No. 6 Tech Travels To NMSU For Midweek Tilt

Tuesday, April 4

Las Cruces, NM

3 p.m.

Texas Tech Athletics

New Mexico State

No. 6 Tech Travels To NMSU For Midweek Tilt

April 04, 2017 | Baseball

Texas Tech Notes New Mexico State Notes Live Stream ($)Live Stats

The Red Raiders will take on the Aggies on April 4 at Presley Askew Field

LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 6 Texas Tech baseball team faces a quick turnaround, hitting the road for a midweek battle against New Mexico State on Tuesday, April 4, at 3 p.m. CDT at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces.

The game can be heard on the Texas Tech Sports Network on 97.3 FM, as well as the TuneIn App, and can be streamed through NMSU's online service, AggieVision, with a paid subscription. Live stats will also be available via TexasTech.Statbroadcast.com.

Tuesday's contest will be the second of three meetings this season between the Red Raiders (25-6) and the Aggies (17-12). Tech opened its home slate against New Mexico State, picking up a 16-1 win on Feb. 21 at Rip Griffin Park. Game three will be held in Midland, Texas, at Security Bank Ballpark, home of the Midland Rockhounds, on April 18.

The two programs are no strangers to each other, as Tech holds a 46-18 advantage in the all-time series against New Mexico State, improving to 35-7 at home after the victory earlier this year. However, the Aggies have found a little more success at home when facing the Red Raiders, holding an 8-5 edge in Las Cruces. It is the sixth-straight year the two programs have squared off, with the Red Raiders going 10-3 over that stretch.

In the Feb. 21 matchup, the Aggies scored in the opening frame, but the Red Raiders tallied runs in six of the eight innings they would come to the plate, including back-to-back frames of four & seven runs scored, for the 16-1 win. Four different Red Raiders put down multi-hit performances, including a four-hit day for junior infielder Orlando Garcia and a three-hit bid from freshman outfielder Grant Little.

All in all, Tech racked up 18 hits in the contest, countering with only two hits allowed from the Red Raider pitching staff. Freshman right-hander John Henry Gonzalez got his first collegiate start against the Aggies, tossing 5.1 innings and striking out five. The bullpen put together the final 3.2 frames of shutout baseball that featured four strikeouts and only one walk.

When the Red Raiders take the field in Las Cruces on Tuesday, they'll tab another freshman for the start, righty Caleb Kilian. It will be the first start for the Flower Mound native, who has made eight appearances out of the pen for Tech this season. Kilian has recorded five shutout performances in his eight outings, tossing 10 strikeouts over 10.2 innings of work.

The Red Raiders will meet an Aggie team hitting .316 this season, with six batters hitting above the .300 mark. Leading the way is Brent Sakurai, who has 39 hits in 107 at-bats for a .364 clip. Joey Ortiz holds the top spot in hits in 2017 for NMSU with 42, along with 27 runs scored, which ties for the team-high. Ortiz is even with Austin Botello in the runs category, who has driven in the most for the Aggies this season, pushing 31 across home plate.

On the mound, Tech will meet right-hander Chris Kucko, who will make his fourth start of the year on Tuesday afternoon. In 2017, Kucko has a 7.00 ERA with eight strikeouts, six walks and seven earned runs allowed in 9.0 frames of work.

The Red Raider offense will counter with a team batting average of .288, as five Tech hitters have put together .300 or better averages this season at the plate. Little leads the Red Raiders with a .357 average, while senior Hunter Hargrove holds the top offensive categories in hits (43), RBI (27) and runs scored (28).

Last week, the Aggies went 3-1, featuring a tight 5-3 loss to in-state rival New Mexico, followed by a three-game sweep of Seattle to open up Western Athletic Conference play. The Red Raiders went 3-2 over the week, picking up two against Texas Southern, while taking the middle game of the weekend set at No. 15 Oklahoma. It was the first series loss for Tech this season, moving to 4-2 in conference play after starting Big 12 action on the road and playing five of the overall seven weekends away from home to start 2017.

In doing so, the Red Raiders dropped a couple spots in this week's rankings, moving to sixth & seventh over the six polls. D1 Baseball, the USA Today Coaches Poll, the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and Baseball America all have Tech slotted at No. 6 this week. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and Perfect Game placed the Red Raiders at seventh in their respective rankings.

Tech has been ranked inside the top six of at least one poll in each of the last two seasons.

After Tuesday's game, the Red Raiders will return home to continue conference play against Baylor on April 7-9 at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park.