LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a midweek trip to Albuquerque, NM State returns to Presley Askew Field to host Conference USA foe Middle Tennessee who is coming off a 5-3 win over No. 9 Vanderbilt. The two sides will enter Friday's contest with identical overall records while NM State currently holds a three-game lead over MTSU in the league standings with four series remaining before the conference tournament.
 
First pitch for Friday is set for 6:02 p.m., with Saturday scheduled to get under way at 4:02 p.m. and Sunday's finale slated to begin at 11:02 a.m. This will be the Aggies' first time hosting the Blue Raiders since 2004 when the two programs were members of the Sun Belt. In total, the Aggies and Blue Raiders have met 19 times prior to this weekend and NM State holds a 9-10 record against MTSU.
 
SERIES INFO
NM State (19-22, 7-8 CUSA) vs. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (19-22, 4-11 CUSA)
Presley Askew Field
Las Cruces, N.M.
 
Friday, April 25 – 6 p.m.
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Saturday, April 26 – 4 p.m.
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Saturday, April 19 – 11 a.m.
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LAST TIME OUT      
NM State wrapped up its season series with New Mexico on Tuesday evening, falling 7-6 after opening the game in a 6-0 hole. In the defeat, first baseman Bryce Campbell helped fuel the offense with a two-hit, three-RBI night, including a solo home run in the eighth.
 
True freshman Cole Rogers also tallied a pair of hits and recorded his first collegiate RBI when he drove in fellow freshman Boston Vest in the fifth inning to score the Aggies' first run of the night. In the Aggies' last home game, NM State earned its third walk-off win of the season as a base hit from Bryce Campbell plated two runs to claim a 7-6 win over Jax State, salvaging the series. NM State will look to right the ship as it enters the weekend with a 3-7 record in its last 10 contests.
 
OLD FOES     
This weekend's series will mark just the second series that the two sides play as CUSA opponents, however, it will be the seventh series as conference foes. Previously, the Aggies and Blue Raiders spent five seasons as counterparts in the Sun Belt Conference. This will also represent the first time that the Aggies host MTSU since the 2004 campaign when NM State won two of three matchups. During their time in the SBC, the Aggies and Blue Raiders also met once in the SBC Tournament when they collided in the opening round of the 2005 postseason.
 
A LOT AT STAKE     
With teams coming down the home stretch of the regular season, this weekend's series could have heavy implications for what the field will look like at the 2025 Conference USA Championships set to take place in Lynchburg, Va., on May 21-25.
 
For both sides, a series win would go a long way as the Aggies sit in a tie for fifth place in the league standings and are a full three games ahead of the visiting Blue Raiders who begin the weekend two games back of Liberty for the final spot in the tournament field.
 
To close the season, NM State still has a road series against both Kennesaw State (4th in standings) and LA Tech (3rd in standings) and a final home series against Western Kentucky (T-1st in standings).
 
LAUNCHING PAD    
As it seems like it always is, Presley Askew Field has once again been a launching pad this season with a total of 61 home runs being hit between the Aggies and their opponents. This includes 30 of the Aggies' 38 home runs on the year.
 
Thus far, NM State has recorded at least one home run in 17 of their 22 home games, including tallying multiple home runs in nine games.
 
SOTO THE STARTER          
On Friday night, Saul Soto will make his second career start and second start in just six days after serving as the starter against Jax State on Saturday, April 19. Previously, Soto has served as the Aggies' go-to closer and has recorded five saves across the last two seasons.
 
In his first career start, Soto tossed 4.0 innings, allowed five hits, three runs (two earned), issued two walks and recorded five strikeouts.
 
AMONG THE VEST  
Through 15 games in CUSA play, NM State freshman Boston Vest has been among the best producers at the plate. Currently, Vest is batting .390 against CUSA opponents which ranks ninth in the league. Vest also ranks sixth in on base percentage (.500) and 10th in OPS (.1.085).
 
THIRD TIMES THE CHARM           
This year, the Aggies have been exceptional when playing a team a third time during a weekend series. Following a win over Jax State last Saturday, NM State is now 8-2 in the third game of a weekend series, including being 5-1 in Presley Askew Field.
 
SALVAGING THE SERIES   
NM State has now completed nine weekend series and has avoided the sweep in all nine. This includes winning the final game of the series in series against Texas A&M, Dallas Baptist and Jax State.
 
WALK-OFF WINNER           
On Saturday, April 19, a two-out, two-RBI base hit from Bryce Campbell allowed the Aggies to claim a 7-6 walk-off win. This marked the Aggies' third walk-off win of the season as the Aggies also earned wins on the final hit of the game against both Oakland (Feb. 28) and Portland (March 16).
 
TURN TWO              
With 41 games down, the Aggie infield has been one of the best teams in the nation at turning double plays. With another double play against New Mexico on Tuesday, NM State now has 45 double plays on the season, which ranks second in the country.
 
