The San Diego State baseball team needed to win its series against Washington State over the weekend to avoid posting the worst two seasons in school history in back-to-back years.
SDSU swept the Cougars, not only avoiding historical ignominy but qualifying the Aztecs for this week’s Mountain West Baseball Championship.
SDSU (19-37) is the fifth seed in the tournament and will meet fourth-seeded UNLV (31-22) on Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. for a play-in game offering access to the double-elimination portion of the tournament. The winner meets top-seeded Nevada (33-21).
SDSU and UNLV split their six games this season, with each team sweeping its three-game home series.
The tournament is being played in Mesa, Ariz., at Sloan Park, the spring training home of the Chicago Cubs.
What’s at stake: The Mountain West tournament champion receives the conference’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division I Regionals.
How to watch: Each tournament game will be streamed by the Mountain West Network.
About the Aztecs: SDSU was 14-16 In the Mountain West and 5-21 in non-conference contests this season, struggling to close out games for the second straight season.
The Aztecs were second to last in the MW with a .280 team batting average and 5.7 runs a game, with a league-low 21 home runs.
SDSU shortstop Nevan Noonan leads the offense with eight home runs and 45 RBIs. The team’s other top run producers are third baseman Daniel Arambula (3 HR, 36 RBIs), outfielders Jake Jackson (4 HR, 31 RBIs) and Jonathan Smith (2 HR, 31 RBIs) and first baseman CJ Moran (33 RBIs), who batted a team-high .376.
SDSU finished in the middle of the conference with a 6.95 team ERA. The Aztecs were worst in the MW in walks allowed (304), wild pitches (64) and hit batters (97).
Right-hander Marko Sipila (3-3, 4.34 ERA, 68 SO/22 BB) is the Aztecs’ top starting pitcher, followed by senior Omar Serrano (4-6, 7.86 ERA) and left-hander Garvey Rumary (2-7, 7.86 ERA). SDSU right-hander Peyton Rodgers (2-2, 4.62 ERA, 4 SV) was named MW Freshman of the Week after earning a win and a save last week against Washington State.
Mountain West Baseball Championship
WEDNESDAY
Game 1: No. 3 New Mexico (30-22) vs. No. 6 San Jose State (26-28), 1:05 p.m.
Game 2: No. 4 UNLV (31-22) vs. No. 5 SDSU (19-37), 6:05 p.m.
THURSDAY
Game 3: No. 1 Nevada (33-21) vs. Game 2 winner, 1:05 p.m.
Game 4: No. 2 Fresno State (28-27) vs. Game 1 winner, 6:05 p.m.
FRIDAY
Game 5: Game 3 loser vs. Game 4 loser, 11:05 a.m.
Game 6: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner, 3:05 p.m.
Game 7: Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 loser, 7:05 p.m.
SATURDAY
Game 8: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 12:05 p.m.
Game 9: If necessary game, 3:05 p.m.
