LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team began a four-game weekend series against Harvard on Friday at Presley Askew Field. An electric eighth inning saw the Aggies lose their lead and then explode for six runs in the bottom half en route to an 11-5 victory.
Following the thrilling victory head coach
Brian Green said, "This was a great opportunity for our program to face some adversity and then respond the way that they did. The key to the eighth was
Marcus Still getting a two-strike bunt down which was a big, clutch moment."
NM State (6-3) ace
Kyle Bradish took the mound in the series opener against Noah Zavolas for Harvard (1-4). The opening half inning saw the Crimson threaten early with men on second and third but Bradish found a rhythm and struck out three straight batters to escape the scare.
Then in the bottom half of the first the Aggies had runners on the corners with two outs and
Tristen Carranza came to the plate. Carranza proceeded to knock a single through the left side, which brought home a run to give NM State a 1-0 lead through one.
The Aggie bats did not stay quiet for too long as they struck again in the bottom of the third.
Joey Ortiz led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Next up was
Mason Fishback who singled to left field to bring homme Ortiz.
Two batters later,
Tristen Carranza reached safely on a fielder's choice and
Logan Ehnes came in as a pinch runner. After advancing to second on a
Trey Stine walk, Ehnes scored on a single through the left side by
David Bellamy to give NM State a 3-0 advantage.
The lead again expanded for the Crimson & White in the fifth inning after an Ehnes double was followed by a double to right center by Stine to bring the Aggie across the plate. Bellamy then added his second RBI of the night on a single to left field to score Stine and give NM State a 5-0 edge heading to the sixth.
In the top of the sixth, after issuing a walk to open the frame the Aggies then gave up a single to right field which put runners on first and third. A passed ball at the next at-bat proceeded to bring in the first Harvard run of the night and put the NM State lead at 5-1.
A four-run lead for the Aggie vanished in the eighth inning when the Crimson had a two-out rally. With two men on,
Alex Reyes had a pair of wild pitches, which brought home one runner and put a man on third. This was followed by back-to-back walks to load the bases for Harvard.
The Crimson then brought in a pinch hitter, Jake Allen, who singled to left field to score a pair of runs and put the Aggie lead at just one. The next batter doubled down the right field line to bring in one more run and tie the ballgame up, 5-5.
With the momentum significantly shifted, the Aggies looked to respond in the bottom half of the eighth.
Nick Gonzales led off the inning with a single to left center which got NM State rejuvenated.
Marcus Still then laid down a sacrifice bunt with two strikes to move Gonzales into scoring position at second.
Pinch hitter
Noah Haupt was next up and was walked, followed by
Joey Ortiz being plunked to load the bases with just one out. Then
Mason Fishback laced a single to left field to bring two Aggies across the plate and regain the lead for NM State, 7-5.
After an Ehnes walk, Stine stepped to the plate for the fourth time in the game with the bases loaded and two outs. The senior leader proceeded to turn on a 1-1 pitch, which cleared the wall in left center for a grand slam to give the Aggies an 11-5 advantage.
Brock Whittlesey then took the mound in the ninth and made quick work of the Harvard batters to secure the 11-5 victory for NM State in the series opener. This relief effort earned Whittlesey (1-2) his first win of the season.
The Aggies finished with 12 hits, including Bellamy who led the team with three, while Stine, Ehnes and Fishback added two apiece.
New Mexico State and Harvard resume the weekend series with a doubleheader, which begins at 12 p.m. MT on Saturday, March 3, at Presley Askew Field.
