LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team gets set for the biggest tilt of the year to date as with the team heading to the Golden State to take on Western Athletic Conference leader Sacramento State in a three-game series, April 26-28, in Sacramento, Calif. at John Smith Field.
This weekend's series versus Sacramento State is a rematch of last year's WAC Tournament championship matchup. The Hornets won a thrilling 15-inning game to force a winner-take-all game in last year's tournament before the Aggies prevailed with a 4-3 win for the team's first-ever WAC Tournament title.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Thursday, April 26, at 8:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Brock Whittlesey | RHP | 5-1 | 4.42 ERA
Sacramento State: Scott Randall | RHP | 6-1 | 2.49 ERA
Friday, April 27, at 7:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Justin Dehn | RHP | 6-2 | 4.58 ERA
Sacramento State: Parker Brahms | RHP | 4-2 | 3.13 ERA
Sunday, April 28, at 12:35 p.m. MT
NM State: TBD
Sacramento State: TBD
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.
WHERE TO WATCH
All of the Aggies games for the weekend series against Western Athletic Conference opponent Sacramento State can be streamed live on the
WAC Digital Network.
LIVE STATS
Fans looking to follow along for the weekend series can get live stats throughout each of the three games on
StatBroadcast.
LOOKING AT THE HORNETS
Heading into the weekend series, host Sacramento State sits at 26-14 overall with a Western Athletic Conference leading 12-3 mark versus WAC foes. Coming off of a weekend sweep of conference challenger Chicago State, the Hornets most recently lost on the road to Cal, 12-4, on Tuesday, April 23.
The battle in the weekend series marks Sacramento State's first home games since April 9, a nine-game stretch on the road. At John Smith Field this season, the Hornets sit at 18-3. This weekend clash pits the Aggies high-powered offense versus the Hornets conference-leading pitching staff that leads the WAC in earned run average, WHIP, strikeout-to-walk ratio and shutouts.
Sacramento State has improved at the plate over the team's last five games, having combined for eight home runs that includes three by Steven Moretto and two from Dylan McPhillips. The Hornets have scored first in 21 games this season and are 16-5 in those games. In the 19 games in which the opponent scores first, the Hornets are just above .500 at 10-9.
THINGS TO DO WITH A BROOM FOR 500…WHAT IS SWEEP?
After a big week at the plate and stellar outing on the mound, New Mexico State baseball's
Tristen Carranza and
Brock Whittlesey were named the Western Athletic Conference Hitter and Pitcher of the Week to sweep the conference honors.
This is the second hitter of the week honor for Carranza and sixth for the Aggies while Whittlesey earned his first pitcher of the week honor and first for NM State this season, as well.
Carranza, a power-hitting righty, went 8-for-17 with 10 RBI while scoring five with a pair of jacks in four games for the Aggies. The El Centro, Calif., product recorded multiple hits and multiple RBI in each game this week – including a 2-for-5 effort with two RBI with a run scored in an 11-8 victory over Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico in extra innings.
Against league foe Utah Valley, the senior went 6-for-12 from the dish with eight RBI and four runs scored – including a pair of three-run bombs to bring his total to a league-leading 16. His .471 batting average was second on the team this week while his .941 slugging percentage was a team-high.
Whittlesey moved to 5-1 on the year as a starter after tossing a complete game shutout of Utah Valley in the series opener that ended in a 14-0 run-rule win. The Gilbert, Ariz., native finished the night with five strikeouts for his first complete game outing of the year.
IN THE NATION
38 games into the season the Aggies currently rank in the top-25 nationally in 14 categories, including eight NCAA-leading statistics:
| NM State (Rk) |
Category |
NCAA |
| .365 (1st) |
Batting Average |
.365 |
| 90 (1st) |
Hit by Pitch |
90 |
| 490 (1st) |
Hits |
490 |
| .478 (1st) |
On-Base % |
.478 |
| 439 (1st) |
Runs |
439 |
| 11.6 (1st) |
Scoring |
11.6 |
| .611 (1st) |
Slugging % |
.611 |
| 24 (1st) |
Triples |
24 |
| 65 (4th) |
Home Runs |
72 |
| 27 (8th) |
Sacrifice Flies |
33 |
| 227 (15th) |
Base on Balls |
271 |
| 87 (18th) |
Doubles |
101 |
| .737 (19th) |
W/L Pct. |
.861 |
| 37 (22nd) |
Double Plays |
50 |
LEADER OF THE WAC
Heading into the end of April and through 14 conference games, the Aggies currently lead the WAC in 14 categories.
The Aggies leading conference state are batting average (.365), slugging percentage (.611), on-base percentage (.478), runs scored (439), hits (490), runs batted in (406), triples (24), home runs (65), total bases (820), walks (227), hit by pitch (90), stolen bases (46), ground outs forced per game (10.14) and wins (28).
UP NEXT
Following the challenging weekend series, the New Mexico State baseball team continues the tough road grind to close out the month of April with a midweek contest against Pac-12 challenger Arizona on Tuesday, April 30, at 6 p.m. MT.
