By Marrisa Scott (@marissascotttt ):
San Jose State baseball will head into conference play with a winning record for the first time since joining the Mountain West in 2014.
The team has a chance to pull out a win in its three-game series against San Diego State this weekend, but past history shows this may be challenging.
Originally, the series was scheduled to start Friday night at home. Because of rainy weather, there will now be one game Saturday and a doubleheader Sunday.
The Spartans (5-4) faced the Aztecs (6-3) six times last season and were swept in all six games. SDSU leads the all-time series 55-20.
SDSU lost its first road game of the season 9-4 to UC Irvine last week.
Aztec freshman Matt Rudick has posted a .414 batting average and a .483 slugging percentage through nine appearances.
Through nine games, SDSU pitching has had one of its best starts to a season in program history. The team has a combined ERA of 2.74, with a .203 opponent batting average and 99 total strikeouts.
SJSU has a combined ERA of 6.07 with a .278 opponent batting average and 83 strikeouts.
Even though the Spartans ERA isn’t the best, the bullpen has performed in tough situations. Senior Cameron Keup has posted a zero ERA through 6.1 innings pitched, allowing only 4 hits.
For the Spartans, eight newcomers have pitched this season and account for 60 of the team’s strikeouts and three of the team’s five wins.
Senior left-fielder Brett Bautista is batting .500 with a smooth .500 slugging percentage in 16 at bats. Senior first-baseman Shane Timmons leads the team in RBIs with 10 on the season.
In the first game of the doubleheader, the first pitch will be thrown out by SJSU student Alyssa McCoy. McCoy is a pediatric cancer survivor representing the With Purpose Campaign.
The With Purpose Campaign is a group at SJSU helping to shed light and raise awareness in the community of childhood cancer.
The first pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. Saturday. Sunday’s games are scheduled for 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
