LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After a midweek drubbing of in-state rival New Mexico, NM State baseball will wrap up the regular season with a three-game set against St. Thomas. Out of the Summit League, St. Thomas is in just its second season at the Division I level, posting an 8-33 record in 2023.
On Saturday morning, NM State will honor ten seniors –
Kevin Jimenez,
Pablo Cortes,
Noah Estrella,
Alan Aguero,
Cal Villareal,
Will Sierra,
Hayden Johns,
Nolan Funke,
Preston Godfrey, and
Hunter Antillon – in a pregame ceremony. The combined graduation and senior day festivities will begin at 10:00 a.m. at Presley Askew Field before first pitch is thrown at 11:00 a.m. MT.
Action against St. Thomas begins Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m., with fans able to follow along through live stats, WAC Digital and over the air on 91.5 FM KRUX.
SCOUTING THE TOMMIES
St. Thomas enters the final series with an 8-33 record on the season, including a 6-18 mark in Summit League play. Most recently, the Tommies took on Western Illinois for six games split between Illinois and Minnesota. St. Thomas dropped five of six to the Leathernecks, winning the back end of a doubleheader by a 9-7 score.
Ben Vujovich leads St. Thomas with a .287 and seven stolen bases. As a team, the Tommies have hit just 11 home runs throughout the 2023 season, which would rank 294th in Division I baseball.
HISTORY VS ST. THOMAS
The three-game set between St. Thomas and NM State will be the first meetings between the two programs in history. The Tommies are in just their second season as Division I members.
K LO K, CP!
Christian Perez has smacked 10 home runs this season to lead NM State. As a true freshman, Perez is also tied for the team lead in doubles (11) and has played in 40 games, making 38 starts.
KEEP UP WITH KEITH JONES
In WAC play,
Keith Jones II has been on an absolute tear. The outfielder from Oakland has hit .453 in conference games, adding 11 doubles and five home runs. Jones has also drawn 24 walks - 10 more than any other Aggie.
Jones trails just Jacob Wilson (GCU, .506) and Tyler Davis (Sam Houston, .468) in conference batting average. Jones also sits in third for doubles and walks in WAC play.
Call in The Fireman
In 10 appearances throughout conference play,
Aaron Treloar has lived up to his nickname of The Fireman. Treloar has a 2-0 record over 13.0 innings pitched, posting a 3.46 ERA.
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 (57), runs batted in (37), runs scored (36), sacrifice flies (3), total bases (91), games played (45), and games started (45).
FOR THE RECORD...
Infielder
Kevin Jimenez sits inside or near the top-ten in NM State school history for many offensive categories. With 54 career doubles, Jimenez needs just seven this season to become NM State's all-time two-bag leader.
HE'S A GAMER
If Jimenez appears in Tuesday's game versus New Mexico, it will be No. 204 of his career, breaking a tie for fifth place (Henry Apodaca; 1978-81) on NM State's all-time games played list. The senior could finish the season with 207 games played, which would tie Andre Champagne (1995-98) for third all-time.
WALK IT OUT
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 12-2 on the season. On the contrary, NM State is 0-33 when tied or trailing after the sixth.
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