LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Coming off a Sunday win to close out a three-game series against No. 14 Texas A&M, the Aggies will travel to Beaumont, Texas, for a pair of midweek tilts against a tough Lamar squad. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 5 p.m. MDT with Wednesday's game beginning at Noon.
 
Both games will be streamed live on ESPN+ with live stats available via StatBroadcast. The two games against the Cardinals will cap off a stretch of five road games before NM State returns home on Friday for a weekend series with Portland. Tuesday's game will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the Aggies and Cardinals with the first-ever collision coming in 1974. This will also represent the third and fourth times that the Aggies take on Lamar in the Cardinals' home stadium.
 
SERIES INFO
NM State (8-7, 0-0 CUSA) at Lamar (12-5, 2-4 Southland)
Vincent-Beck Stadium
Beaumont, Texas
 
Tuesday, March 11 – 5 p.m. MDT
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: SideArm Stats
 
Wednesday, March 12 – Noon MDT
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: SideArm Stats
 
LAST TIME OUT              
• NM State traveled to College Station, Texas, for a three-game series against the nationally ranked Aggies.
• Despite falling 19-0 on Friday, the Aggies bounced back and were competitive in the following two games, including a Sunday matchup which NM State claimed a 4-1 victory.
• Following a run-rule defeat on Friday, NM State outhit the preseason No. 1 ranked team on Saturday, however, failed to convert on its opportunities as the Aggies only scored one run and fell 7-1.
• The Aggies saved their best for Sunday afternoon as Matthew Yarc and Saul Soto combined to allow four hits and just one run while the bats of Steve Solorzano and Jonatan Clough helped the Aggies secure their first win over an SEC opponent since 2018.
 
AGGIES > AGGIES          
Sunday, NM State claimed a 4-1 victory over No. 14 Texas A&M to secure the program's first win over an opponent ranked in the top-25 of the NCAA's primary ranking system since 2012 when they knocked off No. 5 Arizona.
 
The win was also the Aggies' first win over Texas A&M in nine tries and represented NM State's second win over a team in the SEC at the time of the contest. Interestingly, the Aggies' first-ever win over an SEC opponent also came on March 9, when they defeated Alabama 3-0 in 2018.
 
SAY HIS NAMIE                                 
Entering the 2024 campaign, returner Mitch Namie was slated to be one of the Aggies' key contributors once again after appearing in 50 of the Aggies' 54 games and making 49 starts during his sophomore season. The Mesa, Ariz., serves as the leading returner in batting average (.333), at-bats (183), runs (50), hits (61), doubles (13), triples (2), home runs (5), RBIs (35) and walks (31).
 
Through the Aggies' first 15 games, Namie's offensive power has been on full display as he is currently the only Aggie to register a hit in every game thus far. Including a pair of hits in the Aggies' final two games of the 2024 season, Namie has now logged a hit in the Aggies' last 17 games.
 
The junior from Mesa, Ariz., currently leads the team in batting average (.400) and ranks second among Aggie hitters in on-base percentage (.500), doubles (5) and RBIs (12).
 
FRESHMAN ARMS         
The Aggies have leaned on their young arms this season as seven of the Aggies' eight available freshman have appeared in at least one game this season. The lone freshman pitcher that has not spent any time on the mound is two-way player Chris Daniels, who has tallied three starts this season at either first base or designated hitter.
 
In total, the Aggie freshmen have combined to throw 42.2 innings and have given up just 29 earned runs while combining for 33 strikeouts.
SHEEHAN O'CONNOR NAMED CUSA PLAYER OF THE WEEK   
On Monday, Feb. 17, it was announced that standout second baseman Sheehan O'Connor earned Conference USA Hitter of the Week honors after an impressive trio of games to open the season.
 
Following a two-hit performance on Sunday, O'Connor entered Monday's finale with a .583 batting average, three home runs, eight RBIs and a pair of doubles to help guide the Aggies to a pair of wins and earn the season's first hitter of the week honor, which is announced every Monday.
 
As of Thursday, O'Connor ranks first in the league in home runs (7), second in slugging percentage (.952) and fourth in RBIs (15). With seven long balls, O'Connor ranks tied for sixth in home runs among Division I hitters.
 
YEAR TWO                          
NM State is amid its second season under Head Coach Jake Angier and looks to continue to make strides after increasing its win total by 11 games and posting the highest number of wins since 2019.
 
In year one under Angier, the Aggies landed three on the all-conference awards list as Keith Jones II earned first team All-CUSA honors, Titus Dumitru earned second team honors and Steve Solorzano secured all-freshman team honors.
 
Angier was previously at the University of Oregon where he operated as the pitching coach for the 2020-2023 seasons. Before Oregon, Angier was at Sacramento State from 2014-2019. Angier was named by Baseball America as one of the 50 names to watch in the 2023 coaching cycle.
 
