LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The New Mexico State baseball team opened a four-game weekend series against Yale on Friday night at Presley Askew Field. Despite the frigid conditions, the Aggie bats stayed hot as the team scored in all but one inning cruising to a 19-6 series opening victory over the Bulldogs.
NM State (5-0) trotted out senior right-hander
Brock Whittlesey in the evening matchup to take on Yale (0-1) southpaw Thomas Espig. Whittlesey had a quick first inning highlighted by a pair of strikeouts to hold the Bulldogs scoreless.
Then the Aggie bats got to work. A hit by pitch, followed by a pair of singles loaded the bases with no outs for the Crimson & White. Then an infield groundout brought home the runner from third to give NM State a 1-0 lead. This left a pair of runners in scoring positon and
Caleb Henderson took advantage of it when he ripped a double off the wall in left center to bring in both runs. The scoring in the opening frame closed with an RBI single to the gap from
Braden Williams as the Aggies led 4-0 heading to the second.
The Bulldogs were able to get on the board in the top of the second that cut into the Aggies lead. With two outs, Yale got its first runner of the inning on with a base on balls and the next batter laced a double to right center putting NM State's lead at 4-1.
A three-run lead expanded for the Crimson & White in the team's highest scoring inning in the bottom of the second. With two runners on, the second walk of the inning loaded the bags with just one out. The Bulldogs then went to the pen to escape the jam, but a two-out walk bought home the first run of the frame.
With the bases still juiced,
Tristan Peterson knocked a single to left that scored two runs, followed by an error by the left fielder that moved the remaining baserunners to second and third. In the next at-bat,
Braden Williams proceeded to add to his stat line with a double into left field that brought home two more runs and gave the Aggies a 9-1 advantage through two.
Yale stranded two runners in the third before NM State enlarged its lead. Another bases loaded situation put the Bulldogs back in a jam and
Tristen Carranza got plunked in his at-bat to bring home the man from third. With two outs and the bases still full, back-to-back walks gave the home team a comfortable 12-1 lead.
The large lead went on to get even larger in the bottom of the fourth for NM State. With runners on the corners and no outs, a groundout into a double play brought in the man from third to give the Aggies a 13-1 advantage.
In the top of the fifth, the Bulldogs looked to chip away at the Aggies lead. Yale got the bases loaded and lofted a sacrifice fly to right field to score one run. This was followed by an RBI single up the middle and the NM State lead was now 13-3.
After another pitching change for Yale in the bottom of the fifth looked to quiet the bats. However, more erratic pitching gave NM State another bases loaded situation and a base on balls advanced the runner from third across the plate. This was followed by an RBI on a fielder's choice and a sacrifice fly to score a pair of runs to give the Crimson & White a 13-run lead at 16-3.
Justin Schubert came to the mound for the Aggies in the sixth to toss a quick one-two-three inning before the Aggies put up runs in their sixth straight frame.
Nick Gonzales led off the half inning with a triple to the gap in left and he was brought home on an infield groundout. With another bases loaded situation, NM State drove in one more run for an 18-3 lead after six.
Yale looked to mount a late comeback beginning with a leadoff home run in the top of the seventh. Then an RBI single forced the Aggies to go the pen. A stolen base and error on the throw down brought in one more run for the Bulldogs, but that was all the opposition could produce and the Crimson & White still led 18-6.
Before things were all said and one, the Aggies added one more run in the bottom of the seventh. The NM State relievers then closed out the final two innings, preserving the team's lead and the Aggies took down the Bulldogs 19-6.
A strong series opener at the dish with the team putting up 16 hits saw
Braden Williams lead the way going 2-for-2 with five RBI,
Caleb Henderson who went 3-for-6 with two RBI and
Nick Gonzales who went 4-for-5 with four runs scored. Whittlesey (2-0) picked up the win after hurling an impressive 5.0 innings in frigid conditions while striking out five.
The New Mexico State baseball team now gets set for a doubleheader against Yale on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Presley Askew Field with first pitch slated for 1:05 p.m. MT.
