irvine. The contest is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7, at 6:00 p.m. at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

That contest will replace the game against Oregon State that was rained out in San Diego on Feb. 17.

ON DECK
After a non-league contest on Tuesday at home vs. University of San Diego, the Aztecs continue Mountain West Conference play with a three-game series against New Mexico starting Friday, April 5, at 6:00 p.m. (PST) at Tony Gwynn Stadium.

That series continues on Saturday (April 6) at 6:00 p.m. and Sunday (April 7) at 1:00 p.m.

All three of the games vs. the Lobos can be heard live on the Internet at www.goaztecs.com with Alan Horton calling the play-by-play.

The games against UNM mark the first of four straight Mountain West Conference series to be hosted by San Diego State in April.