-and-
NM State enters weekend winners of five of its last six games.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photo: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Following a strong road trip in which they were 4-1 and picked up a series win over conference foe Liberty, the Aggies return to host preseason Conference USA favorite and 17th-ranked Dallas Baptist in a three-game weekend series. The first pitch on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m., with Saturday beginning at 4 p.m., and Sunday’s finale is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
Friday will mark the 14th all-time meeting between the Aggies and Patriots and will be the second time the two programs face off as conference opponents. Despite holding a 2-11 all-time record against DBU, the Aggies do have a winning record against the Patriots in Presley Askew Field as they went 2-1 in a series they hosted in 2013. The Aggies are currently riding a three-game win streak, which represents the longest active win streak among CUSA teams.
SERIES INFO
NM State (14-11, 2-1 CUSA) vs. #17 Dallas Baptist (16-8, 2-1 CUSA)
Presley Askew Field
Las Cruces, N.M.
Friday, March 28 – 6 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: MLB Poster Giveaway / Greek Night
Saturday, March 29 – 4 p.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast
Sunday, March 30 – 11 a.m.
Tickets: Purchase Online or call 575-646-1420
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: StatBroadcast
Promos: Bark in the Park
LAST TIME OUT
NM State submitted its first Conference USA series win of the year as they defeated Liberty last weekend before claiming its second win over UNC Greensboro on Tuesday morning. In the win over the Spartans on Tuesday, eight different Aggies recorded a hit to help log the team’s 14th 10-plus hit game of the season. This was highlighted by a three-run go-ahead home run from Bryce Campbell.
In the final game of the five-game road swing, Steve Solorzano notched the fifth three-hit game and 10th multi-hit outing of his sophomore year. On the mound, the Aggies used seven different pitchers for the third time this season. Ultimately, true freshman Cooper Reese was credited with the win as he pitched a pair of scoreless innings while matching his career-high in strikeouts with two.
COMIN’ IN HOT
The Aggies will enter this weekend’s series on an upward trajectory after winning four games during their five-game road trip on the East Coast. During this stretch, NM State picked up a pair of wins over UNC Greensboro while also taking the series from Liberty to start league play. The Aggies are currently riding a three-game winning streak, which matches their longest winning streak of the season and serves as the longest active streak in the conference.
During the road trip, the Aggies hit .302 as a team, led by Joey Craig and Steve Solorzano, who each batted over .400 for the week and combined for 11 RBIs. This also helped the Aggies jump 23 spots
Meanwhile, Dallas Baptist will be looking to get back on track as it dropped back-to-back games for just the second time this season after it fell 7-1 on the road at Abilene Christian on Tuesday.
IRON SHARPENS IRON
Friday’s opener will feature a head-to-head matchup of the two most recent Conference USA players of the week as the Aggies’ Joey Craig garnered the hitter of the week honor while DBU’s Micah Bucknam received the pitcher of the week award. The weekend series will also feature three other 2025 CUSA Player of the Week winners as Sheehan O’Connor (NM State), Grant Jay (DBU) and Ben Blair (DBU) have each earned the honor once this season.
TRIPLE THREAT
Last Sunday, the Aggies accomplished something they hadn’t done in over 10 years. A ground ball hit to Brandon Forrester ultimately turned into the program’s first triple play since April 29, 2014, when the Aggies recorded a triple play on the road against Arizona State. NM State is one of just two Division I teams to pull off a triple play this season, joined by UIC, which did so on Feb. 16 against Charleston Southern.
STELLAR STEVE
Two-way player Steve Solorzano turned in one of the most impressive individual performances of the season in last Sunday’s win over Liberty. At the plate, the Las Cruces native finished with two hits and drove in the game-winning run in the 10th inning. In addition, the right-hander who started at first base moved over to the mound, where he ultimately earned the win after tossing three scoreless innings to close out the game.
Entering Tuesday, Solorzano paces the Aggies in batting average (.387), RBIs (21), slugging percentage (.677), walks (16) and on-base percentage (.513). Solorzano also currently ranks among the top five in CUSA play in batting average (4th), on-base percentage (3rd), slugging percentage (5th), doubles (3rd), hit by pitch (5th), total hits (4th) and total bases (5th).
