ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New mexico baseball team takes on the New Mexico State Aggies in the second of four scheduled meetings between the two clubs, with the game tonight taking place in Roswell, N.M. at NMMI Ballpark on the campus of the New Mexico Military Institute. Game time is slated for 6 p.m.
Broadcast info for NMSU:
• Live stats: www.lobostats.com or www.statbroadcast.com
• Live video streams: None
• Live radio: ESPN Radio 101.7 FM THE TEAM
• Live audio streams: www.1017theteam.com
Against New Mexico State: The Lobos and Aggies do know a little something about each other. The meeting in Roswell will be the 239th meeting between the two programs, and the Lobos lead the all-time series 155-83, although it was New Mexico State who took the opening game of the four being played this season, losing 9-6 in a neutral site game in El Paso. Neutral site meetings have certainly favored the Aggies as NMSU is 3-0 against the Lobos at neutral sites (winning games in El Paso in 1995 and in Lubbock in 1996). This will be the first meeting between the two in Roswell.
Series Record: Lobos led 155-83
Home: 75-29; Away: 60-47; Neutral: 0-3
Up Next: The Lobos will host the Fresno State Bulldogs on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (game times at Santa Ana Star Field are 6 p.m., 2p.m. and noon). the Lobos and Fresno State are tied for first place with 9-3 Mountain West records..
SCOUTING NMSU … The Aggies are much improved from a year ago as they are now 17-11 on the season, and 5-1 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Aggies have won seven of their last eight, including scoring 17, 11, and 12 runs in three of their last six.
Offensively, Austin Botello leads the way with a .375 average, and he is one of four Aggies with 20 or more RBI, joining Dan Hetzel (team leading 24), Trey Stine (23) and L.J. Hatch (210). Five regulars have averages above .300, , including second leading hitter Daniel Johnson, who leads with four home runs and four triples.
UNM won’t see any of NMSU’s regular hurlers in weekend starters Kyle Branish, Marcel Renteria or Matthew McHugh. UNM will face Dalton Shalberg (1-3, 9.56), whose lone win was against UNM on March 8 in El Paso.
THE GIRTHQUAKE ON ALL-AMERICA WATCH … Chris DeVito has been on a tear over few weeks and has set himself up for possible national honors if he can keep it up. He is currently batting .413 on the season, ranking him 31st. He is one of the nation’s leading run producers with 40 RBI, ranking fifth in the NCAA. With a .761 slugging percentage, he leads his team and is ranked 12th. He is ranked among the top 50 nationally in batting average, hits, doubles, doubles per game, home runs, home runs per game, RBI, RBI per game, slugging and total bases.
At DeVito’s current pace, his numbers were last matched by DJ Peterson, who was a three-time All-American, two-time Mountain West Player of the Year and the program’s highest ever draft pick.
HOW MANY HALL OF FAMES CAN ONE GUY GET INTO? … Apparently if you are Ray Birmingham, the answer is three.
After the UNLV series on Sunday night, New Mexico’s all-time leader in collegiate coaching wins was inducted into the New Mexico Athletics Hall of Fame. It’s the third hall of fame he has been inducted into, along with the Lea County Hall of Fame and National Junior College Athletic Association Hall of Fame.
HARD TO BEAT .353 … YET HERE WE ARE … New Mexico’s best batting average for a series this season was .353 against Wichita State, but the Lobos topped that this weekend, hitting .358 against UNLV.
For the season, UNM has played in 11 opponents, and only two have held UNM under .300, that being Grand Canyon and San Diego State. UNM can fix that whole San Diego State thing later int he season when the Aztecs come to Albuquerque.
WINNING1-0 … The Lobos’ 1-0 win over Sacramento State on Monday was the first 1-0 win for Ray Birmingham as head coach of New Mexico and the program’s first since defeating San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament on May 23, 2007. The last regular season win by a score of 1-0 came in 2004.
STARTING WITH A ‘W’ … The Lobos earned a 15-3 series opening win last Friday against UNLV, making them 4-0 on the season when starting a Mountain West Conference series. In fact, UNM has started off all four Mountain West series by winning the opening two games. However, the Lobos are just 1-3 in series concluders.
THE RIO GRANDE RIVALRY … The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University is a rivalry unmatched by few and it dates back to the early days. The first competition began with football on January 1, 1894, which was the Lobos’ first competition against another four-year institution. The first basketball game was played on December 22, 1904. The rivalry between the two schools began before the territory of New Mexico became a state in 1912.
The Rio Grande Rivalry is a series between The University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University that encompasses sports for both programs. The Rio Grande Rivalry officially started and was recognized beginning in the 2007-08 academic year. Head to head competition in every sport is used on an annual basis. The series is not only for the current student-athletes competing in the sports but also to build school spirit and pride in the alumni and fans of New Mexico who cheer for the Lobos or the Aggies.
The University of New Mexico has won the Rio Grande Rivalry for all nine years the trophy has been available, including this year.
The rivalry series is a points-based system and is awarded to the school with the most points in all competitions. The specific scoring system is listed below for individual and teams sports.
For the second straight year, with no men’s tennis competition, the scoring is based on 25.5 points, meaning a team needs more than 12.75 points to win. In some years prior, there were more than 27 points due to extra meetings in baseball or softball. In the event of a postponement/cancellation of an event, no points are awarded.
At the conclusion of annual competitions between the two institutions, the winner of the “Rivalry Series” will receive a rotating trophy bearing the inscription of the annual winners. The winning institution will retain possession of the trophy for a period of one (1) year, until the award presentation the following year.
2007-08: UNM 16.25, NMSU 6.75
2008-09: UNM 17.25, NMSU 6.75
2009-10: UNM 16.50, NMSU 10.50
2010-11: UNM 18.75, NMSU 8.50
2011-12: UNM 15.00, NMSU 13.50
2012-13: UNM 22.50, NMSU 4.50
2013-14: UNM 25.50, NMSU 1.50
2014-15: UNM 18.75, NMSU 6.25
2015-16: UNM 15.00, NMSU 7.125
TIE-BREAKER:
Much like the Ryder Cup, the team in possession of the trophy needs only to tie to retain possession. The team that is not in possession must have more points and win it outright.
PITCHING …IT’S KINDA IMPORTANT … UNM’s starting pitchers this season have turned in quality starts (at least 6 innings and 3 or fewer runs) in 15 of the 28 games so far this season. Overall, UNM’s pitchers are averaging 6.1 innings per start, and 3.3 runs per start.
Overall, UNM’s starters have a combined ERA in those starts of 3.99, while its opponents are at 8.22 per start.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE … At 9-3, the Lobos tied for first place and are in line to compete for another conference championship. That is to be expected of Birmingham’s Lobos. Since Birmingham took over the program in 2008, New Mexico has been the champions or runners up in either the regular season or conference tournament. That includes five regular season or tournament titles during a four year span from 2011-2014.
WINNING ON THE ROAD … New Mexico is currently on a run of 11 wins in 14 games, with eight of the those games played away from Santa Ana Star Field. Prior to the team’s back-to-back wins over Grand Canyon, the Lobos held an RPI of 189. The Lobos recent success has bumped them up 121 spots to 68th.
Fresno State has the league’s best RPI at 41. UNM ranks second, ahead of Air Force at 98. Air Force is followed by Nevada at 149, UNLV at 154, San Jose State at 163 and San Diego State at 218.
FOLLOW MY LEAD … The Lobos have been starting rallies early in innings this season, with an inning-starting OBP of .431.