LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The NM State baseball team opened the season against the Bryant Bulldogs on Friday night at Presley Askew Field. The Aggies battled the Bulldogs through all nine innings, as the team dropped the first game of the season, 6-3.
 
After squaring off against one of the nation's top pitchers in the season opener, NM State head coach Brian Green commented, ""He (Bryant starting pitcher James Karinchak) did a really good job. We were able to get his pitch count up and get him out of the game fairly early. That was the goal against him. He did a really nice job and we didn't respond. He sped us up a little bit, but credit to him. He did a great job. We certainly had our hands full tonight."
 
How it happened
 
The Aggies opened up their 2017 season with JUCO transfer Jonathan Groff on the mound for his first start as an Aggie. After walking the first batter of the game, Groff got his feet under him and put down the next three batters.
 
NM State's first hacks at the plate came up short as they went three-up and three-down in the bottom of the 1st, but then in the second inning L.J. Hatch hit a ground-rule double which knocked in the first run of the game.
 
Groff was able to come out in the third and fourth innings and hold the Bulldogs scoreless behind good defense and great pitching, including three strikeouts. Unfortunately, Bryant's highly touted starting pitcher, James Karinchak, was able to do the same as each team struggled to get rolling offensively.
 
The fifth inning saw the high pitch count (88) start to get to the young Aggie pitcher a he walked in the opponents first run of the game with the bases loaded. At that point, Green went to the bullpen as senior Andy Frakes came in to the game. After hitting the first batter, Frakes looked to get out of the inning with as little damage done as possible as the Aggies went into the bottom of the 5th down 4-1.  
 
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the Aggies faced a new pitcher as Karinchak had enough of the NM State bats. The move spurred another big inning for the team as a single to left field by Dan Hetzel and two walks loaded the bases and Mason Fishback came in and delivered, as the catcher hit a scorcher to right field and scored two runs.
 
The Bulldogs then brought in another reliever who gave up a walk to load the bases once more. This call to the pen worked for the opposition, however, as the next batter grounded into a double play and NM State went into the seventh inning trailing by one run, 4-3.
 
After a quiet seventh inning, Bryant knocked in two more runs in the top of the 8th to go up 6-3. After that, NM State looked to change the momentum in the bottom of the ninth after Marcus Still recorded his first hit as an Aggie and Austin Botello walked to put the tying run at the plate, but the team fell short as the last out in the ninth signaled the end and NM State walked away with a 6-3 loss to Bryant.
 
After the season opener, the Aggies move to 0-1 on the year as they look to bounce back tomorrow in a doubleheader with the Bulldogs at Presley Askew Field, starting at 2 p.m. MT.