Padres Face SDSU Tonight at Jack Murphy Stadium

SAN DIEGO —  For the second year in a row, a top-ranked team will be playing in the exhibition game between the Padres and San Diego State.

And this year, everyone knows who that team is.

Last season, the Aztecs were the top-ranked college baseball team in the country when 34,187 fans saw them lose to the Padres, 6-1. But only diehard Aztec fans and college baseball aficionados who follow Collegiate Baseball’s weekly rankings probably knew the Aztecs were ranked No. 1.

Tonight at 7, the National League champion Padres will take the field at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium for the first time since they played host to the Detroit Tigers in Game 2 of the 1984 World Series. Fans will be admitted to the refurbished stadium free of charge.

Before tonight’s game, Tony and Chris Gwynn will engage in a home run hitting contest at 6:30. Chris, Tony’s younger brother, is an Aztec outfielder who doubled and homered in last year’s Aztec loss. SDSU Coach Jim Dietz will pitch to both players.

The game against the Aztecs is the first of three straight home exhibition games for the Padres. They play host to the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night at 7:05 and Sunday afternoon at 1:05. Admission will be charged for both of those games.

If fans are wondering why the Padres would play the Twins, Padre General Manager Jack McKeon said it’s because he likes to give San Diego fans a chance to see an American League club during the exhibition season.

Ironically, the Tigers were scheduled to face the Padres last April. That matchup didn’t materialize until October, and the Padres ended up facing the Boston Red Sox in the preseason.

This year, the Twins open the season on Tuesday against the Angels in Anaheim. Therefore, they were a natural choice to drive down the freeway and face the Padres.

While the Padres will use this weekend’s games as a final tuneup for their season-opener against the Giants in San Francisco on Tuesday afternoon, the Aztecs will use tonight’s game to prepare for their Western Athletic Conference opener.

SDSU (31-14-1) plays host to Hawaii (32-15) in doubleheaders on Saturday and Sunday. Both twinbills start at 5 p.m. at Smith Field on the SDSU campus. Last season, Hawaii finished first and SDSU was second in the Southern Division of the WAC. In the playoffs, Hawaii defeated the Aztecs, 5-4, in the championship game played in Honolulu.

Padre Notes

Pitching matchups for the Padre games this weekend: LaMarr Hoyt vs. 6-foot 8-inch right-hander Russell Elsberry of the Aztecs (1-2, one save and 6.35 ERA). Eric Show will face Frank Viola and John Butcher of the Twins on Saturday night, and Andy Hawkins will face Ken Schrom on Sunday. . . . This is the third meeting between the Padres and Aztecs. The Padres also won the first meeting, 8-1 in 1981.