LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team heads to the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, May 23-26/27, in Mesa, Ariz. at Hohokam Stadium. The No. 3 seed NM State takes on No. 6 CSU Bakersfield in the first game on Wednesday, May 23, at 8 p.m. MT.
 
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State baseball team all season on Twitter, and Instagram by following @NMStateBaseball and on Facebook.com/NMSUAthletics.
 
LISTEN UP!
Fans who want to listen in to the live call for each of the Aggies games at the WAC Tournament can catch each contest on 91.5 FM KRUX with Adam Young on the call and Jerry Lujan serving as the analyst. Fans can also use their tablet or mobile device to listen on the TuneIn app by searching KRUX.
 
WHERE TO WATCH!
Aggie fans looking to watch the tournament games can catch the action on the WAC Digital Network live-stream. Link to the live stream can be found on the NM State baseball schedule page or by clicking here.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can also follow the game in real time with live stats on StatBroadcast by going to the NM State baseball schedule page or by clicking here.
 
ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE
New Mexico State baseball ace Kyle Bradish was named the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week after a dominating performance against UT Rio Grande Valley last Thursday in the final series of the regular-season.
 
This is the second weekly honor for Bradish and seventh overall for NM State this season.
 
The Goodyear, Ariz., product pitched six solid innings and gave up just three runs, two earned and scattered five hits with a walk while fanning 12 batters. With his 12 punch outs, Bradish became the Aggie single-season strikeouts leader with 116 and broke the 27-year old record held by Albert Montoya (107).
 
On top of leading the conference in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine innings (12.94), opposing batters are also hitting a league low .208 from the plate against him. Bradish's 116 K's are good for 13th-best in the nation while his 12.94 strikeouts per nine innings is good for 10th-most in the country.
 
Heading into the WAC Tournament, Bradish's 287 career strikeouts is 19th-most in the nation amongst active players across all-division and 11th-best when compared to just Division I active pitchers. Meanwhile, the 94 walks issued is the 13th lowest among active pitchers and is also ranked 11th at the Division I level. His 23 career wins is also 12th-most at the Division I level.
 
IN THE NATION
Heading into the conference tournament, the NM State baseball team currently ranks in the top-10 in seven different categories across the country...
 
NM State (Rk)                Category                           NCAA
466 (2nd)                         Runs                                   572
8.5 (3rd)                            Scoring                              10.8
24 (3rd)                             Triples                              30
.416 (4th)                          OB%                                  .439
.316 (5th)                          Batting Avg.                    .347
591 (5th)                          Hits                                     689
.492 (7th)                          Slugging %                      .610
 
RECORD-SETTERS
In the regular-season series finale, the NM State baseball team broke or tied multiple records in program history. In game one against the Vaqueros, NM State starter Kyle Bradish got his fourth strikeout in the second inning to set a new single-season program record for strikeouts with 108. He finished with 12 K's in the game and the record now stands at 116.
 
Game two saw a pair of records be etched into the record books with starter Jonathan Groff picking up his WAC-leading 10th win on the season that tied him with five other Aggies for the most in a season at NM State. Brock Whittlesey also picked up his 10th save of the year that set a new single-season save record for the Aggies.
 
Then in the final game at UTRGV, NM State again made a few changes to the record book. A strikeout in the third inning saw the Aggies set a new program single-season record for team strikeouts with 460 and finished the regular-season with 465. Then in the ninth inning Tristen Carranza was hit by a pitch, his 19th on the year, to tie the individual single-season record with the Aggies.
 
LAST TIME OUT
NM State closed out the regular season with a series on the road against Western Athletic Conference foe UT Rio Grande Valley, May 17-19. The Aggies won the series with wins in the two opening contests before falling in the finale.
 
The team opened up a crucial three-game series to close out the regular season against Western Athletic Conference opponent UTRGV on Thursday night at UTRGV Baseball Stadium. Kyle Bradish dominated on the mound all night and the Aggie offense had an explosive display at the plate en route to a 14-3 win in eight innings over the Vaqueros.
 
After the record-breaking performance, Bradish (7-3) picked up the win after 6.0 innings of work, tying his career-high with 12 strikeouts. The Aggie offense combined for 14 hits with each player recording at least one.
 
Another record-night on the mound helped lead the Aggies to a game two victory over the Vaqueros, 4-2, on Friday night and earn the series win. Jonathan Groff (10-2) earned the win after his fourth-straight quality start saw him record seven punch outs in 6.2 innings of work.
 
The 10^th win tied the Castroville, Texas native with five other Aggies for the most single-season wins in program history and is the first time it has been done since 2011. Brock Whittlesey also etched his name in the record book picking up his 10^th save, which set a new single-season record at NM State.
 
After gaining the lead in the top of the ninth on a dramatic four-run triple, the Aggies ended up losing the game, 5-4, to a walk-off home run in the bottom half of the series finale.
 
In the top half of the final frame, the NM State bats got going. Caleb Henderson led off the inning with a single through the left side and a Trey Stine walk put the tying run at the plate. This saw Tristen Carranza get hit by a pitch, which tied the individual single-season record with 19, to load the bases. Then with one swing of a bat the lead changed as Nick Gonzales roped a ball into right center for a three-run triple before a throwing error at the plate advanced the freshman home for the fourth run to give NM State a 4-3 lead.
 
The lead was short-lived, however, when in the bottom of the ninth the Vaqueros got a runner on to lead off the frame and then the next batter sent a ball over the left field wall for a walk-off two-run home run and the Aggies lost 5-4.
 
UP NEXT
Following the tournament opener for No. 3 New Mexico State, the team is set to play game two on Thursday, May 24. If the Aggies defeat the Roadrunners the team advances to rake on No. 2 Sacramento State at 4 p.m. MT on Thursday. A loss puts the team in the losers bracket with a game at 12 p.m. MT on May 24.