LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team looks to put the finishing touches on the Battle of I-25 this Tuesday, May 8, when the Aggies and New Mexico duke it out at Santa Ana Star Field. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m. (MT) in the final rivalry game of the 2017-18 athletic season.
 
When the two take the field, New Mexico State will also look for its first-ever three-game series sweep of the Lobos in program history. The most wins against UNM for Aggie baseball in a single-season came in 2005 when they went 3-3 against the Lobos on the year.
 
PROBABLE STARTERS
NM State: Justin Dehn, RHP (4-3, 5.19 ERA)
UNM: Robert Gasser, LHP (2-3, 6.75 ERA)
 
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.
 
WHERE TO WATCH!
Aggie fans looking to watch the game can catch the action on the Mountain West Network live-stream. Link to the live stream can be found on the baseball schedule page or by click here.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can also follow the game in real time with live stats on StatBroadcast by going to the Aggie baseball schedule page or by clicking here.
 
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
New Mexico enters this Tuesday's midweek clash 16-30-1 overall on the year and 9-12-1 record at home. The Lobos have struggled as of late, dropping seven-straight contests and nine of its last 10.
 
The Aggies are scheduled to throw right-hander Justin Dehn and opposite him for the Lobos will be southpaw Robert Gasser. Dehn is 4-3 on the year with a 5.19 ERA in 11 appearances while Gasser is 2-3 for UNM with a 6.75 ERA in 18 appearances (10 starts). Opponents are hitting just .298 against Gasser with 17 extra-base hits while Dehn has 11 extra-base hits to opponents who are batting .308 from the plate.
 
Offensively, the Lobos are batting .260 from the plate through 47 games with a .363 slugging percentage and .359 on-base percentage. Daniel Zakosek paces the team from the plate, posting a .320 batting average in 50 at-bats. Connor Mang is the only other Lobo batting above a .300 clip, checking in with a .302 batting average 22 RBI – good for second-most on the team. Jared Mang leads the team with 29 runs batted thank to a team-high eight homers as well. On the base paths, Danny Collier has swiped 8-of-9 while Justin Watari stole 6-of-7 attempts this season.
 
Defensively, the Aggies have committed 40 errors for a .977 fielding-percentage while UNM has committed 54 errors for a .969 fielding percentage.
 
IN THE NATION
Heading into this week's game through games on Sunday, May 6, the NM State baseball team currently ranks in the top-10 in eight different categories across the country...
 
NM State (Rk)                Category                           NCAA
.328 (2nd)                       Batting Avg.                       .353
9.1 (2nd)                         Scoring                              11.0
.431 (2nd)                       OB%                                  .445
435 (2nd)                        Runs                                  506
.508 (3rd)                        Slugging %                        .620
538 (4th)                         Hits                                    613
20 (6th)                           Triples                                26
100 (1st)                         Hit by Pitch                        100
 
Individually, freshman Nick Gonzales is 22nd in the nation with a .390 batting average while Joey Ortiz is 24th amongst Division I players with 52 runs scored. Caleb Henderson's 57 RBI ranks him 11th-best in the NCAA while Logan Ehnes is 21st in the country with five triples. Kyle Bradish is 25th in the nation after fanning 94 batters on the year. The eight wins by lefty Johnathan Groff is 10th-best in the country as well.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies sent their seniors off with a bang this past weekend, sweeping their fifth series of the season when they run-ruled Utah Valley on Sunday 17-7 to complete the sweep. The win also gave NM State its ninth series victory this season.
 
In the series opener, New Mexico State was down 3-1 early before taking the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning when it spotted three runs – including the go-ahead run on a single from Logan Ehnes. Aggie ace Kyle Bradish picked up his sixth win of the season after seven solid innings of work, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits with six punch outs.
 

Tonight's attendance: 2??1??4??7??

A new record here at The 'Skew. Thank you for your support of Aggie Baseball. ??#StuffTheSkew #AggieUp pic.twitter.com/8hCzmYCAdE

— NM State Baseball (@NMStateBaseball) May 5, 2018

Saturday's contest saw Johnathan Groff toss a gem for the Aggies. The Southpaw fanned seven Wolverines while throwing 7.0 innings and gave up just two runs on eight hits in the 6-2 win.
 
Senior day saw a lot of offensive production from the Aggie batters, many of them underclassmen. Sophomore sensation Joey Ortiz went 3-for-3 from the plate with seven RBI thanks to a pair of three-run jacks and scored four run to go with a walk. Freshman Nick Gonzales went 2-for-4 from the dish and scored a pair of runs while plating four runs himself. Matthew Perea picked up his seventh win after tossing a scoreless 2.2 innings of relief while fanning four.  The Aggie offense spotted six runs in the seventh inning to run-rule the Wolverines and notch the victory.
 

WATCH | @Nick_Gonzales13 BLASTS this GRAND SLAM to end the game 17-7 for NM State on senior day!!#TodayMatters | #AggieUp pic.twitter.com/Ly9wn0WSCF

— NM State Baseball (@NMStateBaseball) May 6, 2018

IN THE HUNT
With the sweep of Utah Valley this past weekend, New Mexico State (32-16, 15-6 WAC) is now half a game back of Grand Canyon (27-20, 14-4 WAC) in the league standings and holds a half a game lead over Sacramento State (26-20, 13-5 WAC).

UP NEXT
New Mexico State remains on the road as it travels to the Pacific Northwest for a three-game series in Spokane, Wash., against Gonzaga beginning this Friday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. (MT). After this weekend's series, the Aggies finish up Western Athletic Conference play at UT Rio Grande Valley.