SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - For the first time since 2017, NM State will square off with the University of Utah on Wednesday night. When the Aggies travel to Salt Lake City, they'll engage in the first of four battles in the state of Utah this week. Following the midweek tilt against the Power Five foe, the Aggies will play their last series in WAC play against Utah Valley.
Cade Swenson will take the hill for NM State on Wednesday night, making his first start of 2023. Swenson has made 28 appearances as an Aggie, including five previous starts. First pitch from Salt Lake City is slated for 6:00 p.m. MT and can be viewed on the
Utah Live Stream page.Â
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SCOUTING THE UTES
Utah enters the week at 19-26-1 and 8-18-1 in Pac-12 play. After sweeping Washington State, the Utes took Friday's game from No. 15 Oregon State in Corvallis for their lone win in the series.
Jayden Kiernan leads the Utes with a .393 batting average - 82 points higher than the next closest starter. The Utah catcher has 57 hits, including ten for extra bases, and has knocked in 23 runs.
HISTORY VERSUS UTAH
The Aggies are 8-15 in the all-time series against Utah with the last meetings coming in 2017. The Aggies and Utes met for a three-game set in Salt Lake City with Utah taking two of three. The Aggies shutout the Utes on Sunday, though, winning 3-0 following 8.1 shutout innings from Jonathan Groff.
FROM LC TO SLC
Utah Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Mike Brown may be a familiar name to those in Las Cruces. Brown spent two seasons as an Aggie assistant, coaching the likes of Kyle Bradish and Daniel Johnson. While Brown was with the Aggies, NM State had two future MLB players, two All-Americans, a conference player of the year, and five total All-WAC honorees.
LOOKING AHEAD
NM State will play four games in five days in the state of Utah. After facing the Utes on Wednesday in Salt Lake City, NM State will travel to Orem for a three-game set against Utah Valley over the weekend.
HOT AT THE RIGHT TIME
In WAC play, Keith Jones II has been red-hot for the Aggies, hitting .474 with 45 hits, 11 doubles, and four home runs. Jones has also shown extreme patience at the plate, drawing ten more walks than any other Aggie.
KRUSH IT KEV
With eight home runs this season,
Kevin Jimenez has set a new career-high in long balls. The senior second baseman leads NM State in hits (50), runs batted in (34), home runs (8), and total bases (77).
FOR THE RECORD...
Infielder
Kevin Jimenez sits inside or near the top-ten in NM State school history for many offensive categories. With 55 career doubles, Jimenez needs just six more this season to become NM State's all-time two-bag leader.
WALK IT OUT
Kevin Jimenez has drawn 127 career walks - The third most in NM State history. Jimenez passed Chris Fanning (1988-91) on April 8 vs. California Baptist.
Jimenez sits 15 walks behind Richard Stout (2007-09; 142) to move into a tie for second place.
WALK IT OFF
After the Aggies had not ended a game with a walk-off in over a year,
Damone Hale and
Preston Godfrey ended back-to-back games against Stephen F. Austin with a walk-off. On Friday, a three-run error after a fly ball by Hale ended the ballgame in run-rule fashion before giving way to Godfrey's two-run walk-off home run in the ninth inning on Saturday.
KEITH ZUNIGA'S PUNCH-OUT!!
In the three-game set against California Baptist, Zuniga's pitching staff struck out 36 hitters, including a season-high 15 strikeouts on Thursday. The mark is the new high for a series this season, surpassing 31 punch-outs against Bellarmine on Opening Weekend.
SIXTH INNING SPECIAL
When leading after six innings, the Aggies are 11-1 on the season. On the contrary, NM State is 0-2 when tied or trailing after the sixth.
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