LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team took on Western Athletic Conference foe Sacramento State in the series finale on Saturday at Presley Askew Field. After going down early, the Aggies looked to rally late but fell short in a 6-2 loss to the Hornets.
 
Following a scoreless opening frame, Sacramento State (11-14, 2-1 WAC) struck first in the top of the second. With two outs in the frame, the Hornets saw a two-out solo home run put NM State (16-12, 3-3 WAC) down 1-0. Then with runners on a first and second, Sac State knocked a single to left to bring in one run and the Aggies trailed 2-0 after two innings.
 
This deficit expanded for the Crimson & White in the top of the third. A fly out to center field put runners on the corners with one out as the Hornets threatened. The next batter then turned on a 1-2 pitch that carried over the right field wall for a three-run homer to put NM State down 5-0.
 
Each side fell flat offensively over the next three frames to keep the Aggies down five runs. Sac State got going again in the seventh following a leadoff double to deep centerfield. With two outs and one on, a single to the outfield brought in one more run to put the Aggies behind 6-0.
 
NM State looked to chip away at this deficit and got on the board in the bottom of the eighth. An infield groundout put runners on second and third for the Aggies before an infield groundout for Joey Ortiz brought in one run.
 
Heading into the bottom of the ninth trailing 6-1, the Crimson & White hoped a late rally would erase the deficit. A single from Trey Stine loaded the bases with no outs in the frame and Braden Williams knocked a single up the middle to bring in one run and keep the bases loaded. The late comeback was cut short by Hornets closer Tanner Dalton who struck out the final batter of the game to hand NM State a 6-2 loss.
 
New Mexico State now looks to bounce back from the series loss in a neutral game against No. 9 Texas Tech on April 3, at 6 p.m. MT in Midland, Texas.