Lubbock, Texas – In the first of two consecutive games held on March 12 in Lubbock, Texas, the New Mexico State University Aggies faced No. 24 Texas Tech and lost 7-13. With this loss, the Aggies' winning streak ended at seven.
In the bottom of the first inning, starting pitcher Cade Swenson got out of a predicament with the bases loaded with a pop-up to third baseman Sheehan O'Connor in foul territory and got his third out of the inning. In the bottom of the second inning, Swenson went 3 up and 3 down, sending the Aggies into the third inning.
The Aggies took an early lead by scoring two runs in the top of the third inning. Damone Hale hit an RBI single to Edwin Martinez Pagani, hitting between second base and first base for the first run. Keith Jones II then scored on an error by the Red Raiders' shortstop, giving the Aggies a two-run lead.
The Red Raiders managed to tie the score in the bottom of the third inning with an RBI grounder and sacrifice fly to right fielder Titus Dumitru.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, right-handed pitcher Cade Benavidez came on in relief of Swenson. Swenson finished the game with three hits, three runs, and three strikeouts.
Benavidez couldn't make it past the fourth inning. Cho Tofte entered the match where Benavidez left off. In the fourth, the Red Raiders scored nine points and scored nine points.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Aggies added another run on Dumitru's sixth RBI double of the year.
Tyler Hoeft took the mound in place of Tofty in the sixth inning and pitched two innings, giving up one hit and one run, with three strikeouts for the Red Raiders. In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Red Raiders added two more runs on a two-run home run by Tracer Lopez.
In the top of the seventh inning, Damone Hale hit his third 168 mph, 460-foot, two-run home run of the year. The Aggies held the Red Raiders scoreless until the seventh inning.
In the top of the 8th inning, the Aggies cut the lead to six points with Martinez Pagani's RBI homer to right center scoring Nick Gore. Austin Corbett got his third RBI of the season with a sacrifice fly to left field.
Matt Romero replaced Heft in the bottom of the 8th inning and was the last batter in the lineup, pitching 2 innings, allowing 3 hits, 2 runs, and striking out 3 Red Raiders. Romero held the Red Raiders scoreless until the eighth inning, allowing just two hits and striking out a batter.
Inside the box score:
- Nick Gore had a hit in the second inning, extending his streak on base to 16 games.
- Hale, Gore and Marinez Pagani all had two hits in the game.
- It was Gore's ninth multi-hit game this season.
- Hale had three RBIs for the Aggies, his sixth multi-RBI game.
- Dumitru is currently on a seven-game hitting streak and 13 consecutive games on base, which he accomplished with a double in the fifth inning.
- The Aggies won 8-4 when they led off the inning.
next:
The New Mexico State Aggies will face #24 Texas Tech in the second of a two-game series on March 13th. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Montana time.