This year, the Aggies have tallied multiple double plays in 14 games, including recording three double plays in five different contests.
 
WHEN YOU'RE WRIGHT, YOU'RE RIGHT
This season, true freshman Hazen Wright has proved to be one of the Aggies' top relievers and once again looked mature beyond his age on Tuesday night. The right-hander from Carlsbad, N.M., has now appeared in 12 games this season and has allowed an earned run in just two games, including surrendering only one earned run across his last 11.2 innings, which include appearances against No. 17 Dallas Baptist and No. 25 Arizona. In total, Wright has pitched 16.2 innings, allowed five earned runs and tallied 22 strikeouts.
 
SOMETHING ABOUT SUNDAYS    
Despite a loss two Sundays ago at FIU, NM State has been dominant in Sunday games and currently boasts a 7-2 record on Sundays, including stacking wins over two ranked programs in No. 14 Texas A&M and No. 17 Dallas Baptist.
 
LIMITING THE DAMAGE    
Last Thursday, NM State once again fell victim to a big inning from its opponent as Jax State posted five runs in the first inning on its way to defeating the Aggies 17-12. This season, big innings from their opponents have been one of the primary contributing factors to the Aggies' losses. Thus far, NM State is 17-7 when it doesn't allow its opponent to score four or more runs in a single inning. On the contrary, the Aggies are just 2-15 when their opponent produces four or more runs in a single frame.
 
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 41 games, Namie's offensive power has been on full display as he has recorded a hit in all but four games this season, including posting a hit in each of the Aggies' first 15 games. Additionally, Namie is the only Aggie to appear in the starting lineup in every game this season.
 
Currently, the outfielder paces the Aggies in hits (56), RBIs (33) and his 15 doubles rank first on the team and third among CUSA hitters. His 56 hits also ranks fifth in the conference this season.
 
BEATING THE BEST
With the Aggies' win over No. 17 DBU on March 30, NM State now has two wins over ranked opponents this season, which marks just the fifth time in program history that NM State has notched multiple ranked wins in a single season. Prior to this season, the Aggies had only accomplished this in 2012, 1999, 1997 and 1996.
 
TRIPLE PLAY ALERT          
On March 23 against Liberty, the Aggies accomplished something they hadn't done in over 10 years. A ground ball hit to Brandon Forrester ultimately turned into the program's first triple play since April 29, 2014, when the Aggies recorded a triple play on the road against Arizona State. NM State is one of just four Division I teams to pull off a triple play this season, joined by UIC, Stetson and Texas Southern.
 
STELLAR STEVE      
Two-way player Steve Solorzano turned in one of the most impressive individual performances of the season in the Aggies' win over Liberty on March 23. At the plate, the Las Cruces native finished with two hits and drove in the game-winning run in the 10th inning. In addition, the right-hander who started at first base moved over to the mound, where he ultimately earned the win after tossing three scoreless innings to close out the game.
 
Entering Tuesday, Solorzano paces the Aggies in batting average (.359), slugging percentage (.602) and on-base percentage (.497) while ranking among the conference's best in batting average (7th), on-base percentage (2nd) and slugging percentage (11th).
 
CRAIG NAMED CUSA HITTER OF THE WEEK    
After a stellar weekend in which he played a pivotal role in the Aggies' series win on the road against Liberty, outfielder Joey Craig was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week. Over the three-game series, Craig batted .600 (6-10) and was tied for the team lead in RBIs with five, including a four-RBI performance on Saturday. He finished the weekend with a home run, one double and three walks to help support a .692 on-base percentage.
 
BRING OUT THE BULLPEN
On April 12, the Aggie relievers that came into the game to record a combined 13 total strikeouts in just 5.2 innings of work. This marked the fourth time this season that the Aggie bullpen has accounted for 10 or more strikeouts in a single game, as it also tallied exactly 10 strikeouts against Lamar on March 11 and UNC Greensboro on March 19 before recording 13 strikeouts against UNM on April 1.
 
In the loss to the Lobos on April 1, the Aggies finished the game with 17 total strikeouts to mark the most strikeouts in a single game since March 11, 2022, when NM State tallied a program-record 20 strikeouts against Seattle U.
 
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.
 
AGGIES > AGGIES    
On Sunday, March 9, 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.
 
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).
 
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 ended the weekend 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.
 
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.
 
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. Currently, Angier is the second-shortest-tenured head coach in the league as only Liberty's Bradley LeCroy, who is in his first season, has been in his current assignment for less time.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
ON THE BASE PATHS         
This season, first-year assistant, Camden Duzenack serves as the Aggies' first-base coach. Meanwhile, Dillon Leveille, who is in his second season on staff, is the Aggies' third-base coach.
 
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