TEMPE, Ariz. – The Aggies took the nationally ranked Sun Devils to the wire, but could not complete the upset Tuesday night under the lights at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
NM State (8-1) lost, 6-5, in extras, stringing together rallies in the top of the eighth and ninth innings before #8 Arizona State (6-3) won the ballgame on a walk-off walk with the bases loaded in the bottom of the tenth.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NM State took the bullpen route right out of the gate Tuesday. Redshirt junior lefty Frank Dickson Jr. made the start in the midweek contest before giving way to four Aggie relievers,
Dickson Jr. tossed the game's first two frames, limiting the nationally ranked Sun Devils to one run on two hits while striking out one. Seniors Alex Pinedo and Aldo Fernandez followed and were flat-out dominant.
Pinedo went two strong and struck out four while allowing just one hit. Fernandez came on in relief in the fifth and twirled three innings of one-run ball while striking out five Sun Devil batters.
The Aggie bats, meanwhile, struggled to get anything going against Arizona State starter Erik Tolman. The lefty shut out NM State through 5 1/3 innings of work, allowing one hit and striking out eight.
He was relieved by Cam Dennie, who tossed a scoreless 1 2/3 frames after taking over for Tolman.
The Sun Devils led 2-0 in the top of the eighth when the Aggies came alive. Redshirt senior outfielder Daniel Head hit a pinch-hit RBI double before redshirt senior catcher Jason Bush gave the Aggies their first lead of the game.
Bush's double to right field knocked in two and put NM State ahead, 3-2, headed into the bottom half of the eighth. Arizona State responded with three runs of its own to retake a two-run advantage entering the ninth, but the deficit did not last long.
A leadoff triple by sophomore infielder Kevin Jimenez, who would later score on a balk, got the ninth-inning rally started. Junior infielder Nick Gonzales would step up to the plate with an opportunity to tie the game, and he did just that.
With two on and two out, the Aggie All-American reached on an error by the Sun Devil shortstop, bringing home the game-tying tally and sending the game to extra innings.
After exchanging zeroes in the bottom of the ninth and top of the tenth, however, Arizona State sealed the win on a bases-loaded walk-off walk in the bottom half of the tenth.
UP NEXT
The Aggies return to the friendly confines of Presley Askew Field this weekend.
NM State hosts Purdue Fort Wayne in a four-game series, starting at 6 p.m. Friday. Saturday's doubleheader begins at noon, and Sunday's series finale is scheduled for 11 a.m.
For complete coverage of New Mexico State baseball, follow us on Twitter (@NMStateBaseball), Instagram (@NMStateBaseball) and like us on Facebook (NM State Baseball).
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