Courtesy: New Mexico State University           Release: 03/08/2010

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First Pitch: The New Mexico State baseball team plays five games this week, two on the road and three at home.  The Aggies head up I-25, taking on in-state rival, No. 22 New Mexico at Isotopes Park, Tuesday and Wednesday, March 9-10 with both games scheduled to start at 3:05 p.m. (MT).  NM State then returns home for a three-game series with Georgia State, Friday through Sunday, March 12-14.  Friday's game begins at 6:05 p.m. (MT), Saturday's is scheduled for 3:05 p.m. (MT), and Sunday's series finale starts at 1:05 p.m. (MT).

Media Coverage:  A tape delay will be available for the games versus New Mexico, March 9-10 on KSNM AM 570.  Those tape delays start at 6:00 p.m. (MT) with Jeff Matthews giving the play-by-play action.  The game versus Georgia State, Sunday, March 13 will be aired on TV as a part of the AggieVision productions.  Fans should go www.AggieVision.tv for a complete listing of show times.  Comcast around the state of New Mexico is scheduled to carry the telecast in Albuquerque (Ch. 53), Las Cruces (Ch. 4), Gallup (Ch. 66), and Santa Fe (Ch. 21).  Fans and media can also access live stats at the Official NM State Athletics website by clicking on the live events link found at the top of the webpage.

About NM State:  The Aggies started the season 0-3 after losing to Washington, Gonzaga and Missouri in the Cactus Classic, which was held in Tucson, Ariz. from Feb. 19-21.  NM State won five of six last two weeks ago and went 4-2 last week taking its record to 9-6 on the season.  Heading into week four of play NM State leads the Western Athletic Conference in multiple offensive categories including batting average (.367), slugging percentage (.673), on-base percentage (.469), runs scored (176), hits (205), RBI (163), doubles (43), triples (7), walks (107) and home runs (38).

The Aggies are 9-3 at home early in the season after they were 29-9 at home in 2009.  This week marks the first actual road games as the first week featured games played on a neutral site versus Washington, Gonzaga, and Missouri.  It was a spectacular season last year posting one of the most successful seasons in NM State baseball history, breaking the school record for most wins in a season at 44. The 44 games the Aggies won in 2009 broke the record that was held by the 2003 NM State baseball team the won 43 games while a part of the Sun Belt Conference.  The Aggie won 16 more games than they did in 2008 and finished with 29 wins at home.  With its winning ways, NM State went into the WAC tournament as the No. 4 seed and eventually ousted No. 1 seed San Jose State and No. 2 seed Louisiana Tech before falling to Fresno State on Championship Day losing 9-7 and 5-3.  The Aggies did place three players on the all-tournament team including outfielder Richard Stout, infielder Mike Sodders and right hand pitcher DJ Simon.

WAC Hitter of the Week: The New Mexico State senior third baseman Wade Reynoso has been named Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Baseball Hitter of the Week for the week of March 1-7, as announced by the league office, Monday, March, 8.  Reynoso help NM State to a 4-2 record last week as his team took one of two games from then No. 20 New Mexico and three out of four games from Saint Joseph's.  He batted .522 and registered a 1.000 slugging percentage over the six games.

Reynoso recorded a season-high six at-bats, a season-high four hits and a season-high six RBI against UNM to lead the Aggies to a 17-8 victory.  Although he didn't get the start in the opening game of the series against Saint Joseph's, Reynoso had a good day at the plate 2-for-3 with three RBI, a double and two runs scored.  In game one of Saturday's doubleheader, he was 3-of-5 at the dish with another double.  The second game of the doubleheader saw Reynoso come up with three RBI, which came when he blasted a home run to right field.  Reynoso ended the week with a 2-for-2 day at the plate, which included another home run to take his total to five on the year.  Reynoso heads into week four of play second in the WAC in hits, and first in RBI with 24.  He is also currently hitting .400 early in the season.

Another Good Outing By Reid:  Starting pitcher, junior Dan Reid gave up only one run and only one walk as the Aggies defeated Saint Joseph's 33-1.  He gave up only one hit in the first inning and one run in the second inning, but no other Hawk players would cross the plate from-then-on.  He allowed six hits in 5.0 innings of work and is now 2-0 in three appearances this season.

Looking Back: NM State opened the 2010 season 0-3 after falling 4-2 to Washington, 9-3 to Gonzaga and 2-1 in 10 innings to Missouri three weeks ago at the Cactus Classic in Tucson, Ariz.  However, NM State has gone above .500 on the season after taking a series from Akron as well as a series from Saint Joseph's.  Last week, the Aggies split two games with New Mexico, losing 9-6 and winning 17-8 in midweek games at Presley Askew Field.  The Aggies took the series from Saint Joseph's 3-1 winning 33-1, 12-10 and 15-4 before losing 35-16.

