LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team hits the road for a four-game stretch that begins with a midweek clash in Albuquerque, N.M. for the second installment of the Battle of I-25 when the Aggies take on in-state rival New Mexico on Tuesday, April 16, at 6 p.m. MT. NM State then travels to Orem, Utah to face off against Western Athletic Conference challenger Utah Valley in a three-game series, April 18-20.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday, April 16, at 6:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Chris Barraza | RHP | 0-1 | 4.76 ERA
New Mexico: Jack Murano | RHP | 0-1 | 11.57 ERA
Thursday, April 18, at 6:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Brock Whittlesey | RHP | 4-1 | 5.06 ERA
Utah Valley: Jake Carr | RHP | 2-7 | 8.57 ERA
Friday, April 19, at 6:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Justin Dehn | RHP | 6-2 | 4.09 ERA
Utah Valley: Paxton Schultz | RHP | 1-4 | 4.80 ERA
Saturday, April 20, at 12:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Chance Hroch | RHP | 7-0 | 2.90 ERA
Utah Valley: Walker Ramsey | RHP | 0-4 | 9.00 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
Fans looking to follow along for the contests can catch the live stats for all four games. The rivalry matchup with New Mexico can be followed on
SideArm Stats and the entirety of the three-game conference series against Utah Valley can be caught on
StatBroadcast.
LISTEN UP!
For Aggie fans looking to listen in live to the four road contests can do so with Adam Young providing the play-by-play for each game. The midweek clash at UNM can be heard on 99.5 FM Zia Country and the three-game series at Utah Valley is available on 91.5 FM KRUX. The live radio coverage of the contests can also be listened to through the TuneIn app on any phone or tablet.
WHERE TO WATCH
All of the Aggies road games can also be streamed live with the rivalry contest against UNM available on the
Mountain West Network and the entire three-game series at Utah Valley can be caught on the
WAC Digital Network.
LOOKING AT THE LOBOS
In-state rival New Mexico enters the Battle of I-25 with a 16-19 overall record and a 10-10 mark at home on Santa Ana Star Field. The Aggies defeated the Lobos in the first meeting of 2019, 13-5, on March 26 at Presley Askew Field. NM State has won five straight over UNM and is looking for its first six-game win streak over the Lobos in program history.
As a team, New Mexico's hitters have combined for a .287 batting average with 98 extra-base hits and 219 runs scored. The Lobo offense features four regular starters hitting above .300 and has Jared Mang leading the team with a .408 average at the plate. Mang also posts a team-high 40 runs batted and a .662 slugging percentage.
ON the mound, the Lobos pitching staff holds a 6.13 team earned run average with 271 strikeouts to 144 walks over 304.0 innings pitched. Lobo pitchers have allowed opposing batters to post a .302 batting average with 103 extra-base hits and 239 runs scored.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
Heading into the week, Western Athletic Conference foe Utah Valley sits at 8-27 with a 5-7 record in conference play. The Wolverines are coming off of a 2-1 series loss at home to fellow WAC opponent Chicago State.
The Wolverines batters have a .264 batting average and a .360 average for on-base and slugging percentage. UVU is led by Alexander Marco who posts a team-high .351 batting average with a team-leading six home runs and 28 runs batted in. Nine Wolverines have homered this season but only two have done so multiple times.
For the UVU pitching staff, the team has an 8.07 earned run average and has allowed 160 extra-base hits, including 56 homers. Utah Valley pitchers have one complete game, thrown by this week's Friday starter Paxton Schultz who has the lowest ERA among the starters at 4.80 over 60.0 innings pitched.
WHAT HAPPENED? LASER SHOW
The Western Athletic Conference announced its baseball players of the week on Monday. After a dominating week at the plate, New Mexico State's
Joey Ortiz was named the WAC Hitter of the Week.
Ortiz was a menace at the plate, going 8-for-19 (.421 avg.) with six extra-base hits and 10 RBI. The junior opened the week with a double and a run scored in a loss to No. 11 Texas Tech. In the Aggies' weekend series against Northern Colorado, he was 7-for-14 from the plate with a home run in each contest.
The Garden Grove, Calif. native's best performance came in the final game. Ortiz hit for the cycle with eight RBI in a 19-9 run-rule win on Sunday afternoon. On the season, Ortiz ranks second in the WAC in batting average, hitting .431 with a conference-leading 66 hits and 63 runs batted in.
IN THE NATION
34 games into the season the Aggies currently rank in the top-25 nationally in 14 categories, including nine NCAA-leading statistics:
| NM State (Rk) |
Category |
NCAA |
| .366 (1st) |
Batting Average |
.366 |
| 81 (1st) |
Hit by Pitch |
81 |
| 437 (1st) |
Hits |
437 |
| 62 (1st) |
Home Runs |
62 |
| .481 (1st) |
On-Base % |
.481 |
| 393 (1st) |
Runs |
393 |
| 11.6 (1st) |
Scoring |
11.6 |
| .623 (1st) |
Slugging % |
.623 |
| 21 (1st) |
Triples |
21 |
| 78 (10th) |
Doubles |
98 |
| 204 (12th) |
Base on Balls |
238 |
| .735 (15th) |
W/L Pct. |
.844 |
| 22 (16th) |
Sacrifice Flies |
29 |
| 32 (21st) |
Double Plays |
43 |
LEADER OF THE WAC
Entering the fifth week of conference play, the NM State baseball team currently leads the WAC in 13 offensive and three defensive categories.
The offensive stats the Aggies lead in are batting average (.366), slugging percentage (.623), on-base percentage (.481), runs scored (393), hits (437), runs batted in (365), doubles (78) triples (21), home runs (62), total bases (743), walks (204), hit by pitch (81) and stolen bases (45).
Defensively, NM State leads the conference in ground outs forced per game (10.44), fielding percentage (.977), and assists (366).
UP NEXT
Following the four-game road trip, the New Mexico State baseball team returns to the City of Crosses to take on Sul Ross State in a midweek contest on Tuesday, April 23, at 3:05 p.m. MT, at Presley Askew Field.
