Sam Houston (11-6, 0-0 CUSA) at NM State (9-8, 0-0 CUSA)
Askew Field (Las Cruces, N.M.)
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Friday, March 15 | 7:00 PM CT | ESPN+
Projected Starters
SHSU: RHP Coltin Atkinson (2-1, 2.38 ERA, 22.2 IP, 21 K, 6 BB)
NMSU: RHP Treyjen Meza (3-1, 4.56 ERA, 25.2 IP, 29 K, 10 BB)
Saturday, March 16 | 3:00 PM CT | ESPN+
Projected Starters
SHSU: RHP Miles Hellums (2-1, 6.63 ERA, 19.0 IP, 11 K, 6 BB)
NMSU: LHP Josh Sharman (1-0, 6.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 13 K, 6 BB)
Sunday, March 17 | 12:00 PM CT | ESPN+
Projected Starters
SHSU: LHP Gavi Coldiron (2-0, 1.80 ERA, 20.0 IP, 13 K, 2 BB)
NMSU: RHP Hayden Walker (1-0, 5.50 ERA, 18.0 IP, 21 K, 7 BB)
HUNTSVILLE – The Sam Houston Bearkats will open Conference USA play this weekend when it heads to Las Cruces for a 3-game series against NM State, beginning Friday at Askew Field.
All three games will be streamed on ESPN+ with Adam Young on the call from the City of Crosses.
The Kats last trip on the road proved fruitful with a sweep of Texas State, followed by a narrow loss on Tuesday at No. 4 Texas A&M. This weekend's set will bring to a close a season-long, 8-game road swing for Sam Houston with five games on the schedule next week at Don Sanders Stadium.
SERIES NOTES vs NM STATE
- Sam Houston and NM State had never met on the diamond prior to 2022, but this will be the third consecutive season the Bearkats and Aggies have squared off.
- The Bearkats are 2-2 all-time vs NM State, falling in the 2022 WAC Tournament opening round before taking two of three games in a weekend series last year in Huntsville.
- The series will not only be the Kats' first-ever trip to Las Cruces, but the first games played in the Land of Enchantment for the Bearkats in program history. Oddly enough, the Kats will also head to Albuquerque for a non-conference series at New Mexico later in the season.
A QUICK LOOK AT THE AGGIES
- NM State is competing in its first season under head coach Jake Angier, who came to Las Cruces after serving as the pitching coach at Oregon for four seasons.
- The Aggies are 9-2 in 11 games played in Las Cruces this season, but are 0-6 on the road, having been swept in four games at McNeese and most recently dropping a pair of midweeks at No. 24 Texas Tech.
- Entering CUSA play the Aggies lead the league and rank eighth in the nation with an average of 10.8 runs scored per game.
QUICK HITTERS FOR THE WEEKEND AT NM STATE
- Friday night starter Coltin Atkinson will go into Game 1 of the series needing six more strikeouts to reach the 200-punchout mark for his career. Only eight other Bearkat pitchers in program history have reached 200 strikeouts in a career, the last being Hayden Wesneski in 2019 prior to his selection in the MLB Draft.
- With those six strikeouts and four more wins this year, Atkinson would become just the fifth Kat in history with 200 strikeouts and 25 career wins.
- The Kats have won nine of 10 conference series played on the road over the past two seasons.
- As a staff the Bearkats are sporting a team ERA of 3.92, which leads CUSA and ranks 32nd in the nation; however, take away SHSU's lopsided 19-2 loss in the series finale vs Oklahoma State on Opening Weekend and that number drops to a 2.96 team ERA over 16 games.
- The biggest factor to the Kats' success on the mound has been throwing strikes as they average just 2.85 walks per 9 innings, a stat which ranks seventh in the nation
- Walker Janek is riding 17-game hitting streak to open 2024 and has hit in 21 straight games dating back to the end of the 2023 campaign. It is the fourth longest single-season streak in program history and the longest hit streak by a Kat to open a season since Todd Sebek hit safely in the first 18 games of the 2008 season.
