Spartans send strong pitching to face fearsome New Mexico State offense

While still lacking recognition from national polls after splitting a series with No. 14 Fresno State, SJSU will travel to face the conference's most prolific offensive unit over the weekend when they play New Mexico State.
The Aggies lead the WAC in nearly every major offensive catagory, helping fuel a 24-8 record and a lineup that is spewing with gaudy batting averages.
Outfielder Tanner Waite leads the WAC, hitting at a clip of .486 entering the weekend while shortstop Ryan Aguayo and second baseman Parker Hipp are both hitting better than .400 in more than 90 at-bats.
Hipp also leads the nation in RBIs with 47.
Mediocre opposition may be feeding the Aggie prowess, but WAC conference will reveal if the 2011 team is as fearsome as their non-conference schedule may suggest.
SJSU now is ranked No. 69 in the NCAA RPI poll after Tuesday's 10-0 win against USF, improving their overall record to 22-11.
Against their toughest opponents (then No. 2 UCLA and then No. 9 Fresno State), SJSU has fared well, posing a 4-3 record against two of the nation's best pitching staffs.
The Spartans' have now won games against UCLA's Gerrit Cole, Trevor Bauer and Fresno State's Greg Gonzalez, three pitchers who will likely be among the nation's leaders in ERA, wins and innings pitched.
They had a lead in three of the four games versus Fresno State, watching Sunday's game turn on an 0-2, two-out pitch, that Fresno State first baseman Jordan Ribera sent packing for a three run home run.
SJSU eventually lost 5-3, leaving 11 runners on base and failing to score a run in three separate innings that yielded runners in scoring position with less than two outs.
New Mexico State split their series with Louisiana Tech to open WAC play, averaging less than three runs per game and being victimized by shutouts tiwce by Bulldog pitching.
The two shutouts may be the first sign that the Aggies nonconference schedule may be inflating what appears to be unrealistic offensive numbers half way through the season.
The series starts Friday, with SJSU's Roberto Padilla taking the hill after a strong showing last week against Fresno State in which he pitched into the ninth inning.