LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team heads to Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. for the 2019 Western Athletic Conference Tournament, May 22-26. The Aggies are looking to repeat after an incredible season saw the team win it's first-ever WAC Tournament title in 2018.
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.
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans looking to listen in can hear all postseason games live with Adam Young calling the weekend series and former NM State infielder Jerry Lujan serving as the analyst on 91.5 FM KRUX. The stations can also be listened to through your phone or tablet on the TuneIn app.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans who cannot make it out to Hohokam Stadium can catch all of the conference tournament games through a stream on ESPN+. Michael Potter is set to handle the play-by-play, with Mark Knudson as an analyst and Rachel Vigil is the sideline reporter.
LIVE STATS
All of the WAC Tournament games for NM State can also be followed through live stats from the first pitch until game's end on
StatBroadcast.
WHERE WE STAND
Entering the tournament the Aggies hold their second number-one seed in three years. This top-seed earns NM State a first-round bye putting the first game for the Crimson & White on Thursday, May 23, at 8 p.m. MT versus the lowest-seed available.
ALL-WAC HONORS
The Western Athletic Conference announced its All-WAC baseball honors, as selected by the league's head coaches, on Tuesday. Along with leading the conference with six First-Team All-WAC selections, the New Mexico State baseball team also saw shortstop
Joey Ortiz named WAC Player of the Year.
Ortiz earned player of the year accolades and a first-team selection after hitting .426 in league play and leading the WAC with 55 hits, 16 doubles, four triples and 94 total bases. In addition, the junior's season-long total of hits (102), runs (82) and triples (10) lead the nation while his batting average (.430) and runs batted in (82) ranked third across the NCAA. As he has shown all career, the Garden Grove, Calif. native shines in the field and this year was no different as he posted a .975 fielding percentage with 175 assists, 58 putouts and 31 double plays turned.
Joining Ortiz on the First-Team All-WAC was first baseman
Tristan Peterson, second baseman
Nick Gonzales, third baseman
Eric Mingus, outfielder
Tristen Carranza and starting pitcher
Chance Hroch. The Aggies six first-team honorees led the WAC by a large margin with the next highest total being two players recorded by three different teams.
After transferring to NM State, Peterson began his first season and made his name known quickly with his power at the plate and great play in the field. In league play, the slugger ranks first in slugging percentage (.838), on-base percentage (.529), runs scored (40), runs batted in (53) and home runs (13). The first baseman also led the WAC in putouts (234) and was fourth in double plays (18).
At second base, Gonzales continued to shine following a rookie season that saw him named WAC Freshman of the Year. The sophomore excelled at the dish, ranking in the top-10 in 10 different categories throughout conference action. Among the impressive totals, he also ranked in the top-5 in four of those categories that include second in walks (24) and sacrifice flies (4), third in hit by pitch (8) and fifth in runs scored (32).
Carranza closed out his senior campaign with his third WAC postseason honor, following a second-team selection in 2017 and being named the WAC Tournament MVP in 2018. The left fielder ranked among the top-5 in nine different categories during WAC play that include first in hit by pitch (12), second in sacrifice flies (4) and on-base percentage (.529), third in walks (21), triples (3) and runs scored (33), fourth in runs batted in (35) ad fifth in batting average (.396) and hits (40).
Mingus and Hroch earned their first-ever postseason honors as each earned the First-Team All-WAC at-large selections. A breakout senior season saw Mingus start in 51 games and post a .339 batting average with 50 RBI and 16 extra-base hits. On the mound, Hroch was perfect finishing the season at 10-0 and compiling a 2.51 earned run average with two complete game shutouts.
IN THE NATION
At the end of the regular season, the Aggies currently rank in the top-25 nationally in 14 categories, including eight NCAA-leading statistics and 11 in the top-10:
| NM State (Rk) |
Category |
NCAA |
| .360 (1st) |
Batting Average |
.360 |
| 115 (1st) |
Hit By Pitch |
115 |
| 664 (1st) |
Hits |
664 |
| .475 (1st) |
On-Base % |
.475 |
| 596 (1st) |
Runs |
596 |
| 11.5 (1st) |
Scoring |
11.5 |
| .584 (1st) |
Slugging % |
.584 |
| 33 (1st) |
Triples |
33 |
| 40 (2nd) |
Sacrifice Flies |
42 |
| 78 (6th) |
Home Runs |
90 |
| 325 (8th) |
Base on Balls |
357 |
| .712 (14th) |
W/L Pct. |
.712 |
| 114 (19th) |
Doubles |
147 |
| 49 (25th) |
Double Plays |
67 |
LEADER OF THE WAC
Heading into the postseason tournament, the Aggies currently lead the WAC in 15 categories.
The Aggies leading conference state are batting average (.360), slugging percentage (.584), on-base percentage (.475), runs scored (596), hits (664), runs batted in (556), triples (33), home runs (78), total bases (1,078), walks (325), hit by pitch (115), sacrifice flies (40), least doubles allowed (72), ground outs forced per game (10.19) and wins (37).
UP NEXT
Following the team's first matchup, if New Mexico State wins the team advances to the semifinals on Friday, May 24, at 8 p.m. MT and if the Aggies drop their opening contest, the team moves to the elimination game on Friday at 4 p.m.
