LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a midweek contest at UNC Greensboro on Wednesday evening, the Aggies will travel to Lynchburg, Va., where they are set to officially begin Conference USA play with a three-game series at Liberty. First pitch on Friday is scheduled for 2 p.m. MDT with Saturday beginning at Noon and Sunday's finale at 11 a.m.
 
Friday's matchup will mark the fourth-ever meeting between the two programs as last year's series in Las Cruces represented the first time the two squads collided. The trip to Liberty will cover approximately 1,600 miles as the crow flies - serving as the Aggies' second longest road trip of the season, only behind a trip to Miami next month.
 
SERIES INFO    
NM State (11-10, 0-0 CUSA) at Liberty (16-6, 0-0 CUSA)
Worthington Field at Liberty Baseball Stadium
Lynchburg, Va.
 
Friday, March 21 – 2 p.m. MDT
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Saturday, March 22 – Noon MDT
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast
 
Sunday, March 23 – 11 a.m. MDT
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast
 
LAST TIME OUT              
NM State collected its 11th win of the season as they went to Greensboro, N.C., and defeated UNC Greensboro 6-4 in a tight midweek contest. The win marked the Aggies' second win away from Presley Askew Field this year and kicked off a five-game road stretch that will continue at Liberty this weekend.
 
After both sides tallied a run in the second inning, NM State took over in the middle innings as they managed a pair of runs in the second inning before tacking on another three runs in the third to take hold of a 6-1 lead. While the Spartans pushed across three late runs, the Aggie pitching staff which was highlighted by a seven-strikeout performance by Connor Wylde, kept their opposition at bay. Offensively, the Aggies were led by Aidan Lombardi who finished the day 3-for-3 and was one of five Aggies to tally an RBI.
 
SLINGIN' SAUL                 
In the Aggies' win over Portland on Sunday, March 16, relief pitcher Saul Soto tossed a career high 5.0 innings to help lift the Aggies to victory. Soto was credited with the win for his efforts and tallied four strikeouts to mark his third consecutive outing with at least three strikeouts. Thus far, Soto has a record of 3-0 and is tied with starter Jack Turner in wins.
 
This season, NM State is a perfect 6-0 in games that Soto appears in. On the year, Soto has pitched 18.0 innings and allowed just 13 hits and four runs while tallying 17 strikeouts.
 
DOUBLE THE FUN        
Aggie outfielder Mitch Namie tallied a double in four of the Aggies' last six games. This brings his total to nine on the season which represents the most on the team and ranks 38th in the nation and second among Conference USA hitters.
 
Led by Namie and Steve Solorzano who rank second and third in the conference in total doubles, respectively, the Aggies have been one of the best teams in the country at hitting doubles. Currently, NM State ranks 23rd among Division I teams and second in the conference in total doubles with 47.
 
BRING OUT THE BULLPEN      
In Wednesday's victory over UNC Greensboro, the trio of relievers that came into the game for the Aggies combined to record 10 total strikeouts in seven innings of work. This marks the second time this season that the Aggie bullpen has accounted for 10 strikeouts in a single game as it also tallied exactly 10 Ks against Lamar on March 11.
 
Wednesday's outing was bolstered by outing from Connor Wylde who logged 5.0 innings of work and notched a career high seven strikeouts to earn the win.
 
TURN TWO       
With 21 games down, the Aggie infield has been one of the best teams in the nation at turning double plays. With three double plays against Portland last weekend, NM State now has 19 double plays on the season which ranks 16th in the country. As a conference, CUSA has also been exceptional at turning two as the Aggies rank just fourth among league teams with LA Tech's 22 leading the way. The Aggies' weekend opponent, Liberty, is also one of the few teams ahead of NM State in this category as they have amassed 20 double plays which ranks 10th in the nation.
 
T-TIME                 
In the weekend series against Portland, the Aggies received strong contributions from first-year Aggie Tommy Meluskey. The Oregon transfer has now started each of the team's last seven games and played a big role in clinching the series win versus Portland. Against the Pilots, Meluskey paced the Aggies in batting average (.556), home runs (2) and RBIs (7) while ending the weekend tied for the team lead in hits (5).
 
CAMPBELL DEBUT       
Last weekend, Aggie fans got their first look at Modesto Junior College transfer Bryce Campbell who earned the start at designated hitter in all three games against Portland. In the series, Campbell logged five hits, a pair of doubles and three RBIs. This included a three-hit day that helped propel the Aggies to an 11-10 victory on Sunday. Campbell also played a big role in NM State's win over UNC Greensboro on Wednesday as he recorded his third multi-hit game and logged one of the team's five RBIs.
 
STELLAR STEVE             
On the year, sophomore Steve Solorzano has been the Aggie that has been the most consistent in his ability to get on base. Entering Wednesday, he is maintaining a .516 on-base percentage which ranks third among all hitters in Conference USA.
 
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 21 games, Namie's offensive power has been on full display as he has recorded a hit in all but one game this season, including posting a hit in each of the Aggies' first 15 games.
 
FRESHMAN ARMS         
The Aggies have leaned on their young arms this season and with an appearance from Chris Daniels last Tuesday, all eight of the Aggies' freshmen pitchers have now appeared in at least one game this season.
 
In total, the Aggie freshmen, who make up eight of the team's 19 pitchers, have combined to throw 62.1 innings and have given up just 50 earned runs while combining for 56 strikeouts.
This has been bolstered by Sunday starter Matthew Yarc who has tossed 19.0 innings and has 13 strikeouts. Yarc is one of three freshmen pitchers with 10 or more strikeouts as both Dylan Weekly (11) and Carson Timmons (10) each have double-digit strikeouts this year.
 
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.
 
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 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
SCOUTING THE FLAMES            
The Aggies will kick off their conference schedule against a Liberty squad who has looked to be one of the best teams in Conference USA through the early non-conference slate. The Flames will enter the weekend with a 16-6 overall record, including a 12-2 record inside their home ball park. Thus far, Liberty has collected marquee wins over No. 12 NC State, No. 17 Duke and are coming immediately off an 11-8 victory over No. 11 Wake Forest.
 
Liberty is guided by first-year head coach, Bradley LeCroy who took over the Flames' program after two successful years which included leading the Rams to the Atlantic 10 Championship and an appearance in the Greenville Regional.
 
On the diamond, the Flames are led by outfielder Camden Troyer who paces the team in batting average (.310), hits (26) and doubles (7). Landon Scilley is the only other Flame who has played in more than 17 games this season and is maintaining an average of better than .300.
 
On Friday, the Aggies will see starter Caleb Lingenfelter before taking on Ben Blair on Saturday and Dylan Mathiesen on Sunday. Mathesien will enter the weekend as the league's leader in strikeouts with 43 which also ranks 14th in the nation.
 
UP NEXT             
Following the three-game stretch against Liberty, the Aggies will return to Greensboro, N.C., for their second game against UNC Greensboro during this trip. The second meeting and final game of the road swing will take place on Wednesday at 10 a.m. MT.
 
For complete coverage of NM State Baseball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateBaseball), Instagram (@NMStateBaseball) and like us on Facebook (NM State Baseball).