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| NM State senior closer Scott Coffman set a school record in saves in 2011 . Photo by: Zack Ponce |
Led by eight preseason All-Western Athletic Conference honorees, the New Mexico State baseball team is set to throw the first pitch of the 2012 season.
The Aggies got off to a red-hot start last season, winning 22 of their first 26 games. In spite of their solid opening play, the team went 9-16 in conference play and lost to Louisiana Tech and Nevada in the WAC Tournament. NM State finished 2011 with a 34-24 overall record.
“It ended up being a much weaker schedule than we expected in non-conference play,” said Rocky Ward, NM State head baseball coach. “Then when we got into conference play. Parker Hipp was hurt for five weeks. We were banged up.”
Ward said he believes the non-conference schedule this season will better prepare the team for WAC play than it did last year. The slate of non-conference teams the Aggies will face this season includes Wake Forest, Minnesota, West Virginia, Arizona and Texas Tech.
“The first 15 or 16 games we play are against very good opponents, probably as good or better than the teams we will play in the WAC,” Ward said. “Last year, the first 15 or 16 opponents were worse than everybody we played in the WAC.”
In addition to playing a stronger out-of-conference schedule, the Aggies are a much more experienced club this year. There are 14 seniors on the roster, four of which received All-WAC preseason honors. Along with a seasoned group of seniors, NM State also has 15 juniors on the team.
“I think we’ll do real well,” senior outfielder Bryan Karraker said. “We’re returning just about everybody and we have a lot of juniors and seniors. We have a lot of older guys, so I think we’ll do real well.”
The team also has more depth on the roster, which is a necessity during the long season.
“We have a little bit better ability to handle injuries this year,” Ward said. “We have a little more depth particularly on the pitching staff, so those things will all bode well.”
After non-conference play, the Aggies begin playing familiar WAC foes in April. Fresno State and Hawai’i tied for the WAC regular season title in 2011, but the Bulldogs topped the Warriors in the WAC Tournament championship game to claim the conference crown.
The conference is difficult to predict this season because Fresno State and Hawai’i will likely take a step back from a year ago. The Bulldogs lost many of their best players to the professional draft and the Warriors will be a less experienced club this year.
“The two teams that have been the best teams in our league are both in transition years…” Ward said referring to Fresno State and Hawai’i. “I think Louisiana Tech and San Jose State will be solid. Nevada has underperformed the last two years. As far as this league, it’s wide open.”
NM State begins the 2012 campaign Feb. 17 when the Aggies open a four-game series against Wake Forest at Presley Askew Field.
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