LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team get ready for its fourth Western Athletic Conference series of the season welcoming Northern Colorado to Presley Askew Field, April 12-14. The Aggies have won each of their previous three conference series to date.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, April, at 6:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Brock Whittlesey | RHP | 4-1 | 4.40 ERA
Northern Colorado: Isaac Bracken | RHP | 1-3 | 5.70 ERA
Saturday, April 6, at 2:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Justin Dehn | RHP | 5-2 | 4.81 ERA
Northern Colorado: Connor Anderson | RHP | 0-6 | 7.28 ERA
Sunday, April 7, at 12:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Chance Hroch | RHP | 7-0 | 2.47 ERA
Northern Colorado: Sam Leach | RHP | 0-1 | 6.08 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/NMStateBaseball.
LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all of NM State's home games this season. Those looking to follow along with the stats can access each game on
StatBroadcast or by visiting the team's schedule page
online.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans who are unable to make it to The 'Skew for this weekend's series can still watch each game live on television or through streaming services. For Friday series opener and Sunday' series finale, the games can be watched live on FOX Sports Arizona PLUS, FOX Sports Prime Ticket, FOX College Sports Pacific and ELEVEN Sports. Adam Young is set to handle the play-by-play with Jerry Lujan serving as the analyst.
All three games can also be streamed live on the
WAC Digital Network with Adam Young handling the play-by-play for the entire series.
LISTEN UP!
For game two on Saturday, April 13, fans can listen live to the action with Adam Young again handling the play-by-play that can be heard on 91.5 FM KRUX or through the TuneIn app on any phone or tablet.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
All fans who can make it out to Presley Askew Field for the games are able to take part in plenty of great promotions provided by New Mexico State Athletics. Friday's series opener on April 12 features a ceremonial first pitch to be thrown out by current NM State women's golfer and new program individual wins record holder Pun Chanachai. Friday's contest also features one-dollar popcorn available at the concession stand.
On Saturday, April 13, the first 100 fans in attendance can receive the second installment, out of three, of NM State T-Shirt giveaways. Then in the series finale on Sunday, April 14, it is everyone's favorite day of Bark in the Park where fans are encourages to bring their well-behaved canines to The 'Skew and enjoy one-dollar hot dogs. The finale also features Las Cruces Youth Baseball to be recognized in-game and a first pitch from Jonathan Firth of Las Cruces Space Fest.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Heading into the three-game weekend series, Northern Colorado holds a 7-20 overall record with a 3-6 mark in WAC play. The Bears also stand at 0-12 in road games. Coming off of a win in the most recent game over Utah Valley that gives UNC two wins in the team's last nine games.
Offensively, the Bears have combined for a .249 batting average with 131 runs scored and 65 extra-base hits. Two regular starters post an average above .300, led by Jake Gitter who is hitting .356 with a team-leading .589 slugging percentage. Just behind is Jack Pauley who has a .348 batting average and leads the team with three home runs and 21 runs batted in.
On the mound, UNC's pitching staff has combined for a 7.33 earned run average and allowing opposing hitters to post a .310 batting average over 215.0 innings. The Bears staff has 177 strikeout to 142 walks and has given up 101 extra-base hits, including 25 home runs.
IN THE NATION
31 games into the season the Aggies currently rank in the top-25 nationally in 13 categories, including seven NCAA-leading statistics:
| NM State (Rk) |
Category |
NCAA |
| .365 (1st) |
Batting Average |
.365 |
| 400 (1st) |
Hits |
400 |
| 73 (1st) |
Hit by Pitch |
73 |
| .480 (1st) |
On-Base % |
.480 |
| 359 (1st) |
Runs |
359 |
| 11.6 (1st) |
Scoring |
11.6 |
| .617 (1st) |
Slugging % |
.617 |
| 56 (2nd) |
Home Runs |
58 |
| 18 (3rd) |
Triples |
20 |
| 73 (11th) |
Doubles |
90 |
| 31 (11th) |
Double Plays |
40 |
| 185 (17th) |
Base on Balls |
227 |
| .979 (25th) |
Fielding Percentage |
.984 |
LEADER OF THE WAC
With WAC play opening, the NM State baseball team currently leads the conference in 13 offensive and four defensive categories.
The offensive stats the Aggies lead in are batting average (.365), slugging percentage (.617), on-base percentage (.480), runs scored (359), hits (400), runs batted in (335), doubles (73) triples (18), home runs (56), total bases (677), walks (185). Hit by pitch (73) and stolen bases (38).
Defensively, NM State leads the conference in ground outs forced per game (10.41), fielding percentage (.979), assists (334) and double plays turned (28).
LAST TIME OUT
For the previous contest, NM State traveled to Security Bank Ballpark, home of the Oakland Athletics Double-A affiliate Midland Rockhounds, to take on No. 11 Texas Tech on Tuesday night. After taking a 2-1 lead into the middle of the third, the Red Raiders put up five unanswered runs on the way to a 10-5 loss for the Aggies.
UP NEXT
Following the weekend series, the New Mexico State baseball team gets set for the second Battle of I-25 matchup of the season when the team travel to Albuquerque, N.M. to take on in-state rival New Mexico on Tuesday, April 16, at 6:05 p.m. MT.