PRESEASON DOUBT   
On Jan. 30, Conference USA released is preseason poll and preseason award recipients and, notably, no Aggies were included on the preseason all-conference team while NM State landed in a tie for eighth place as a team on the 2025 CUSA Preseason Poll which is based on a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.
 
However, the Aggies did receive one first-place vote in the preseason poll as Head Coach Jake Angier has publicly backed his team and made known that he was the lone coach to not cast his first-place vote for preseason favorite Dallas Baptist.
 
TRENDING UP                  
After finishing No. 297 in RPI in 2023, the Aggies jumped to No. 138 at the conclusion of the 2024 season to mark the largest RPI increase in the nation.
 
BIG SPIKES TO FILL    
NM State entered the 2025 season with nearly two-thirds of its 2024 roster no longer in the picture. This year, NM State brings back just 12 players while 22 individuals have departed.
 
With a new-look roster comes opportunity as the Aggies will be looking to replace nearly all of its offensive and pitching production. With the departures, the Aggies lost over 70% of their runs (72.9%), hits (72.4%), home runs (86.1%), RBIs (78.2%), stolen bases (87.8%) and innings pitched (72.6%). NM State will also be without Keith Jones II, Romeo Ballesteros and Nick Gore who were the only three Aggies last season to start more than 50 games - starting 53, 53 and 52, respectively.
 
LOCAL PRODUCTS       
The 2025 NM State roster features four Aggies from the Land of Enchantment. This includes Kade Benavidez (Belen), Jaden Davis (Jemez Pueblo), Steve Solorzano (Las Cruces) and Hazen Wright (Carlsbad).
 
WELCOME ABOARD    
This offseason, NM State added Assistant Coach Camden Duzenack to its staff. Following an impressive playing career which included six seasons in the farm system for the Arizona Diamondbacks, he will assist primarily with the infield for the Aggies.
 
In college, Duzenack spent four seasons with CUSA foe Dallas Baptist where he recorded a career batting average of .291 and was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American as a freshman in 2014. He was also named MVC Defensive Player of the Year as a senior and garnered All-MVC honors three years in a row.
 
ONCE AN AGGIE...          
This season, Head Coach Jake Angier is supported by a pair of former Aggies on his staff as both Assistant Coach David Bellamy and Director of Pitching Analytics Aaron Treloar each spent time during their collegiate playing days at NM State.
 
Bellamy, a two-year letter winner at NM State, is amid his second season on Angier's staff. As a player, he was a standout outfielder for both the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He batted .307 his senior year to help lead the Aggies to the Lubbock Regional before being named to the Google Cloud Academic All-District First-Team and Academic All-WAC First-Team. Bellamy now serves as the Aggies' hitting coach and is tasked with calling the offensive plays.
 
Meanwhile, Treloar is in his first season on staff after wrapping up his playing career just last season. Treloar ultimately spent his final two years with the Aggies and appeared in 35 games while totaling 42 strikeouts, including 26 in 2024.
 
EASTWARD EXPANSION           
This season, the Aggies will spend their fair share of time on the road as they are slated to play 27 games away from Presley Askew Field. Unlike American settlers, the Aggies will do most of their traveling to the east as their contests against Arizona will represent the only two times that the Aggies will travel west of Las Cruces.
 
During its season, NM State will rack up frequent flyer miles as seven of its 11 road trips will include games that require over 700 miles of travel. This includes three extra lengthy trips as its road trip to UNC Greensboro and Liberty (1,789 miles to UNCG), its trip to FIU (2,030 miles) and its trip to Kennesaw State (1,461 miles) all exceed 1,000 miles.
 
SCOUTING THE CARDINALS   
NM State's midweek opponent will enter the week with a 12-5 overall record and are 3-4 in their last seven after opening the season with a 9-1 record. Most recently, Lamar bounced back from a Friday loss to earn a series victory over Stephen F. Austin.
 
As a team, the Cardinals are maintaining a .325 batting average which ranks 23rd in the nation and are scoring 8.0 runs per game. They are currently led by sophomore outfielder Damian Ruiz who paces the team in bating average (.429) and hits (27) while ranking second in RBIs (16). Additionally, Ruiz currently ranks second in the country in doubles with 10. In total, the Cardinals have an impressive six hitters who have played in more than 12 games and are batting above .300. Entering Tuesday, Lamar pitchers are combining to post a 3.57 ERA.
 
The Cardinals are led by Will Davis who is in his ninth year at the helm of the Lamar program. Under Davis' guidance, Lamar has eclipsed 30 wins four times, including winning 44 games last season before falling in the Southland Conference Tournament Championship.
 
UP NEXT             
Following the pair of midweek contests against the Cardinals, NM State will return home for a three-game series against Portland which is slated to begin on Friday at 6 p.m. Currently, the Aggies hold a 3-1 all-time record against the Pilots.