GREELEY, Colo. – The New Mexico State baseball team opened a weekend series with Western Athletic Conference challenger Northern Colorado on Friday at Jackson Field. A pair of five run innings from the Bears put the Aggies in a hole they could not climb out of as they fell 13-7.
 
NM State (24-14, 9-4 WAC) starter Kyle Bradish took the mound in the opener opposite Troy Watson of Northern Colorado (21-17, 5-8 WAC). The Bears got on the board in the bottom of the first when a single to centerfield brought one run across the plate.
 
Following a scoreless top of the second for the Aggies, Northern Colorado got back on the board in the bottom half following a few costly mistakes by NM State. With two outs in the inning the Bears had the bases loaded and a pop up in foul territory looked to end the frame but the ball popped out of the catcher's glove to keep the inning going.
 
This was followed by a single through the left side, which the left fielder could not contain and the ball traveled another 15 feet allowing Northern Colorado to bring in all three runs. The next at-bat saw a ground-rule double bring home one more run to put the Aggies down 6-0 through two.
 
NM State looked to chip away at the deficit in the next two frames, beginning with a single through the right side by Joey Ortiz to bring in a runner from second for the Aggies first run of the ballgame.
 
Then in the top of the fourth, the Aggie bats continued to cut into a deficit that stood at 6-1. With two runners in scoring position and just one out, Marcus Still beat the throw for an infield single that brought in one run. Ortiz then stepped to the plate and laced a ball to right that the fielder missed on a slide as the sophomore showed off his speed to leg out an inside the park home run. This brought home three runs and the Aggies trailed by just one, 6-5.
 
Northern Colorado put the Aggies in a deeper hole in the next two innings, beginning with an RBI single in the fourth. Then in the bottom of the fifth, a wild pitch brought in one run and kept the bases loaded. Following a fly out to left, the bases remained juiced and the next batter sent a grand slam over the left field fence to put NM State down 12-5.
 
The top of the sixth inning saw Mason Fishback lead off the frame with a home run to keep the Aggies alive. Fishback then brought in another run with an infield groundout in the top of the eighth to bring the Aggies within five. Unfortunately, the Bears added a run of their own in the eighth and held the Crimson & White scoreless to close out the game as the Aggies fell 13-7.
 
Ortiz led the Aggies at the plate going 3-for-4 with four RBI, including his inside the park homer. The NM State pitching staff combined for 15 strikeouts, the most since recording 17 against Mississippi Valley State back on Feb. 24.
 
Game two of the weekend series between New Mexico State and Northern Colorado is set for 2 p.m. MT on Saturday, April 21, at Jackson Field.