Pitching
Aztecs: Last weekend, San Diego State’s pitchers put on a show, sweeping the University of Nevada. Sophomore Michael Cederoth struck out a career-high 14 batters in the first game of the series. Cederoth also leads the Mountain West Conference with 58 strikeouts. Along with Cederoth, senior Ryan Doran and junior Philip Walby have a combined earned run average of 3.12 on the season.
Falcons: After the Air Force Academy dropped eight straight games, freshman Steven Trojan finally ended the losing streak by striking out seven batters to defeat the second-place University of New Mexico in the final game of the series last weekend. The Falcons are also led by senior Ben Bertelson, who has 51 strikeouts on the season.
Edge: Aztecs
Batting
Aztecs: Mountain West Player of the Week Jake Romanski has been the heart and soul of the Aztecs this season. The senior catcher leads the Aztecs with 43 hits and a .384 batting average. In the second game of the Nevada series last weekend, Romanski hit a walk-off single to win the game. Junior outfielder Greg Allen is also a key contributor thanks to his team-high 11 stolen bases on the season.
Falcons: Even though Air Force hasn’t had great start this season, the team still has a solid batting average of .279, which is third in the Mountain West. Look out for the one-two punch combo of Garrett Custons and Peter Johnson, who are both hitting around .360. Custons, a second-team All-MW pick last season, cannot be ignored because of his .424 on-base percentage.
Edge: Even
Defense
Aztecs: SDSU leads the Mountain West with a .974 fielding percentage. Romanski is a force behind the plate, throwing out 25 base runners attempting to steal bases this season. The Aztecs also have the fewest errors and passed balls in the MW.
Falcons: On the other hand, the Falcons’ defense has not contributed as much success as the Aztecs’ this year. With a .955 fielding percentage and allowing 51 steal attempts, the Falcons aren’t the best defense SDSU will see this season. However, junior first baseman Seth Kline has been picking up the slack for Air Force, leading the conference in fielding double plays, chances and putouts.
Edge: Aztecs
Intangibles
Aztecs: After Romanski’s walk-off hit and sweeping Nevada, SDSU has all of the momentum going into Colorado Springs. The first-place Aztecs cannot take this series lightly, as they travel to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas next weekend, which has the best overall record in the conference. Romanski won the Mountain West Player of the Week, while Cederoth won Pitcher of the Week.
Falcons: In the victory against New Mexico, center fielder David Baska hit two home runs, the first time a Falcon hit two balls out of the park since 2011. This home series has to come as a break for Air Force, as they are 1-15 on the road this year. Last season, Air Force only won five conference games and are on pace for the same result.
Edge: Aztecs
Prediction
SDSU wins two of the three games.
