LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team hits the road for a four-game road stretch beginning with a trip to Tempe, Ariz. to take on the undefeated No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils on Wednesday, March 13, at 6:30 p.m. MT. Then the Aggies make a trip to Lincoln, Neb. for a three-game weekend series against Big Ten challenger Nebraska, March 15-17.
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LIVE STATS
Live Stats are available for both games and can be found on the
NM State baseball schedule page. The game at ASU is available on
StatBroadcast and the entire series at Nebraska can be followed on the
Huskers site.
TAKING A LOOK AT ARIZONA STATE
The nationally ranked No. 9 Arizona State Sun Devils enter the midweek matchup with the Aggies holding a perfect 15-0 record on the season. ASU has swept all four series this year over Notre Dame, UC Davis, Michigan State and Xavier, while also picking up midweek wins over San Diego, Pepperdine and Cal State Fullerton.
A high-powered Sun Devil offense sits first in in the nation in sacrifice flies (13), second in batting average (.354), runs ( 161), scoring (10.7) and second in slugging percentage (.567), third in hits (192), fourth in on-base percentage (.438), sixth in home runs (24), and 11
th in doubles (36).
At the plate, ASU has been led by Hunter Bishop who has posted a team-high .414 batting average with eight home runs and 22 runs batted in through 15 starts. In total, the Sun Devils have eight regular starters hitting above .300 and have combined for 58 extra-base hits.
Along with the ASU pitching staff helping lead the Sun Devils to the best win/loss percentage in the country (1.000), the pitchers have combined for the eighth-best earned run average in the NCAA (2.10) are 16
th in shutouts (2) and have the 23
rd best WHIP (1.18).
Last season, despite a three-run outburst from the Sun Devils in the seventh, the Aggies held on to a one-run lead and took down ASU 8-7. This was NM State's first win over ASU since 2002 and first ever win over the Sun Devils in Phoenix.
SCOUTING THE CORNHUSKERS
For the weekend series, host Nebraska sits at 6-7 overall, but has yet to have a home game due to the first three being postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather. The Cornhuskers most recent series saw the team take two-of-three from No. 21 Baylor in Waco, Texas.
As a team, the Cornhuskers are hitting .272 with 26 extra-base hits and 85 runs scored. The offense features four regular starters batting above .300, led by Joe Acker who is hitting .333 with a team-high .417 slugging percentage, followed by Aaron Palensky with a .315 batting average and a team-leading 12 runs scored.
On the mound, the Nebraska pitching staff combines for a 5.61 earned run average with 108 punch outs, one shutout and have held opposing bats to a .282 average over 110.2 innings. Starter Matt Waldron holds a -0 record and leads starters with a 2.25 ERA, while also ranking 15
th in the nation in strikeout-to-walk ratio at 13.00.
IN THE NATION
17 games into the season the Aggies currently rank in the top-15 nationally in 14 categories, including nine NCAA-leading statistics:
NM State (Rk) Category NCAA
.403 (1st)
Batting Average .403
45 (1st)
Doubles 45
254 (1st)
Hits 254
39 (1st)
Home Runs 39
.507 (1st)
On-Base % .507
237 (1st)
Runs 237
13.9 (1st)
Scoring 13.9
.707 (1st)
Slugging % .707
15 (1st)
Triples 15
42 (2nd)
Hit by Pitch 46
19 (5th)
Double Plays 21
103 (7th)
Base on Balls 116
11 (13th)
Sacrifice Flies 13
.824 (15th)
W/L % 1.000
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
The Western Athletic Conference announced its players of the week on Monday, March 11. Following an impressive weekend at the plate that led the team to a series win over La Salle, New Mexico State's
Tristen Carranza earned the WAC Hitter of the Week honor.
Carranza led the WAC in slugging percentage on the week at 1.167, with five extra-base hits in the series win over the Explorers. With a hit in each game, the senior's best performance was in the nightcap of the Saturday doubleheader, going 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored on a pair of home runs.
For the week, Carranza finished 9-for-18 at the dish with a double, triple and three home runs, bumping his season total up to 11. The impressive weekend leading to 11 homers also tied the slugger with teammate
Nick Gonzales for the NCAA lead.
LAST TIME OUT
This past weekend, NM State played host to La Salle for a four-game series at Presley Askew Field. After losing a tightly contest opener, the Aggies bounced back to take the remaining games for a 3-1 series victory over La Salle. This was the fourth-straight series victory for the Crimson & White this season.
For the series opener, in a game that featured seven lead changes, the Aggies dropped a tight contest in the opener to the Explorers, 9-8. Following the loss in game one, NM State bounced back with a sweep of the doubleheader taking down La Salle in the first game, 6-1, and claiming the second win, 7-3. Then in the finale the Crimson & White were able to complete the 3-1 series victory with a 16-5 win in the final game, highlighted by seven extra-base hits and four multi-run innings.
UP NEXT
Following the four-game road stretch, the New Mexico State baseball team gets to return to the City of Crosses for one day before getting back on the road for a midweek clash again in the Grand Canyon State against PAC-12 powerhouse Arizona in Tucson on Tuesday, March 19.
