LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Junior Daniel Johnson's three-RBI night led the Aggies in a 8-5 comeback win over Towson in the season opener on Friday night at Presley Askew Field. NM State is now 28-27 in season openers, and have now won five of the last six.
 
"I don't think you could draw up a better first win than that," said head coach Brian Green. "To be down early with things not going your way, and have to scratch all the way back. The biggest thing early in the season is to see if you can keep a lead and if you can come back. To have our first win be a comeback win was good for us."
The Aggies were the first to break the seal in the home half of the third inning, when junior Brent Sakurai's sacrifice fly to center brought home redshirt-sophomore Mason Fishback.
 
Holding the Tigers to just one hit through four and a third innings, freshman Kyle Bradish pulled senior first baseman Joseph Koerper off the bag on a ground to the left side of the mound, allowing Towson freshman Cuinn Mullins to be safe. This would open the flood gates as the Tigers go on to score five runs on five hits in the inning, all unearned. This put Towson up 5-1.
 
The Aggies immediately began chipping into the Tiger lead in the bottom half of the inning, as senior Jay Sheeley got on with a leadoff single, and proceeded to steal his way to third base. Towson pitcher Kyle Stricker walked both Johnson and junior Trey Stine to load the bases. With bases juiced, Stricker hit junior Jaron Balman to bring in Sheeley, making the score 5-2.
 
Bradish recovered in the top of the sixth, retiring the side with junior shortstop L.J. Hatch making all three putouts in the inning.
 
The Aggies kept fighting as Sakurai earned his second RBI of the night on a single to right field that scored Fishback from second. Johnson would make it a one-run game with a sacrifice fly, scoring Sheeley.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Stine would tie the game up at five with a towering solo shot to left-center.
 
With Sheeley on second and Fishback on third with one out in the home half of the eighth, Towson put Sakurai looking for the double-play. However, Daniel Johnson had other plans, as he hit a first-pitch, two-run single to shallow left field, scoring Fishback and Sheeley. With the Aggies up 7-5, Hatch continued the scoring with a sacrifice fly, scoring Sakurai, and putting NM State up 8-5 to stay.
 
Junior closer Brett Worthen came in to pitch with a save opportunity on the line in the top of the ninth. After giving up a leadoff single, Worthen shut down the Towson offense with two strikeouts and a pop out short to clinch the season opening victory for the Aggies.
 
"It was definitely a character win for us," said Green. "We just kept plugging away. I was proud of our hitters. The at-bats got better as the game went on. Our goal was to get into their [bullpen], we did and did something with it."
 
NM State and Towson will face off in game two of the series at 2:07 p.m. on Saturday.