NM State Versus University of New Mexico: The Aggies are 74-139 all-time versus UNM.  The first meeting came in 1962 with the Lobos winning 13-8.  NM State split two-game series last year winning 5-4 in Albuquerque and losing 7-2 in Las Cruces.  The Lobos won the first meeting this year, 9-6 at Presley Askew Field, but NM State rebounded and defeated UNM 17-8, March 3.

NM State Versus Georgia State: This will be the first meeting between the Aggies and Georgia State.  Georgia State heads into week four of play with a 4-6 record with its only wins coming against North Carolina Central.

Looking Ahead: NM State has a three-game series March 20-21 with UC-Santa Barbara.  Saturday's doubleheader that starts at 12:00 p.m. (MT) will air on the radio at KSNM AM 570.  Sunday's game starts at 11:00 a.m. (MT) and will not be on the radio, although live stats will be available at www.NMStateSports.com.

Auten One Away From Entering Top-10:  Senior first baseman Chris Auten is just one double away from making the top-10 for career doubles.  Former All-American and Aggie great Billy Becher in No. 10 on the career list with 35 doubles from 2003-04.  Chris Fanning, who played for NM State from 1988-91, posted 51 doubles in his career.

Big Win For Aggies; Biggest Loss for Hawks:  The 33-1 win over Saint Joseph's was the biggest loss for the Hawks in the program's history.  Thirty runs was the most runs SJU had ever given up, which it did to Vanderbilt back in 1986.  The Aggies are in the top-10 in the NCAA record books for the largest winning margin.  They defeated Western New Mexico 35-0, April 7, 1981.

It Was A Long One:  Everyone in attendance at the 35-16 loss got to experience game that lasted 4:40.  It was nine innings long but the base runners continued to cross the plate extending the time of the game.  No records are kept in the Official NCAA record book for the longest amount of time for a game, but the most innings played in a game is 22.  Baylor played 22 innings against Houston on Feb. 21, 1999 and Colorado defeated Nebraska in 22 innings, April 26, 1974.

Great Week For Perkins:  Senior Chace Pekins had a good week as he posted a .389 batting average in six games last week.  He started four games and came in off the bench in two other games.  Perkins tallied seven hits, one of those a triple and five of them home runs, while marking nine RBI.  In game two of a doubleheader, Saturday, March 6, Perkins blasted three solo home runs to lead the Aggies to a 15-4 victory.

Putting Up Runs:  The Aggies posted a total of 99 runs last week in six games.  NM State put up 33 runs, March 5 against Saint Joseph's.  There were more runs on the board in that game than the NM State football team put up in points in any game all of last season.  The Aggie football team put up 21 points against Prairie View A&M, Sept. 12.  The NM State baseball is currently averaging 11.73 runs per game, while the NM State football team posted 11.46 points per game.

Ward Owns All-Time Win Record: New Mexico State head baseball coach Rocky Ward recently became the all-time winningest coach at NM State surpassing Jim Kwasny who tallied 300 wins from 1969-82.  Ward, who is in his 12^th season as Aggie head coach, picked up win No. 301 when his team defeated Akron 8-3 in game one of a doubleheader, Saturday, Feb. 27 at Presley Askew Field.  NM State was victorious in game two as well and blasted the Zips 17-5 in the series finale to takes Ward's win total to 307.

Coach Ward continues to push his student-athletes year-in and year-out while also overcoming adversity and changing conference three times during his time at NM State.  His 2003 team posted 43 wins, setting the school record for wins in a season; although, that record was broken by Ward's 2009 team when it won 44 games.  NM State did, however, earn its first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and won the school's first ever NCAA Tournament game as the Aggies defeated UNLV 14-12 in the regional round.  That win came during a five-year span when NM State posted a record of 174-120 (2001-06), the most wins in a five-year span in the history of Aggie baseball.

Aggies in the WAC:  The Aggies lead the Western Athletic Conference in multiple offensive categories including batting average (.367), slugging percentage (.673), on-base percentage (.469), runs scored (176), hits (205), RBI (163), doubles (43), triples (7), walks (107), total bases (376) and home runs (38).

