LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team opens up Western Athletic Conference play with a three-game weekend series, March 22-24, against CSU Bakersfield at Presley Askew Field.
PROBABLE STARTERS
Friday, March 22, at 6:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Brock Whittlesey | RHP | 3-0 | 4.50 ERA
CSU Bakersfield: Darius Vines | RHP | 3-1 | 2.61 ERA
Saturday, March 23, at 2:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Justin Dehn | RHP | 3-1 | 5.11 ERA
CSU Bakersfield: Ethan Skuija | RHP | 2-1 | 2.08 ERA
Sunday, March 24, at 12:05 p.m. MT
NM State: Chance Hroch | RHP | 5-0 | 1.91 ERA
CSU Bakersfield: Edgar Barclay | LHP | 3-1 | 1.78 ERA
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/NMStateBaseball.
LIVE STATS
Live stats are available for all of NM State's home games this season. Those looking to follow along with the stats can access each game on
StatBroadcast or by visiting the team's schedule page
online.
WHERE TO WATCH
Fans who are unable to make it to The 'Skew for the series opener can still stream the game live on the
WAC Digital Network.
LISTEN UP!
The conference opener on Friday, March 22, can also be listened to live on 91.5 FM KRUX. This service can also be heard on the TuneIn app on your phone or tablet. Adam Young is set to handle the play-by-play.
GAMEDAY PROMOTIONS
Aggies fans attending any of this weekend's conference action are able to take part in some great game day promotions at Presley Askew Field. For the series opener on Friday, March 22, the first 100 fans can receive an NM State visor and every fan in attendance is able to purchase one-dollar popcorn at the concession stand.
Then for the series finale on Sunday, March 24, sponsored by Caliche's, NM State is hosting it's Sunday tradition of Bark in the Park where fans are encouraged to bring their well-behaved canines to the park and also be able to purchase one-dollar hot dogs.
TAKING A LOOK AT BAKERSFIELD
Heading into this weekend's conference series opener, CSU Bakersfield comes in with a 12-10 overall record. The Roadrunners are coming off of a 3-1 series win over Hawaii last weekend.
Bakersfield's offense has combined for a .243 batting average with 100 runs scored and 38 extra-base hits. The Roadrunner bats are led by Jake Ortega who has a team-high .387 batting average with a .468 slugging percentage and 13 runs batted in.
The CSU Bakersfield pitching staff holds a 3.56 earned run average with 210 strikeouts over 192.0 innings pitched. The Roadrunner picthers have held opposing batters to a .223 batting average, allowing 36 extra-base hits. The rotation has also thrown two complete games behind Saturday and Sunday starters Ethan Skuija and Edgar Barclay.
Among WAC teams, Bakersfield sits in the top-three in at-bats (712), stolen bases (23), sacrifice bunts (15), opposing batting average (.223), innings pitched (192.0), batters struck out (210), runners picked off (3) and putouts (576).
WAC OPENERS
Heading into the Western Athletic Conference opener, NM State is currently 8-5 playing in WAC-opening games and 26-15-2 in WAC-opening series. The Aggies are also 3-1 in their conference-opening games and 9-2-1 on opening weekend under fifth-year head coach
Brian Green.
IN THE NATION
20 games into the season the Aggies currently rank in the top-25 nationally in 12 categories, including eight NCAA-leading statistics:
| NM State (Rk) |
Category |
NCAA |
| .385 (1st) |
Batting Average |
.385 |
| 280 (1st) |
Hits |
280 |
| 40 (1st) |
Home Runs |
40 |
| .492 (1st) |
On-Base % |
.492 |
| 256 (1st) |
Runs |
256 |
| 12.8 (1st) |
Scoring |
12.8 |
| .658 (1st) |
Slugging % |
.658 |
| 16 (1st) |
Triples |
16 |
| 50 (2nd) |
Hit by Pitch |
52 |
| 22 (6th) |
Double Plays |
29 |
| 47 (13th) |
Doubles |
58 |
| 115 (22nd) |
Base on Balls |
158 |
LEADER OF THE WAC
With WAC play opening, the NM State baseball team currently leads the conference in 12 offensive and three defensive categories.
The offensive stats the Aggies lead in are batting average (.385), slugging percentage (.658), on-base percentage (.492), run scored (256), hits (280), runs batted in (234), doubles (47), triples (16), home runs (40), total bases (479), walks (115) and stolen bases (25).
Defensively, NM State leads the conference in ground outs forced per game (10.18), fielding percentage (.977) and double plays turned (22).
LAST TIME OUT
NM State is coming off of a loss in a high-scoring midweek clash on the road at Arizona. A game featuring the top-two run-producing programs in the country did not disappoint as each squad put up double digits, but the Aggies came up just short falling to the Wildcats, 14-10.
UP NEXT
Following the conference-opener, the New Mexico State baseball team remains at home for its Battle of I-25 rivalry matchup against New Mexico on Tuesday, March 26, at 6 p.m. MT on Presley Askew Field. This is the first of two matchups versus the in-state rival as the Aggies travel up to Albuquerque, N.M. for the second game on April 16.
