The Aggie baseball team absolutely crushed St. Joe's in the Friday night opener beating the Hawks 33-1 (yes, you read that correctly). You may be asking yourself, how exactly does a team score 33 runs in a ballgame? Here's how: The Aggies scored six in the first, five in the second, nine in the third, two in the fourth, three in the sixth, one in the seventh and eight in the eighth. Their 33 runs came on 24 hits. St. Joe's scored one run in the top of the second on a solo home run. The Aggies' 33 runs were just four shy of the school record 37 put up by the 2006 team against Northern Iowa. The 32-run differential was the largest margin of victory in the Ward era (Rocky or Gary).
What gets looked past in a blowout like this is the job the Aggie pitching staff and defense did. You don't often hold teams to just one run at Presley Askew Field but that's exactly what the Aggies did. Three pitchers scattered 12 hits, Dan Reid went 5.0 innings allowing six hits and just the one run. Reid is quickly becoming this year's D.J. Simon.
Just as impressive however, was the Aggie defense. They turned five double plays in the game which breaks the old school record of four which had been done on several occasions, the last occurring in the 2006 season (it may have happened last season as well). The Aggies also did not commit a single error in the game, nor were there any plays by the Aggies that could have been called either an error or a hit. The Aggies played a pretty flawless game defensively.
The play that probably made Coach Ward the happiest all game came on defense in the seventh inning with the game already long since decided, the Hawks had a runner on first who according to play-by-play man Jeff Matthews decided to get a little "cute" and strayed too far off the bag. Aggie pitcher Corey Hill stepped off the bag, wheeled around and gunned the ball to the second baseman Mike Sodders who was able to get the St. Joe's runner in a rundown. Why was that play so significant? It showed that the Aggies were still mentally in the game even though they were up 25-1. It's that kind of mental focus that will win the Aggies a championship this season.
The Aggies and Hawks resume their series today with a doubleheader. The first game is scheduled for a 3:05 p.m. start.

The Aggie men's basketball team is in Logan tonight as they wrap up the regular season. Unfortunately this game does not have the significance that both Aggie fanbases had hoped. With New Mexico State's loss to Nevada on Thursday night, Utah State wrapped up the regular season title for the third consecutive season, including the second consecutive outright title and second consecutive 14-2 conference record.
New Mexico State still has much to play for despite not having a shot at the regular season title and the number one seed. The Aggies must win tonight to secure the 2-seed in the conference tournament. The Aggies could fall to the 3-seed if they lose to Utah State and Nevada defeats Louisiana Tech (which is a very likely outcome in Reno). As we mentioned yesterday, the Aggies can wrap up the 2-seed with a victory or a loss by Nevada.
We were a little off in our seeding predictions yesterday, San Jose State has locked up the 6-seed in the WAC tournament. Idaho is definitely in the tournament, however, their seeding is still undetermined as they could finish as the 7-seed or 8-seed. Boise State and Hawai'i are the two teams who could miss the WAC tournament. Boise State hosts San Jose State and Hawai'i faces Idaho in Moscow. Boise State just has to win and they're in, their seeding will be determined by what other teams do. The Las Cruces Bulletin's blog has a rundown from the WAC Media relations department on seeding scenarios.
The Aggies also have a chance to do something they haven't done since the 2005-2006 season and that is sweep Utah State. The Aggies are one of just a short list of teams to have beaten Stew Morrill in Logan and a win tonight would be huge for the Aggies heading into the conference tournament. The Aggies certainly don't want to enter postseason play on a two-game losing streak.
Tonight's tip off is set for 7:00 p.m and the game will be televised on AggieVision with streaming video also available via ESPN360.com. Streaming audio will be available via Aggie Access (subscription required). The game can also be heard on the Aggie Sports Network across the state of New Mexico.

The Aggie women will play their final regular season game tonight as they host San Jose State for Senior Night. The Aggies also have much to play for in the way of seedings. They are in a three-way tie for fourth with the two Idaho schools but can finish with the 4-seed if they win tonight and Nevada defeats Idaho. If the Aggies somehow lose tonight, they would potentially drop to the 6-seed if Boise State (vs. La. Tech) and Idaho (vs. Nevada) both win. It's an unlikely scenario but one that must be mentioned.
The Aggies will honor three seniors tonight, two players, Crystal Boyd and Ashley Scroggins, and the Aggies' four-year student manager, Sierra Spence.
The Spartans are already eliminated from postseason play and one has to wonder if this might be SJSU head coach Pam DeCosta's final game at the helm of the Spartans. DeCosta is in her third season and currently has an 11-78 record overall and just a 4-43 record in conference.
In any event, the Aggies should win this game tonight. They're playing a lesser team, at home, on Senior Night with a chance to finish in the top half of the league and knowing that they gave away four conference games (both Idaho games and both Nevada games) and could have finished second in a season that they were picked to finish fifth and sixth by the coaches and media respectively (and for the record, we picked them to finish second).
Tonight's game is scheduled for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. Streaming audio and video will be available for tonight's game via Aggie Access (subscription required). The game can also be heard on KSNM AM 570 with Kyle Doperalski calling the action.

The Aggie softball team is back in action today in Las Vegas after splitting two games yesterday at the Eller Media Stadium Classic. The Aggies run-ruled Southern Utah 11-3 and then fell 6-0 to No. 13/15 Cal. The Aggies will face UNLV and Weber State today. The games are scheduled for a 4:45 and 7:00 p.m. MT first pitch. Live Stats will be available for both games and can be accessed at the Eller Media Stadium Classic page on the UNLV athletic website.
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