CRAIG NAMED CUSA HITTER OF THE WEEK
After a stellar weekend in which he played a pivotal role in the Aggies’ series win on the road against Liberty, outfielder Joey Craig was named Conference USA Hitter of the Week. Over the three-game series, Craig batted .600 (6-10) and was tied for the team lead in RBIs with five, including a four-RBI performance on Saturday. He finished the weekend with a home run, one double and three walks to help support a .692 on-base percentage.
SLINGIN’ SAUL
In the Aggies’ win over Portland on Sunday, March 16, relief pitcher Saul Soto earned the win after tossing a career-high 5.0 innings to help lift the Aggies to victory. Soto returned to the mound on Sunday and struck out four Liberty batters to mark his fourth 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 7-0 in games that Soto appears in. This year, Soto has pitched 22.0 innings and allowed just 18 hits and seven runs while tallying 21 strikeouts.
RUNS EQUAL SUCCESS
Following Tuesday’s win, the Aggies are now 12-2 when scoring six or more runs this season. Additionally, NM State is 7-2 in games in which it tallies the first run.
DOUBLE THE FUN
Led by Namie and Steve Solorzano, who have tallied 10 doubles and nine doubles this season, respectively, the Aggies have been one of the best teams in the country at hitting doubles. Currently, NM State ranks 34th among Division I teams and second in the conference in total doubles with 54.
BRING OUT THE BULLPEN
In last 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 marked the second time this season that the Aggie bullpen has accounted for 10 strikeouts in a single game, as it also tallied exactly 10 strikeouts against Lamar on March 11.
Last Wednesday’s outing was bolstered by an 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 25 games down, the Aggie infield has been one of the best teams in the nation at turning double plays. With two double plays against UNC Greensboro on Tuesday, NM State now has 22 double plays on the season which ranks 22nd in the country.
As a conference, CUSA has also been exceptional at turning two as the Aggies rank just third among league teams with LA Tech’s 24 double plays leading the way.
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 25 games, Namie’s offensive power has been on full display as he has recorded a hit in all but two games this season, including posting a hit in each of the Aggies’ first 15 games. Additionally, Namie is currently one of three Aggies to appear in the starting lineup in every game this season and is the lone Aggie to start in the same position (left field) in every game thus far.
FRESHMAN ARMS
The Aggies have leaned on their young arms this season and with a pair of appearances from Chris Daniels, 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 75.2 innings and have given up just 60 earned runs while combining for 68 strikeouts.
This has been bolstered by Matthew Yarc, who has tossed 22.0 innings and has 15 strikeouts. Yarc is one of three freshmen pitchers with 10 or more strikeouts as both Dylan Weekly (14) and Carson Timmons (13) 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.
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.
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).
BEATING THE BEST
Dallas Baptist will serve as the second ranked opponent the Aggies will face this season after taking on Texas A&M earlier this season when they were ranked 14th in the nation. After knocking off Texas A&M on Sunday, March 9, a win this weekend would mark the team’s second win over a ranked opponent this season, a feat the Aggies have only accomplished four other times in program history (2012, 1999, 1997, 1996).
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.
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 and this weekend’s opponent, 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 DALLAS BAPTIST
Following a Tuesday loss at Abilene Christian, DBU will enter the weekend with a 16-8 overall record, including a 2-1 record in league play after earning the series win at home against Middle Tennessee last weekend.
The Patriots are led by long-time head coach, Dan Heefner who is amid his 18th year at the helm of the program. With Heefner guiding the team, the Patriots have tallied 668 total wins and have reached 13 NCAA Regionals, including 10 straight appearances.
Offensively, DBU is led in batting average by utility player Tom Poole, who enters the weekend batting .372. Additionally, infielder Chayton Krauss paces the team in RBIs with 31 which ranks second in the conference. On the mound, Friday starter Micah Bucknam has been one of the top pitchers in the country this season as he currently ranks 18th in the nation in total strikeouts and ranks 2nd in the country in complete games with two this year.
UP NEXT
Following the three-game homestand, the Aggies will welcome rival New Mexico for the second installment of four total Battle of I-25 meetings this season. First pitch on Tuesday night is slated for 6 p.m. MT.
