COLLEGE STATION, Texas – The lights weren't too bright for Chance Hroch.

The senior righty struck out a season-high nine in six innings of work Friday night inside Blue Bell Park, coming one shy of matching his career best in NM State's 8-3 loss to #20 Texas A&M (12-3).

Hroch went six innings and finished his night with back-to-back 1-2-3 frames, but the Aggies (12-2) had no answer for Texas A&M southpaw Asa Lacy, who struck out 13 over seven no-hit innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Hroch kept Texas A&M off the board across the first two innings, racking up four strikeouts along the way. Texas A&M cracked the Temecula, Calif., native in the third and fourth innings, however, opening up a 5-0 lead headed into the fifth.

NM State, meanwhile, could not get anything going against Lacy. Texas A&M's ace fired seven clean innings with 13 punchouts, issuing only two walks in the outing.

The Texas A&M bullpen did not have the same fortune, though. Trailing 7-0 in the eighth, NM State tagged the first reliever out of the pen for three runs on four hits to cut its deficit to four.

Infielder Austin Duffy and outfielders Tommy Tabak and Zerek Saenz each picked up an RBI in the top of the eighth.

NM State would not get any closer. Texas A&M added one more off of junior righty Lyle Hibbitts, who relieved Hroch and closed out the final two innings, in the bottom half of the eighth to open the 8-3 lead.

OF NOTE
Junior infielder Nick Gonzales, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association's reigning National Player of the Month, extended his on-base streak to a nation-leading 80 consecutive games with a leadoff walk in the top of the fourth.

UP NEXT
The second game of the series picks up tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 5:30 p.m. MT inside Blue Bell Park.

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