There are several Aggies ranked in the top-10 in the individual ranking heading into week four of play as well.  Infielder Mike Sodders leads the league in hits (27) while fellow middle infielder Ryan Aguayo leads the WAC in slugging percentage (.870).  Chris Auten in on the top of the league list for runs scored (23) and doubles (9).  Wade Reynoso is the current leader in the WAC for RBI (24), while Sodders leads the way in home runs (7) and Wes Starkes in the leader in triples (3).

and Ryan Aguayo are No. 1 in hits (14), while Aguayo is also tied for first in runs scored (14).  Outfielder Nate Shaver is tied for the top spot in RBI (12) but Aguayo is not far behind as he is tied for second with 11 RBI.

On the mound, Justin Cooper first in batters struck out (16).

NM State in Home Openers: The Aggies are 27-22 all-time in home opening games.  The first home win came in 1962 when Presley Askew's squad defeated Colorado State 1-0.  NM State has now won the last three home openers defeating New Orleans 12-11 in 2008, North Dakota 15-4 in 2009 and now the University of the Southwest 15-5 in seven innings this season.

Opening Games: The Aggies are now 23-25 in season opening games since the baseball program began in 1962.  They are 8-4 under head coach Rocky Ward after falling 4-2 to Washington, Feb. 19 in Tucson, Ariz..  NM State defeated North Dakota 15-4 at home in the 2009 opening game at Presley Askew Field, Feb. 20.

Reid Named WAC Pitcher of the Week: The Western Athletic Conference announced its first Player of the Week and Pitcher of the Week honors, Monday, Feb. 22 and junior Dan Reid has been selected as WAC Pitcher of the Week for the week of Feb. 15-21. Reid, threw 6.0 innings against Missouri in his debut as an Aggie. Reid struck out seven batters and walked one while giving up only one run which was unearned. Reid gave up just five hits in six innings of work.

Preseason All-WAC: NM State was selected to finish second in the 2010 Western Athletic Conference regular season in a vote by the league's head coaches.  The coaches also voted senior Jared Jordan and sophomore Scott Coffman to the preseason all-WAC team.  The Aggies received 27 points and one first place vote after finishing the 2009 season with a 44-17 overall record and a 12-12 conference record.  NM State finished the season losing in the championship game of the WAC Tournament to Fresno State, which was picked to win the league once again this year. 

Jordan was selected as the preseason all-WAC utility player after he was 7-3 on the mound with 53 strikeouts in 69 1/3 innings pitched.  He also hit .365 in 2009 with six doubles, five home runs and 20 RBI.  Coffman was selected by the league's coaches as one of two relief pitchers on the preseason all-WAC team.  As a freshman, Coffman made 26 appearances and posted a 3-0 record with a 2.14 ERA.  He picked up 29 strikeouts in 21 innings and also earned one save.

Sodders on 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Candidate List: After being named to three Preseason All-American teams, senior Mike Sodders was named one of 30 NCAA student-athletes from across the country to be named as a candidate for the 2010 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award as announced, Wednesday, Feb. 17.

Sodders, who led the Western Athletic Conference with a .422 batting average on an injured knee, carries a 3.0 grade point average and is on track to graduate in December of 2010 with a degree in business management and marketing.

To be eligible for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.  An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.

Sodders Earns All-American: Mike Sodders earned a spot on the 2010 PING!Baseball Preseason All-American team, which was released Monday, Jan. 11.  Sodders, a second team selection by PING!Basebball, now has three preseason honors after he also earned spots on the NCBWA All-American team and after he was named to the 2010 Louisville Slugger All-American team by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (CBN).  He is the first Aggie to ever be named to multiple preseason All-American teams.

Sodders is the first Aggie to be named to the PING!Baseball Preseason All-American team and the second to make an PING!Baseball All-American team as former Aggie slugger Joseph Scaperotta earned second-team honors after a good season in 2008.

Record Breaking Season: NM State broke a total of 16 team records and five individual records during the 2009 season.  One of the most unusual records broken this season came on May 2 when senior Justin Lucero was hit by pitches four times.  On multiple occasions an Aggie had been hit by pitches three times in a game, but Lucero was the first to be hit four times as the Aggies won 19-9 with Lucero crossing the plate three times.  An unexpected record was also broken this season when the Aggies set the record for the number of strikeouts in a game.  Four Aggie pitchers combined for 20 K's in a 12-11, 13-inning win over Houston-Baptist at Presley Askew Field, May 1.  Right-hander Daniel Reyes led the way with six Ks in three innings, while starter DJ Simon had five.  Reliever Scott Coffman contributed with four, while freshman Justin Cooper helped the cause with three and Erik Nyquist added with two.  The previous record at NM State was 17 strikeouts against No. 19 Louisiana-Lafayette, March 26, 2005.