SDSU vs Dixie State baseball preview
Credit: SDSU Athletics
Saturday, April 24 | 1 p.m. PT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
DSU: Dillon Holliday, RHP (3-1, 3.13 ERA, 23.0 IP)
SDSU: Troy Melton, RHP (3-3, 4.34 ERA, 47.2 IP)
Saturday, April 24 | 4:30 p.m. PT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
DSU: Jimmy Borzone, RHP (2-4, 6.86 ERA, 40.2 IP)
SDSU: TBA
Sunday, April 25 | Noon PT | Tony Gwynn Stadium
DSU: Ryan Hardman, RHP (0-4, 11.45 ERA, 29.1 IP)
SDSU: Ricky Tibbett, RHP (2-1, 5.97 ERA, 31.2 IP)
The San Diego State Aztecs are coming off of two amazing come-from-behind victories in their last series to Fresno State. All season they have only lost series, which came from Nevada. Their opponent, the Dixie State Bison, is 11-23 coming into this matchup. They come into the series on a three-game losing streak and looking to change their fortunes.
Dixie State represents SDSU’s last out-of-conference matchup until the playoffs. This season SDSU is 5-2 when facing out non-conference opponents. While looking at the records, one might think this will be a cakewalk. SDSU notably is missing Michael Paredes in this series.
While there is no announcement on why Paredes is missing, it’s a big blow. He has been just as good of a pitcher as Troy Melton this season. On top of that, he was always the starter in the first game of the series. Coach Mark Martinez liked this because it gave Melton a chance to see the offense first hang and create a plan of attack. This time around, Melton will be pitching out of the gate, and no starter is declared for the second game of the doubleheader.
This week Jaden Fein was named to the Bobby Bragan Collegiate Slugger Award watch list. Like the name implies, this award focuses on finding the best batters in the nation. What it also takes into account is the integrity and academic achievement of the players. Fein fits all three categories. His .475 batting average and 2.04 hits per game both rank second in the nation. In the last series, he flashed some more pop with four extra-base hits. When it comes to the integrity side, EVT had the opportunity to talk with Fein. He is a humble team player that just loves to play the sport.
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For those that don’t follow Dixie State baseball, the name to know is Kaden Hollow. As a freshman, he is off to an amazing start for his collegiate career. He currently owns a .360/.444/.623 slash line. He leads his team in runs, hits, home runs, and RBIs, and more. One of the biggest things to note is his 17 walks and 15 strikeouts. This is a young player with a lot of tools to use. Not to mention he is the team’s primary catcher and caught 11 runners trying to steal.
Needless to say, there is pop on both teams, and this will be an interesting series to watch.
Evan is a student finishing up a degree in Finance from Northern Arizona University. The ability to break down numbers and find the story behind them has lead to his first of writing for East Village times. He covers baseball which is the sport he grew up playing and has followed even after his playing years.