LAS CRUCES, N.M. - After getting shut out in the front end of a WAC doubleheader Saturday at Presley Askew Field, Northern Colorado made sure to bring its bats to the second of the two games.
The only problem with the Bears' strategy was that the Aggies didn't forget theirs.
Tommy Tabak tied a program record with two triples as part of a 4-for-5 game at the plate, Zerek Saenz continued his otherworldly hitting binge by going 5-for-6 and Austin Duffy drove in a game-high four runs while adding a trio of hits to NM State's 18-hit attack as the Aggies outslugged Northern Colorado 15-8 Saturday afternoon.
The win pushed NM State's record to 8-7 and 7-1 in WAC action. Nine of the team's 18 hits went for extra bases and the Aggies matched a program record by striking for four triples against the four pitchers Northern Colorado used against them.
SCORING SUMMARY
T1 | Offense was the order of the game as the teams combined for just four clean half-innings through the game. A pair of two-our RBI singles helped Northern Colorado jump out to an early 2-0 lead.
B1 | Eight Aggies went to the plate in the home half of the first, helping the home team take the lead for good. Brandon Dieter's RBI double plated Zerek Saenz who led off the Aggies' set of at-bats with a triple. One Northern Colorado throwing error allowed another NM State run to score and the home team capped its four-run first with an RBI double from Austin Duffy as well as an RBI single courtesy of Britt Graham.
T2 | The Bears got one back in the second, when an errant throw by Graham on a stolen base attempt at third got by Duffy and trickled into the outfield. That allowed Carson Gross to come home and cut the Aggies' lead to 4-3.
B2 | A stretch of three-straight one-out singles was finished off by Kevin Jiminez's RBI shot through the right side. That hit plated Saenz and pushed the Aggies' lead to 5-3.
B3 | Tommy Tabak's leadoff triple helped NM State get another few runs on the board. Graham drove in his second run of the day with an RBI bunt single and Saenz's third hit of the afternoon was a two-out RBI single which upped the home team's lead to 7-3.
T4 | Matt Burkart launched a no-doubt home run to straightaway center on the second pitch of the inning, but the Aggies went right back to work in order to add more runs to their 7-4 lead.
B4 | Duffy increased the Aggies' lead to five runs with a one-out, two-run triple.
B5 | Threatening to run away with the game, NM State generated another four hits in the fifth. Kevin Jimenez's RBI single made it a double-digit run outing for the Aggies, Tabak drove in two more with his second triple and Duffy capped off the four-run frame with an RBI double to give the home team a 13-4 cushion.
B6 | Trying to invoke the run rule, NM State's lead reached 14-4 after a dropped pop-up allowed Saenz to come home from second with two down.
T7 | The Bears bit back, extending the game to a full nine innings with a two-spot. Ben McKay started the rally try with a solo homer before Leach struck for an RBI double which cut NM State's lead down to 14-6.
B7 | Tabak capped off his four-hit day by hammering a solo long ball just off the top of the wall in right-center.
T8 | Burkart's second homer of the day was the last of the four homers hit at The 'Skew and made the score 15-7.
T9 | Backup catcher Garrett Fisher's RBI single closed out the game's scoring.
AT THE DISH
• Six of the nine Aggie batters who stepped in the box came up with hits and none of those six finished with fewer than a pair. Jimenez and Tabak pushed in three runs each while Tabak and Saenz touched home plate four times apiece.
• McKay's three hits led the Bears' 13-hit attack while Burkart and Leach added two apiece for their team. Northern Colorado suffered its eighth-straight loss.
ON THE HILL
• Josh Laukkanen got the start for NM State, but was pulled after just three innings. In that time, he gave up four runs on six hits and a pair of walks.
• From there, the Aggies went to Ben Des Rosiers who put forth a highly-effective relief effort. To earn his first win of the year, Des Rosiers worked his way through three frames of no-hit, four-strikeout baseball.
• Jacob Salim (1-2) got tagged by NM State's lineup for seven runs on eight hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch in just two innings of work.
COMING UP NEXT
• Sunday at noon, NM State goes gunning for its first WAC series sweep of the year. The WAC Digital Network will televise the game as the Aggies go in search of their fifth-straight victory.
++NM State++
