The New Mexico State Aggies have defeated the Lobos five times in a row. New Mexico is looking to break that streak on Tuesday by using home advantage. Isabel Gonzalez/The Lobo Lair
Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
New Mexico vs New Mexico State
April 16, 2019 – 6pm MT
Santa Ana Star Field
Watch: Mountain West Network
Part II of the Rio Grande Rivalry will take place this Tuesday in Albuquerque.
When the Lobos traveled down to Las Cruces on March 26, things didn’t go their way. They had to return home with a 5-13 loss, which was one of 10 losses New Mexico suffered that month. Freshman right-hander Jack Murano had a good performance on the mound by only allowing one hit in three innings. But by the time he came into the game, the Lobos were already trailing New Mexico State 10-5 in the fifth inning.
Stopping their in-state rivals from sweeping won’t be easy. Good pitching is going to be needed, as the Aggies rank in the Top 10 in a handful of offensive categories. They are hitting .366 (437-for-1,193) with 393 runs scored, 78 doubles, 21 triples and 62 home runs.
NMSU is currently 25-9 overall and entering Tuesday’s game with three-straight wins. The team has played 26 games at home but only six on the road. The Aggies are 2-4 when playing away from Presley Askew Field.
Crazy stat. @NMStateBaseball has never defeated the Lobos 6 straight times.
Aggies will carry a 5 game win streak against them into ABQ Tues night!
🎙⏰Pregame at 5:50p MT Tues
📻@ZiaCountry
📱@tunein ➡️ https://t.co/2suAERxg4g
🔉🎧 https://t.co/oMzm2sn8EU pic.twitter.com/uFVDwPfn5A— Adam Young (@youngpbp) April 15, 2019
The Lobos (16-19) are coming off back-to-back losses. Junior right-handed pitcher Justin Slaten got Saturday’s loss on his record. He only pitched for 2.1 innings because, according to UNM head coach Ray Birmingham, his knee was bothering him. The coach said it was nothing serious but they didn’t want to risk anything.
A losing record is not the place where any team likes to be at any point in the season, however, Birmingham expressed that he doesn’t want his players to focus on that.
“We don’t talk about the record,” he said. “The record doesn’t matter. We are just trying to play the game right, one day at a time and be competitive.”
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