A new version of an old baseball rivalry will be on display when San Diego State and Hawaii face off in a three-game series at Les Murakami Stadium.
Tonight’s 6:35 opener will be the 149th meeting, a rivalry that was most heated when both teams were baseball members of the Western Athletic Conference until the Aztecs’ departure in 1999. The Rainbow Warriors were boosted by boisterous fans at what was known as Rainbow Stadium. Back then, SDSU’s fans retaliated with heckling from Raggers’ Rail, a porch in right field at the old Smith Field.
And while the teams played single games in San Diego the past two years, this will be the first weekend series since 2006.
The ’Bows enter with a revised pitching rotation, leading off with right-hander Alex Giroux. Last Friday, in his first start of the season, Giroux pitched 7 2/3 scoreless innings against Cal State Bakersfield. He threw strikes on 79 of 108 pitches, his highest pitch count in his two seasons with the ’Bows.
“I’ve been a starter throughout my baseball career,” said Giroux, who began his career at Washington and then played two seasons at Clark College. “It’s when I got to college I started being a reliever. It was kind of nice to go back to that old routine (last week). It’s a completely different thing. But at the end of the day, it’s just pitching. I kind of treat it the same way, and try to go as long as I can.”
Randy Abshier, who is averaging 15.1 strikeouts per nine innings in his past four starts, is set to pitch on Saturday.
Shortstop Jordan Donahue, who moved into the leadoff spot four games ago, tops the ’Bows in hitting (.393). Catcher/designated hitter Austin Machado, who transferred from St. John’s in August, has a team-best .529 on-base percentage. Center fielder Matt Miura already has 10 steals. He was tied for the team lead with four steals last year.
It has been a rough start for the 6-13 Aztecs in Shaun Cole’s first season as head coach after two years as SDSU’s pitching coach.
“It’s definitely been a foundational year for us,” Cole said.
Soon after succeeding Mark Martinez, who retired after a four-decade coaching career, Cole hired Julius McDougal and Tony Tarasco, and promoted Max Foxcroft from undergraduate assistant. Tarasco, who played eight MLB seasons and was the New York Mets’ first base coach for two seasons, had worked with Cole in the San Diego Padres’ organization.
The Aztecs also added several promising freshmen — many of whom Cole helped recruit — led by third baseman Colby Turner.
Turner is a graduate of Huntington Beach High, one of the top baseball programs in California. He drew attention after attending several SDSU-sponsored camps. “We actually offered him (a scholarship) before he played a day of varsity at Huntington Beach,” Cole said. “He’s definitely exceeding some of the expectations as a freshman.”
Turner is batting .385 — nearly 100 points higher than the next Aztec — with three home runs and 17 RBIs in 17 games.
Cole is tasked with rebuilding another pitching staff after the Aztecs lost key players to the draft and transfer portal. Cole, who has lengthy experience at the pro and college levels, learned from College Baseball Hall of Fame coach Andy Lopez at Arizona and while working with USA Baseball. Cole built strong pitching staffs at Eastern Kentucky and with the Aztecs.
Cole’s two keys are establishing a good culture among the pitching staff and not requiring every pitcher to throw the same pitches. Cole said he identifies a pitcher’s “weapons” and then tries “to sharpen those. It’s not everybody’s got to throw a slider or cutter. It’s really more of ‘let’s build on what they’re good at.’”
Jacob Riordan (2-1, 5.04 ERA) will start for the Aztecs tonight. Omar Serrano is 1-2 but leads the Aztecs with a 2.17 ERA.
Serrano was a reliever as a freshman and then grew into a weekend-starter role last year. “The foundation for him is he throws strikes,” Cole said.
NCAA baseball
At Les Murakami Stadium
San Diego State (6-13) vs. Hawaii (12-7)
>> Schedule: 6:35 p.m. today and Saturday; 1:05 p.m. Sunday
>> TV: None
>> Radio: 1500-AM Friday and Saturday; 1420-AM/92.7-FM Sunday
>> Streaming: None
