New Mexico State comes to town to face ASU baseball Tuesday night after dropping Sunday's game and a conference series to WAC opponent Grand Canyon University.
The Sun Devils (23-17, 12-9 Pac-12) will play their first nonconference game in two weeks after defeating UNLV 5-2 back on April 15.
ASU returns to Packard Stadium following a disappointing roadtrip, finishing 3-3, losing the Stanford series on April 19, and dropping the final game Sunday after winning the first two against UA.
Despite the fourth-straight series finale loss, there were plenty of bright spots for ASU, as the offense combined to score 10 runs against the Wildcats in the three-game series.
An additional highlight of the weekend came in the form of sophomore left-hander Ryan Kellogg, who was the first ASU baseball player to be named Pac-12 Player of the Week in 2014, throwing a complete-game shutout Friday to earn his sixth win of the year, and 17th of his career.
The Aggies (17-23, 8-7 WAC) have been shaky for the majority of their regular season, and are 4-3 in their last seven games played.
Like UA, New Mexico State has had little trouble getting on base. The Aggies lead the WAC in walks per game (5.1), on-base percentage (.379) and RBIs per game (5.36).
Defense and pitching is another story. The erratic Aggies have allowed a WAC-most 204 walks, 59 hit batters and have a .958 team fielding percentage.
That translates to the second-most errors allowed (63) and runs allowed (277).
Freshman righty Seth Martinez (2-0, 5.75 ERA) has been the default weekday starter in nonconference matchups for ASU.
Martinez is seeking his third win after receiving no decisions in his last two starts.
After Tuesday night's contest against ASU, New Mexico State will return to the Valley once more in the 2014 season, this time to Mesa on May 21 for the WAC tournament at Cubs Park.
The Sun Devils will be back on the road after a short retreat home, extending their break from league play as they travel to No. 18 Oklahoma State for a three-game series with the Cowboys at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium in Stillwater, Okla.
First pitch between ASU and New Mexico State is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Packard Stadium.
Reach the reporter at smodrich@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @modrich_22
