Andrés Leighton

Four-Game Series at #19 Oregon Up Next for NM State

Wednesday 03/31/2021 | By: NM State Athletics Media Relations

Aggies step out of WAC play for four-game set at Pac-12 foe

LEADOFF HITS
• For the first time in 2021, NM State will duke it out with a nationally-ranked foe as the Aggies head to Eugene, Ore., for a four-game non-conference set with #19 Oregon at PK Park.
• The four-game series begins at 5:00 p.m. MT Thursday afternoon from PK Park. It's the second series the Aggies will play with the Ducks in the history of the two programs.
• NM State and Oregon last met in the 2015 season in a four-game set which the Ducks swept. The Aggies were outscored 42-14 through the four-game series.
• Against current Pac-12 opponents NM State is 25-127 (.164) all-time. The Aggies' last win over a Pac-12 program came on April 30, 2019, when they posted a 15-13 triumph over Arizona in Tucson, Ariz.
• Under head coach Mike Kirby, NM State is 0-4 against nationally-ranked opponents.
• The Aggies are going in search of their first win over a nationally-ranked foe since May 8, 2005. That day, NM State posted a 9-8 victory over 19th-ranked Louisiana in Las Cruces, N.M. That win came in the final game of a three-game Sun Belt Conference set between the two clubs.
• NM State hasn't won a series against a nationally-ranked squad since the 1996 season. That year, the Aggies won two out of three in a Big West series against top-ranked Cal State Fullerton.
• Eight of the Aggies' 10 wins this season have come at home while NM State is only 2-9 in true road games. In Mike Kirby's tenure as the team's head coach, the Aggies have gone 2-13 (.133) in true road games.

POWER AT THE PLATE
• The Aggies are in possession of one of the nation's best offenses.
• NM State sits atop the WAC statistical charts in six different categories including batting average (.302), on-base percentage (.398), scoring (7.7 runs per game), slugging percentage (.469), triples (11) and triples per game (0.55).
• With numbers like that, the Aggies' offense is one of the best in the nation, too. NM State ranks among the top 30 teams in the land in triples (third), triples per game (sixth), batting average (19th), runs per game (21st), slugging percentage (27th) and on-base percentage (28th).

COMPLETE GAME CHRIS
• NM State's pitching staff is headlined by senior right-hander Chris Jefferson. The Pearland, Texas, product is the owner of a 4-1 record and has tossed a nation-leading three complete games. Jefferson's four wins rank 12th nationally and lead the WAC while his ERA of 2.56 is the third-best in the WAC. Through his last two starts, Jefferson has given up just one run on eight total hits.
• Jefferson has worked at least five innings in each of his five starts this season and has pushed his career record in an Aggie uniform to 9-3.

SWINGIN' SAENZ
• Sophomore outfielder Zerek Saenz continues to serve as the Aggies' best bat.
• The Las Cruces, N.M., product leads the WAC in eight statistical categories including batting average (.486), hits (35), hits per game (1.84), on-base percentage (.542), runs per game (1.21), sacrifice bunts (four), triples (three) and triples per game (0.16).
• Saenz ranks among the top ten nationally in triples (third), batting average (sixth) and hits per game (ninth).

DRIVING 'EM IN
• Two of the top five RBI producers in the WAC sport NM State uniforms.
• Shortstop Brandon Dieter ranks third in the WAC and leads the team with 23 RBI this season. Just behind him, junior Ethan Mann has driven in 21 to rank fourth in the WAC.
• Mann was responsible for driving in four of the Aggies' seven runs through their four-game series with Seattle U last week.

SCOUTING #19 OREGON | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• With the bats of Kenyon Yovan and Aaron Zavala on their side as well as a pitching staff which ranks as one of the best in the land, the Ducks have their sights set on competing for the Pac-12 regular season crown in 2021.
• The team's top bat, Zavala is slashing .429/.556./619 through Oregon's first 18 games of the season. His on-base percentage is the best in the Pac-12 and ranks 16th nationally while his batting average is the 30th-best in the land.
• Scoring runs is primarily the job of Zavala who has touched home 21 times. Driving them in, however, has been handled primarily by Yovan and Tanner Smith. They each have 19 RBI to their credit to lead the Ducks and both have a substantial amount of power in their bats. Smith leads the team with 13 extra-base hits while Yovan's seven home runs are tops on the team and the second-most in the Pac-12.
• Yovan's slugging percentage of .827 ranks second in the Pac-12 and 14th nationally.
• Oregon's pitching staff has thrown three shutouts - the 15th-most by any team in the nation at this point. Headlining that staff is Cullen Kafka who leads the team in innings pitched (26 1/3), strikeouts (40) and ERA (2.73).
• Brett Walker and Robert Ahlstrom have each been strong starters for the Ducks, too.
• Kolby Somers serves as the Ducks' closer and he has recorded three of the team's four saves this year.

ON DECK
• The final leg of the Aggies' 12-game road trip through the Pacific states sends them to Sacramento, Calif., where they will reengage in WAC play. Next week, NM State starts a four-game league series at Sacramento State. That set starts at 4:00 p.m. Friday, April 9.

++NM State++

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Aggies step out of WAC play for four-game set at Pac-12 foe

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