LAS CRUCES, N.N – After recording its first four-game sweep since 2013, the New Mexico State baseball team now heads west for a showdown with Arizona State in a midweek matchup  on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 6:30 p.m. on the Pac-12 Arizona State live stream.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
Chris Kucko will get the ball for Tuesday's midweek tilt against Arizona State. The 5-11 righty will be making fourth-career start when he takes the mound at Phoenix Memorial Stadium. The senior has made one appearance so far in 2017, pitching 1.1 innings of work with a 13.50 ERA while giving up two earned runs on three hits with a walk. Meanwhile, the Sun Devils counter with Zach Dixon. Dixon, a 6-0 lefty, is 0-1 on the year with a 6.00 ERA after giving up three runs on three hits against Oklahoma State in 3.0 innings of action.
 
WHERE TO WATCH
Aggie fans can watch a live stream of Tuesday's tilt against the Sun Devils by going to www.pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university. The stream is free can also be viewed on your mobile/tablet device by downloading the Pac-12 App.
 
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to Adam Young (@youngpbp) all season on 91.5 FM KRUX. Fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free by searching KRUX.
 
GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS NOW!
With the start of the 2017 season tickets, Aggie fans can be a part of the action for all 23 home games (including three double-headers) for just $100 per seat. Season tickets will guarantee fans a seat in the reserved section of 104 behind home plate. Fans can purchase 2017 Aggie baseball season tickets by going to the Pan American Center ticket office or by calling 575-646-1420.
 
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Against Yale (March 3-5) this weekend, kids that play in the Las Cruces Youth Baseball Association will gain free admission to the series opener on Friday, March 3. For Saturday's, March 3, doubleheader, all fans in attendance can purchase $1 ice cream sandwiches followed by the traditional $1 hot dog Sunday special.
 
BATTLE IN THE BORDERLAND
New Mexico State is set to return to Southwest University Park, home of the El Paso Chihuahuas, once again to take on Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico. This year's rivalry game is set for Tuesday, March 7, with a first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m.
 
Fans can purchase tickets by calling the Pan American Center ticket office at 575-646-1420. Organizations and teams looking to purchase group tickets can contact Nicole Gomez by email at nicolemg@nmsu.edu or via phone at 575-646-8050.
 
BOTELLO GRABS WEEKLY HONOR
Senior outfielder Austin Botello was named this week's Western Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week after a monstrous weekend at the plate for New Mexico State.
 
Botello was 15-of-23 at the plate, hitting for a WAC-best .652 average with a 1.043 slugging percentage and .678 on-base percentage. The Aggie outfielder finished the week with three doubles, two home runs, nine runs scored, 12 RBI and one stolen base.
 
Botello had multiple hits in each game over the weekend, leading the team with 20 over four games. The Galveston, Texas, native began the series with two hits in a 13-2 victory for the Aggies on Friday night. Saturday featured a doubleheader for the team, as they won both games to a combined score of 31-7. Over the two contests, Botello had six hits, with one double, one homer and five RBI.
 
The senior's best game came on Sunday afternoon in the weekend finale. Botello posted a career-high six hits in seven at-bats (.857), a feat not accomplished since Kristoffer Koerper on May 11, 2014. The afternoon matchup also saw the Aggie add five RBI with one double and a round tripper.
 
IN THE NATION
Through games on Sunday, Feb. 26, here's how the Aggies are compared to other teams in the country.
 
NM State (Rk)              Category                   NCAA
.379 (1)                        Batting Avg.                .379
129 (1)                         Hits                            129
108 (1)                         Runs                          108
44 (13)                         Walks                         55
.469 (4)                        OBP                           .490
.565 (11)                       SLG%                        .634              
25 (4)                           Doubles                      30
4 (14)                           Triples                         7
10 (21)                          Home Runs                 20
19 (1)                            HBP                           19
 
Senior Austin Botello leads the NCAA in hits with 20, and is also in the top-10 in several other categories. He's fifth in the country with 10 walks drawn, third in runs (13) and fifth in RBI (15). In addition, Botello is also 12th in the nation with a .556 batting average and 12th in on-base percentage.
 
Shortstop LJ Hatch is third in the country with six doubles and only trails the NCAA leader by two. Brent Sakurai is also tied with Botello in the runs scored category with 13. Dan Hetzel is ninth in the country in runs with 14.
 

These guys can hit????????#AggieUp #BeUncommon pic.twitter.com/APBDSHpy6V

— NM State Baseball (@NMStateBaseball) February 27, 2017

BATTLING THE SUN DEVILS
Heading into this season, Arizona State is 4-3 on the year after dropping 2-of-3 to top-ranked TCU this past weekend. The Sun Devils took the series opener 13-9 before dropping the next two games. ASU is currently 3-1 this season since moving back to Phoenix Municipal Stadium in 2015.
 
New Mexico State trails the all-time series 33-2. The first win came during the 2001 season when NM State defeated Arizona State 19-16 on April 17 with the second coming in 2002, an 8-7 decision in favor of the Aggies. Both victories came in Las Cruces.
 
Historically, Arizona State has won 30-plus games in 54 consecutive seasons that started in 1963. ASU also made it to the regionals final for the first last season since 2013 after going 36-23. The Sun Devils also boasts 12 players on their roster that were drafted, including five that were picked out of high school in the 2016 draft.
 
Lyle Lin (.433) and Myles Denson (.429) are batting above .400 for Arizona State while three other Sun Devils are hitting above .300. As a team, ASU is batting .285 with 36 runs and three homers. Arizona State has been most effective in the fifth and eighth inning, outscoring opponents 6-1 in the fifth and 11-6 in the eight.
 
On the mound, Arizona State has a 5.75 team ERA with 59 strikeouts while opponents are batting just .239. Eli Lingos paces the pitching staff with a 1.42 ERA with 14 strikeouts while foes are hitting .119 from the plate.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The NM State batters were locked in this past weekend against Mount St. Mary's, plating 73 runs on 86 hits while crushing seven homers. The Aggies batted .500 from the plate with a .721 slugging percentage with 68 RBI.
 
Austin Botello was raking it against The Mounts and batted .667 with 14 hits while scoring nine with two homers and 12 RBI. He also had a 1.048 slugging percentage and .667 on-base percentage with two walks. Freshman Joey Ortiz enjoyed an offensive burst of his own and batted .632 with 12 hits and scored 10 with six RBI of his own against Mount St. Mary's while LJ Hatch was 10-of-16 from the dish with six RBI and nine runs scored – including a web gem in Friday night's game.
 
Jonathan Groff (1-0, 3.00 ERA) picked up his first victory in an Aggie uniform on Friday in the series opener, throwing 6.0 innings and gave up just two runs on six hits with a pair of walks and eight punch outs.
 
UP NEXT
After its midweek game at Arizona State, the Aggies return home for another four-game set – this time against Yale. The series opener is slated for a 6 p.m. first pitch while Saturday's doubleheader will begin at 2 p.m. First pitch on Sunday is scheduled for Noon and will also be broadcast on ESPN3.