SACRAMENTO -- A stretch of seven straight on the road comes to an end this weekend in the "Land of Enchantment" as the Sacramento State baseball team heads to Las Cruces, N.M., for a three-game series against Western Athletic Conference rival New Mexico State. The series opens on Friday (April 8) at 5 p.m. PT, continues with game two on Saturday (April 9) at 11 a.m. PT, and concludes with the finale on Sunday (April 10) at 11 a.m. PT.
PLAY BALL…
WHAT: Sacramento State (13-15, 5-7 WAC) at New Mexico State (11-15, 3–9 WAC)
WHEN: Friday-Sunday, April 8-10, 2022
TIMES: 5 p.m. PT / 11 a.m. PT / 11 a.m. PT
WHERE: Las Cruces, N.M.
STADIUM: Presley Askew Field (1,000)
WATCH: WAC Digital Network (Fri. & Sun.) & ESPN+ (Sat.) (Subscription Required) - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
LIVE STATS: NMStateSports.com - Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3
GAME NOTES: Sacramento State | New Mexico State Baseball
IN THE RANKINGS...
Neither Sacramento State, nor New Mexico State, are ranked entering this week's games. The Hornets were ranked as high as No. 20 in the nation by Baseball America on Feb. 28 following a 7-0 start, while also ranking No. 23 in the D1Baseball.com poll, No. 24 by the NCBWA, and No. 25 in the USA Today coaches poll. It marked the first time in the program's Division I history that Sacramento State has appeared in those respective rankings after the Hornets debuted in the national polls for the first time as a Division I program in 2021, coming in at No. 24 in back-to-back weeks in the Collegiate Baseball poll on April 5 and 12.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE...
The Aggies enter the week with an 11-15 overall record and a 3-9 mark in WAC play, trailing Sacramento State and Seattle U by two games in the standings... New Mexico State has lost two straight -- and seven of its last eight overall -- losing 2-of-3 to Grand Canyon and dropping a midweek contest to in-state rival New Mexico on Tuesday... This weekend continues a run that has seen NMSU play 18 of its 26 games thus far this season at home... Junior Kevin Jimenez leads all Aggie regulars with a .340 average to go along with 22 runs, 11 doubles, three home runs, and 14 RBI... Four regulars are batting better than .300 on the year, helping the team to a .285 average... The New Mexico State pitching staff has combined for a 5.78 ERA and 242 strikeouts in 227.1 innings, holding opponents to a .290 average.
AGAINST THE AGGIES…
Sacramento State leads the all-time series with New Mexico State, 46-39, according to records that date back to 1986, having won the last two straight and four of the last five... The Hornets took 3-of-4 from the Aggies last season at home... This weekend marks the first regular season meetings between the two programs in Las Cruces since the 2018 season when Sac State took 2-of-3 from NMSU... The Hornets are 21-17 on the road against the Aggies in the series.
LAST TIME OUT...
Sophomore Josh Rolling homered to lead-off the game while Jeffery Heard and Nick Iwasa finished with two hits apiece, but Sacramento State could not hold back host Nevada in a 20-5 defeat in Reno. The Wolf Pack scored in every inning, including multiple runs in five of the eight frames.
