LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team (14-11, 0-0)returns home for a midweek match-up as they host the New Mexico Lobos (15-9, 9-0) on Tuesday, March 28. This will be the second installment of the Battle of I-25 rivalry with first pitch set for 6 p.m. MT at Presley Askew Field.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
The Aggies will trot out senior Chris Kucko to start Tuesday' contest. The right-hander has a 0-0 record and 11.12 ERA, while allowing 14 hits and striking out three batters in 5.2 innings of work. The opposition will roll out left-hander Carson Schneider, a senior who boasts a record of 2-0 with a 5.25 ERA and seven strikeouts through 12 innings.
 
CATCH THE ACTION
The Aggies contest against in-state rival UNM will be broadcast live on ESPN3, FOX Sports Arizona PLUS, FOX College Sports Pacific, Altitude Sports 2 and Comcast 77. Adam Young will have the call, while Jerry Lujan serves as the analyst.
 
FOX Sports Arizona PLUS (LIVE)
DISH : SD: 452, HD: 9574 | DISH Hopper: 412-40 | DTV: 686-1
 
FOX College Sports Pacific (LIVE)
DTV: 608
 
Altitude Sports 2 (LIVE)
DTV: 681
| DISH: SD: 412/3, HD: 5413
 
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.
 
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.
 
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
The New Mexico Lobos come into Tuesday's game sitting at 15-9 overall and 9-0 in Mountain West Conference play. The Lobos put up these numbers despite going 4-6 in their last 10 contests.
 
Despite the losing record in the last 10, UNM has put up 10+ runs in the team's last nine games. The offensive attack featured the opponent putting up 22 runs on Wednesday, March 22 against Grand Canyon and 29 on Friday, March 24 at UNLV.
 
Senior outfielder Luis Gonzalez leads the offensive attack for UNM as he has started in all 24 of the team's games, posting a .388 batting average with 19 RBI and 15 extra-base hits.
 
Just behind Gonzalez is the Lobos first baseman, Jack Zoellner, who boasts a .363 batting average with a team-leading eight home runs and 29 RBI.
 
UNM has seen success in recent years as the opponent has put up 32+ wins in five straight season and appeared in the postseason in five of the last seven years.
 
Tuesday's match-up between NM State and Battle of I-25 rival UNM will be the second contest between the teams this season as the Lobos took the first contest, 8-2, at Southwest University Park in El Paso, Texas back on March 7.
 
FIRST THINGS FIRST
Friday's victory for NM State over UC Santa Barbara saw multiple Aggies knock another thing off their checklists for the season's stat sheet.
 
In the fifth inning of the contest, Austin Botello smacked a two-out grand slam to give the Aggies the lead 5-3. This was the first grand slam of the season for the team.
 
Then, in the sixth inning, Matthew McHugh made his first appearance of the season in relief as the senior threw three scoreless innings of baseball while only allowing one hit. This secured a 7-3 victory for the Aggies and earned McHugh his first save of the season.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
The return home for the Aggies ends the team's 10-game road stretch which pit the team against three College World Series qualifiers (Arizona, Utah and UC Santa Barbara). The midweek match-up also breaks up the teams 14 road games which they play over 15 games from March 10-April 2.
 
WELCOME TO THE LASER SHOW
The Aggies as a team have been a handful for opposing pitching staffs as the team is currently fifth in the nations in hits (83), 12th in batting average (.322), 13th in runs scored (200), 17th in on-base percentage (.412) and 24th in the country in slugging percentage (.473).
 
The production at the plate features multiple Aggies sitting in the top-25 in Division I with Austin Botello coming in at 21st in RBI (29), Joey Ortiz sits at 23rd in hits (38) and Brent Sakurai is 25th in triples (3).
 
Austin Botello also ranks tied for 1st in individual game hit total with 6 and Tristen Carranza is tied for the nation's lead with 9 RBI in a contest.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies most recent contest saw the team end a 10-game road swing as they finished off the trip with a weekend series against the 2016 College World Series participant, UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, March 24-26.
 
After an Austin Botello grand slam was a catalyst to give the Aggies a 7-3 victory on Friday, the team then suffered their first scoreless effort in an 8-0 loss on Saturday, followed by a 7-2 loss on Sunday to move to 14-11 overall.
 
UP NEXT
After the brief stop home, New Mexico State will pack their bags and head back on the road for a three-game weekend series at Seattle University, March 31-April 2.