LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team secured its third sweep of Western Athletic Conference play and fourth sweep of the season on Sunday with a 6-2 victory over visiting Northern Colorado at Presley Askew Field.
 
The Aggies have now taken the series against all four conference foes and have swept 3-of-4 WAC teams this season.
 
How It Happened
After a five-pitch 1-2-3 inning from Andy Frakes, NM State (26-15, 11-1 WAC) spotted five runs in the bottom half of the first frame on four hits. Leadoff batter Brent Sakurai scored the first Aggie run after a double steal with Austin Botello put him at third before scoring on a sac-fly from Dan Hetzel. Tristen Carranza then plated Botello with a single up the middle to make it 2-0 Aggies.
 
LJ Hatch put runners on the corners when he hit a high fly ball that the Northern Colorado (15-22, 4-8 WAC) third baseman lost in the sun. That play set up Mason Fishback, who smashed a 3-1 count pitch off the left center scoreboard for the 5-0 lead.
 
Both pitchers eased through the second and third inning until Jack Pauley rounded the bases and scored after leading off the fourth with a hard double down the right-field line.
 
Matthew McHugh came in to relieve Frakes in the fifth and surrendered an unearned run after a passed ball allowed UNC's Matt Burkart to score.
 
The Aggies took a 6-2 lead into the eighth after a 1-2-3 inning from McHugh. The insurance run for NM State came via a hit-by-pitch against Botello. The Bears had intentionally walked Sakurai to put runners on first and second to pitch to Joey Ortiz, but failed when Ortiz drew the six-pitch walk that led to Botello's hit-by-pitch.
 
With one out in the eighth, Kyle Bradish came in and closed the door on any hope Northern Colorado had to secure the series sweep for NM State.
 
By The Numbers
The Aggie No. 5, No. 6 and No. 7 batters combined to go 5-for-10 from the plate with four RBI and four runs scored…Fishback also wrapped up the day going 3-for-3 from the dish with three RBI and scored two…Frakes had a solid start for the Aggies, throwing four innings of one run ball on four hits with a pair of strikeouts…the pen was also excellent for NM State, pitching a combined five innings between McHugh and Bradish while giving up just an unearned run on one hit with two walks and two punch outs… Aggies batted .375 in the leadoff spot and .333 with runners in scoring position
 
Odds and Ends
With the win, NM State moves to 11-1 in Western Athletic Conference play and will host a critical series next weekend against Grand Canyon (April 28-30) in a battle between the top two teams in the league.
 
Up Next
New Mexico State hits the road for another midweek matchup, this time returning to No. 6 Arizona for a 6 p.m. (MT) first pitch on Tuesday, April 25, at Hi Corbett Field in a Pac-12 Live-Stream broadcast.