ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team traveled just north to square off against Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico for the third and final time this season on Tuesday night. The Aggie bats clobbered the team to a 12-5 victory in which the team had three homers.
How it happened
NM State (27-19) sent out
Andy Frakes for his third start of the season against UNM (26-19-1) right-hander James Harrington. The Aggies got going early offensively when
Austin Botello crushed the first pitch of his at-bat to the parking lot behind the right field wall for a solo home run to put the team out in front 1-0.
The Lobos responded in the bottom of the second when a one-out triple to left center scored a pair. In the following at-bat, a ground out to shortstop scored the man from third and gave the opposition a 3-1 lead after two innings.
After a quiet third inning for both teams, the Aggie bats came back to life in the top of the fourth. The scoring began when
Tristen Carranza belted a two-run home run to right center to tie the ballgame. Then with the bases loaded a passed ball advanced each runner to give NM State the lead.
After a walk, Botello came up to the dish with the bases loaded and laced a single through the right side to score two. The team batted around the order and
Tristen Carranza blasted a grand slam with two outs, his second home run of the inning. This capped off a nine-run inning to give the Aggies a 10-3 lead through four.
In the fifth, the opposition cut into the NM State lead when a fielder's choice to second base brought home the man from third and put the Aggies lead at 10-4. Each was held scoreless in the sixth inning.
NM State added to their lead in the seventh. After
Greg Popylisen stole second base,
Roman Trujillo came up to the plate and knocked a one-out single through the right side which scored Popylisen and gave the squad an 11-4 advantage.
The scoring did not stop there for the Aggies. After
Mason Fishback roped a double down the right field line, Carranza then added a run with a single up the middle to bring Fishback in. Frakes pitched his fourth one-two-three inning in the bottom half to hold the team's lead.
The Lobos scored a run in the bottom of the ninth on a sacrifice fly, but that would be all the Aggies would allow and they walked away with a 12-5 victory.
The Aggie offense saw the team record 15 hits. This explosion at the plate was led by Carranza who went 4-for-5 with two home runs and seven RBI, followed by Trujillo with three hits in his first start of the season at third base while Botello, Fishback, Popylisen and
Cooper Williams each added a pair of base knocks.
Frakes (3-1) earned the win after throwing a career-high 8.1 innings, topping his previous high of 5.1 against Seattle U back on May 28, 2016.
The victory for NM State snapped a five-game losing streak against the Lobos in Albuquerque with the team's last true road win coming on March 13, 2012 in a 6-2 decision.
New Mexico State baseball now travels to Orem, Utah for a three-game weekend series against Western Athletic Conference opponent Utah Valley, May 5-7.
