Game Thirty-Eight
NM State (13-24) vs. Benedictine Mesa (24-10)
Tuesday, April 27 | 3:00 p.m. | Presley Askew Field | Las Cruces, N.M.
Watch | Listen | Live Stats | NM State Game Notes | Weather Forecast
Pitching Matchup | TBD vs. RHP Cody Daniels (2-0, 3.09 ERA)

LEADOFF HITS
• In possession of their first winning streak in a little over one month, the NM State baseball team returns to Presley Askew Field to begin a five-game home stand Tuesday afternoon with a
3:00 p.m. matchup with non-conference foe Benedictine Mesa.
• A limited number of tickets will be available for Wednesday afternoon's game. Tickets will only be available for purchase at the gates of Presley Askew Field and will go on sale beginning at 2:00 p.m. MT. All fans in attendance must wear masks and follow all social distancing guidelines at all times. Concessions will not be available, so as a result fans will be able to bring in food and beverages with the exception of alcohol and coolers.
• NM State is gone 2-9 (.181) in non-conference action so far in the 2021 season. One of those two wins came against Benedictine Mesa back on March 17.
• Tuesday afternoon's tilt represents the Aggies' final non-conference home game of the regular season. NM State is 1-2 (.333) in midweek games this season and is 1-4 (.200) overall in Mike Kirby's tenure as head coach.
• No hitter in the WAC has succeeded in supplanting Zerek Saenz at the top of the league's batting average chart. Saenz, a Las Cruces, N.M., product, hit safely in four of his team's five games last week and continues to lead the WAC in five statistical categories. He currently reigns as the WAC's leader in batting average (.409, 15th nationally), hits (56, 11th nationally), hits per game (1.56, 30th nationally), on-base percentage (.491, 44th nationally) and triples (three, 29th).
• Junior outfielder Tommy Tabak returned to the Aggies' lineup in their WAC series at Tarleton last week and registered at least one hit in each of the three games he took part in. Tabak comes into Tuesday afternoon's tilt riding a team-best four-game hitting streak.
• After drawing 10 walks through the Aggies' five games last week, sophomore infielder Kevin Jimenez now stands as the WAC's leader in free bases. Jimenez has drawn 29 walks - the 35th-most in the nation - and now ranks second on the team behind only Saenz in terms of on-base percentage (.469).
• Continuing to sit atop the WAC's RBI chart, sophomore infielder Ethan Mann drove in four runs during his team's four-game series at Tarleton last weekend in Texas. Mann team-leading 35 RBI are the 74th among all NCAA Division I players this year.
• In the Aggies' 17-6 win at WAC foe Tarleton on Sunday afternoon, shortstop Brandon Dieter slugged two of his team's five home runs in the victory. Dieter became the first Aggie to connect for two homers in a game since Nick Gonzales did so on Feb. 23, 2020 in an 18-4 win over Iona.
• Junior Zach Smits entered this past weekend's series with Tarleton State with two hits to his credit in 2021. Following that four-game set, Smits hiked his season hit total to six by amassing four in four games. Two of those hits were three-run home runs.
• NM State's five home runs in its 17-6 win over Tarleton Sunday afternoon represented the team's highest home run total since March 1, 2019. That day, the Aggies hammered five homers in an 11-3 win over Delaware at Presley Askew Field. 

SERIES HISTORY
• NM State and Benedictine Mesa have dueled on the diamond three times before - twice in the 2017 campaign on the same day (Monday, March 20) as part of a doubleheader and once more on March 17 of this season
• The Aggies swept the 2017 twinbill by scores of 8-6 and 10-7 with former NM State great Joey Ortiz picking up four of his squad's 21 hits through the two games.
• The pitching victories for NM State that day went to current N.Y. Mets spring training invitee Marcel Renteria who fired the final 3 2/3 frames of the game two to move to 3-1 on the year. In game one, Ruger Rodriguez put forth one frame of scoreless relief effort to secure the triumph on the hill.
• During the first 2021 matchup between the two teams, seven Aggie pitchers combined to rack up 12 strikeouts in a 7-3 win over the Redhawks. Brandon Dieter drilled a solo homer in the third while Ethan Mann and Zerek Saenz each went 2-for-4 with two RBI for the hosts.

SCOUTING BENEDICTINE MESA | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Mired in their longest losing streak of the season, the Redhawks return to Presley Askew Field hoping to snap a three-game skid. Heading to the hill for Benedictine Mesa is right-hander Cody Daniels who will make his second start of the season.
• Wanting to pick up their first victory over an NCAA Division I opponent this year, the Redhawks will try to run their offense through Michael Avilucea and Michael Garverick. Avilucea is the only Benedictine Mesa player who has taken part in all 35 of the team's games this year and he currently leads the team in runs scored (50) and is second in batting average (.362).
• Garverick tops the Redhawks' charts in both batting average (.366) and slugging percentage (.664). His 39 RBI represent another team-leading figure and of his 48 hits, 23 have gone for extra bases. Those extra-base hits are broken down to 12 doubles, six triples and five home runs.
• Eight of the Redhawks' regulars are hitting .300 or better, helping Benedictine Mesa come to Las Cruces with a collective .317 average. Josh Hernandez (.350/.391/.472) and Casey Lederman (.357/.445/.535) are another pair of the Redhawks' best bats and both came up with two of their team's 10 hits in the first meeting between the Aggies and Redhawks back in mid-March.
• Daniels has totaled just 11 2/3 innings on the hill for Benedictine Mesa and struck out nine while walking 10 in that same span. Four of his eight runs given up in 2021 are unearned.

COMING UP NEXT
• Hoping to move up in the WAC standings, the Aggies welcome league adversary UTRGV to Presley Askew Field for a four-game series this weekend. The Aggies and Vaqueros are set to begin their four-game set at 6:00 p.m. Friday evening from Presley Askew Field.

++NM State++