ABILENE, Texas - Chris Jefferson brought the heat, the NM State baseball team's lineup turned its swag on and the Aggies entered the win column.
Four Aggies hit homers including Cal Villareal who hammered a grand slam in his team's six-run sixth, Jefferson put forth a complete-game effort on the hill and NM State secured its first win of the season by blasting Abilene Christian 12-2 in the seven-inning series finale between the two teams Sunday afternoon from Crutcher Scott Field.
SCORING SUMMARY
B1 | A dose of power at the plate allowed the Wildcats to get an early 2-0 jump on the Aggies. Colton Eager followed up a one-out double with a two-run shot to right off of a 1-0 offering from NM State starter Chris Jefferson.
T2 | Making his first start of the season, designated hitter Jake Baer made an immediate impact during his first trip to the plate. The junior teed off on a 1-0 pitch from ACU hurler Adam Stephenson and deposited the two-run shot past the wall in right field. Baer's first long ball of the season made matters 2-2.]
T4 | Tommy Tabak's one-out single helped the Aggies jump in front by one, 3-2. Showing off his speed, Tabak swiped both second and third before coming around to score on a throwing error by ACU backstop Harrison Caley who was attempting to gun Tabak down at third.
T5 | Continuing to capitalize against Stephenson, the Aggies increased their lead to 5-2 in the fifth. Consecutive two-out singles by Connor Laux and Kevin Jimenez, coupled with a fielding error by the Wildcats, put runners on second and third for Ethan Mann. The Aggies' first baseman made the most of his opportunity, shooting a 3-1 pitch from Stephenson up the middle for a two-run single.
T6 | The homer-happy Aggies showed off their power in a big way by breaking the game open in the sixth. After ACU relief arm Connor Carlton loaded the bases with three consecutive walks to start the frame, Villareal promptly emptied them. Unloading on a 1-1 pitch from Carlton, the sophomore blasted a grand slam to right field. From there, Mann and Tabak clubbed back-to-back solo homers off of Austin Ruesch to hike the visitors' lead to 11-2.
T7 | Another bases-loaded situation came to pass in the top of the seventh, giving the Aggies the run they needed to end the game early. Brandon Dieter, who reached on an error to lead off the frame, scored from third on a passed ball to account for the final 12-2 margin.
AT THE DISH
• Half of the Aggies' eight hits on the afternoon left the ballpark. Mann and Tabak each generated two hits and combined to drive in four runs.
• Tabak crossed home plate three times while Dieter scored another pair of runs in the Aggies' first win of 2021.
• Baer and Villareal each hit their first homers in an NM State uniform during the victory. Villareal's grand slam was the first by an Aggie since Nick Gonzales accomplished that feat in a 14-5 victory over IPFW on Feb. 29, 2020.
• Harrison Caley led the Wildcats' six-hit attack by going 2-for-2.
ON THE HILL
• Outside of a rocky first inning, Jefferson was dominant for the Aggies. The senior struck out four and gave up just three hits during innings two through his seven-inning, complete-game showing. Abilene Christian did its only damage of the game in its three-hit, two-run first.
• For the Wildcats, Stephenson (0-2) suffered his second loss of the season while surrendering five runs (three earned) on five hits and a pair of walks in 4 2/3 frames of work.
COMING UP NEXT
• NM State continues its stay in the state of Texas by traveling to San Marcos for a midweek matchup with Sun Belt Conference adversary Texas State. First pitch from Bobcat Ballpark Tuesday evening is set for 5:00 p.m. MT with ESPN+ and the ESPN app set to carry every second of the action.
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