Thursday, May 16, 2013

Aztecs close out regular season with New Mexico

SAN DIEGO, Calif — The Aztecs conclude the regular season this weekend with a three-game Mountain West Conference series against No. 16-ranked New Mexico.

Don't expect too much drama since this series could end up being more about positioning for next week's MWC Tournament than it is about this weekend's wins and losses. Slotting for the tournament is all but set. The Lobos have clinched the regular-season title and No. 1 berth in the tourney. SDSU is in third place and would need to pick up two games in the standings on second-place UNLV (which plays Air Force this weekend) in order to take the No. 2 seed in the tournament. The top two teams receive a first-round bye.

Setting up for the tournament is reflected in SDSU's pitching rotation, which features sophomore left-hander Michael RoBards in Sunday's finale. Junior right-hander Philip Walby (3-3, 3.53) has been in that spot, but Walby is being held in reserve to pitch the team's opening game in the tournament. As it now stands, No. 3 seed SDSU would play No. 6 seed Air Force in its first game.


Here's a look at the weekend's probable pitching matchups:

THURSDAY
New Mexico RHP Josh Walker (8-3, 4.19) vs. SDSU RHP Michael Cederoth (3-6, 3.49), 6 p.m.

FRIDAY
New Mexico RHP Sam Wolff (1-2, 5.52) vs. SDSU RHP Ryan Doran (7-2, 2.83), 6 p.m.

SATURDAY
New Mexico RHP Drew Bridges (3-1, 4.35) vs. SDSU LHP Michael RoBards (3-1, 2.89), 2 p.m.


MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS
New Mexico (22-5, 32-18)
UNLV (16-11, 34-17)
San Diego State (15-12, 26-25)
Nevada (11-16, 24-27)
Fresno State (11-16, 18-31)
Air Force (6-21, 14-35)

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