Rio Grande Rivalry Resumes Tuesday in Las Cruces

Looking to snap a five-game skid, New Mexico Baseball heads south for a matchup with in-state rival New Mexico State (12-18, 2-7 C-USA) Tuesday at Presley Askew Field.

Tuesday’s game will be the second of four midweek matchups with New Mexico State this season – the Lobos (16-14, 7-5 MW) won the first game in dominant fashion at Santa Ana Star Field on March 19, run-ruling the Aggies 14-4 in seven innings while hitting three homers and four doubles. UNM and their rivals to the south split a four-game season series in 2023, but the Lobos have won six of their last eight since renewing the rivalry for the first time since 2019 two seasons ago. They’re 117-93 all-time against the Aggies, with a 63-50 record in home matchups.

After Tuesday’s game is concluded, they’ll head to Las Cruces again for another road matchup with the Aggies on April 30 before closing out the season series at home a week later on May 7.

This time around, UNM could use a win to get back on track ahead of this weekend’s home series with the No. 1 team in the MW standings, Fresno State (22-9, 12-3 MW). After averaging 12.7 hits and 10.3 runs per game over their first 24 games of the season, the Lobos have been held to 7.44 hits and 5.02 runs per game in their last six  – they’re 1-5 in that span.

Regardless, the Lobos are still in sole possession of second place in the Mountain West, batting .312 on the season as a team with an OPS of .935 while averaging 9.18 runs and 11.6 hits per nine innings to lead the league in nearly every offensive category. In terms of individuals, Jake Holland is leading the league in homers (10) while ranking second among all MW players in RBI (36) and third in batting average (.370). Reed Spenrath leads the league in triples (4) and ranks second in total bases (76).

UNM also ranks No. 12 in all of D-I college baseball in total double plays (30), No. 21 in team on-base percentage (.426), No. 13 in doubles per game (2.53), No. 34 in base on balls (175), No. 28 in batting average (.311), No. 40 in runs scored (254), No. 40 in runs scored (254), No. 40 in total hits (321) and No. 35 in slugging (.509). 

Tuesday’s first pitch is set for 6 p.m. MT, with probable starters still TBA. Tomorrow’s game will not be streamed, but live stats will be available via GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on socials for promotional/marketing and gameday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

at New Mexico State (12-18, 2-7 C-USA)
April 9, 6 p.m. MT | Las Cruces, N.M. | Presley Askew Field

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM is 117-93 all-time against their rivals to the south, with a 78-34 record in home matchups after winning the two teams’ first matchup this year in Albuquerque on March 19. The two teams split four matchups last season, with the Lobos winning via run rule twice (13-0, 14-6) but losing via shutout twice as well (0-2, 0-8). Tod Brown is 7-2 against the Aggies in his tenure as UNM Head Coach.

LAST MEETING
UNM opened up its Rio Grande Rivalry season series with New Mexico State with an emphatic 14-4 run-rule victory in seven innings at Santa Ana Star Field on Tuesday, racking up 17 hits with three home runs in the process.
The Lobos weathered an early three-spot in the top of the third from the Aggies after plating the first run of the game in the bottom of the second, blowing the game open with an eight-run inning – punctuated by Will Asby’s second grand slam at Santa Ana Star Field and sixth homer this season – and keeping their foot on the gas the rest of the way with five more runs — and two more homers from Reed Spenrath and Devon Dixon — over the next four frames.
With the win, UNM Head Coach Tod Brown improved to 7-2 against the Lobos’ rivals to the south.
“Really solid pitching today — got ourselves out of jams early in the game, and the bats really came alive the second time through the order,” Brown said.  “Asby’s grand slam was a game-changer — the guys in front of him took their walks and kept things going to break the game open.”

SCOUTING THE AGGIES
The Aggies are leading C-USA in on-base percentage (.411) and routinely putting themselves in position to score with a league-leading 13 triples. NMSU also ranks third in the conference in runs (236) and second in runs per game (7.9). The Aggies have managed to get on base with 153 walks, good for third-most in the conference.

ON DECK
The Lobos will return home for their biggest MW home series of the year this weekend, playing host to the current No. 1 team in the MW standings in Fresno State (22-9, 12-3 MW). UNM is in sole possession of second place in the league standings – 3.5 games behind the Bulldogs – but could get themselves within striking distance with a big weekend at Santa Ana Star Field.

LAST TIME OUT
The Lobos only got in two of their three planned games with Sam Houston last weekend due to inclement conditions on Saturday, dropping both games (14-23, 3-14) to extend their skid to five games. Reed Spenrath led the team in batting average over those two games (.625) with a homer and double to drive in two runs, while freshman Gene Trujillo (.556) drove in a team-high four while starting both games at DH. UNM batted .316 as a team in those two games but couldn’t slow down the Bearkats, who batted .418 on the weekend and slugged .747 while plating 37 runs on 38 hits.