LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State Aggies baseball team travels to Midland, Texas for a midweek contest versus No. 4 Texas Tech on Tuesday, April 18, at 6 p.m. MT.
Tuesday's neutral contest takes place at Security Bank Ballpark, home of the Oakland Athletics Double-A affiliate Midland RockHounds.
PROBABLE STARTERS
The starting pitchers for the midweek showdown will be a game-time decision for each club. Last time out, NM State threw
Chris Kucko (1-1, 8.36 ERA) against Texas Tech right-hander Caleb Killian.
GET CONNECTED
Get up to the minute information and news about the NM State baseball team all season on Twitter, and Instagram by following @NMStateBaseball and on Facebook.com/NMSUAthletics.
LISTEN UP!
Aggie fans that can't make it to the game can listen to Adam Young (@youngpbp) on 99.5 FM Zia Country. Fans can also listen to the game live with their mobile or tablet device on the TuneIn app for free by searching Zia Country.
GET YOUR SEASON TICKETS NOW!
With the start of the 2017 season tickets, Aggie fans can be a part of the action for all 23 home games (including three double-headers) for just $100 per seat. Season tickets will guarantee fans a seat in the reserved section of 104 behind home plate. Fans can purchase 2017 Aggie baseball season tickets by going to the Pan American Center ticket office or by calling 575-646-1420.
LEADING THE LEAGUE
With his moonshot on Thursday, April 13, Aggie first baseman
Tristen Carranza continues to pace the WAC in home runs with a league-best 11 jacks. The El Centro, Calif., product has tallied multi-homer games three separate times so far this season, including a two-homer night in Seattle to open WAC play.
Right-fielder
Dan Hetzel also had a round-tripper in the game on Thursday which moved the Aggie just behind Carranza in second place in the conference with eight home runs.
LOOKING AT THE RED RAIDERS
Tuesday's 6 p.m. first pitch against No. 6 Texas Tech will be the third meeting between the two programs this season and the 64th time these two programs face off on the diamond all-time. Texas Tech, then ranked No. 21 in the first bout and No. 6 in the second, took the first contest 16-1 and the second 15-4.
The Red Raiders enter the midweek tilt 31-8 overall and 8-4 in Big 12 action. The opponent is 4-2 in games played at a neutral location.
Senior Hunter Hargrove paces Texas Tech offensively with a .344 batting average with 55 hits, 36 RBI and 35 runs scored. Left fielder Grant Little is just behind Hargrove with a .339 BA and a team-leading five stolen bases. Shortstop Orland Garcia leads the Texas Tech squad in home runs with eight and a .578 slugging percentage.
Steven Gingery leads the Texas Tech pitching staff with a 7-0 record and a 1.48 ERA which is good for 25th in the NCAA in 60.2 innings of work. He's only allowed 12 runs, 10 earned, with 15 walks and 67 punch outs. Jacob Patterson and Davis Martin are tied for second on the wins list as they each hold a 4-1 mark. Parker Mushinski is the Red Raider go-to bullpen pitcher with a team-leading 20 appearances and the hurler owns a 2-1 record with a 2.78 ERA and only three extra-base hits allowed.
SEVERE CASE OF KLEPTOMANIA
This past week's games, April 11-15, saw the Aggies steal 11 bases in four games. Previously, the team had stolen 17 bases in their first 33 contests. The impressive stat line featured a season-high four stolen bases in the team's game against Sacramento State on April 14.
LAST TIME OUT
From April 13-15, the Aggies traveled to take on WAC foe Sacramento State for a three-game series. Five home runs in the first contest saw the Aggies win the game 8-4.
Then, in the second game the team saw
Marcel Renteria throw nine innings only allowing one run with nine strikeouts. The score remained tied at one through nine and the Aggies ended up falling 2-1 in 12 innings of play.
The final contest to close out the series saw the Aggies take an early lead and hold on in the end to defeat the Hornets 5-2 to win their first three WAC series this year.
UP NEXT
After the midweek contest, the New Mexico State baseball squad returns home for a three-game weekend series versus Western Athletic Conference opponent Northern Colorado (14-19, 4-5 WAC). The series will take place April 21-23, with the opening night's first pitch slated for 6 p.m. MT at Presley Askew Field.
