SEATTLE - Hits and runs were in short supply in the WAC series opener between the Aggies and Redhawks, but in the end it was Seattle U who generated just enough of them to walk away with a 2-1 win Friday night from Bannerwood Park.
SCORING PLAYS
B6 | One of the only mistakes the Aggies' pitching staff made came in the sixth. Frank Dickson Jr., took over for Natera in the sixth, and the first pitch he tossed was hammered to straightaway center by Justin Mazzone. That solo homer put the Aggies in a 1-0 hole.
T7 | The Redhawks' lead didn't last long. NM State's first run of the game started with Tristan Stacy starting the seventh with a single. After Brandon Dieter drew a one-out walk, Ethan Mann did the rest. On the first pitch he saw from Redhawk relief arm Peter Chronowski, Mann shot an RBI single to left to score Stacy and tie things up at 1-1.
B8 | Derek Gellos' leadoff single turned into the game-winning run for the home team. A fielder's choice ball followed up with a one-out intentional walk to Kyle Sherick loaded the bases before a wild offering from Lyle Hibbitts allowed the Redhawks to strike. Gellos scampered home on Hibbitts' pitch in the dirt, putting Seattle U back on top 2-1.
AT THE DISH
• Offense was a difficult commodity to come by Friday night with Jason Bush belting two of the Aggies' five hits in the series opener.
• No Seattle U batter came up with more than one hit and Mazzone's homer accounted for the home team's lone RBI of the night. NM State worked its way out of bases-loaded jams in the fifth and the seventh to remain within striking distance all night.
ON THE HILL
• Making his second start of the season, Natera mowed down the Redhawks through his five innings of work. The freshman fanned eight batters while allowing just six total baserunners on a hit, two walks and three hit-by-pitch.
• Morgan White matched zeroes with Natera, firing five frames of three-hit shutout ball as well.
• It was Hibbitts (0-1) who took the tough-luck loss, giving up a single run in his 1 1/3 innings of work.
• Desmond Parisotto (2-0) worked a clean eighth inning to secure the win while Lucas Ford struck out the side in the ninth to collect the save for Seattle U.
COMING UP NEXT
• Hoping to at least even the series up Saturday, the Aggies match up against the Redhawks for games two and three of the four-game WAC set. Saturday's doubleheader at Bannerwood Field gets going at 1:00 p.m. with senior right-hander Chris Jefferson getting the ball for NM State in game one.
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