TUCSON, Ariz. - Though it was able to take advantage of some early location trouble by 13th-ranked Arizona, the NM State baseball team surrendered 11 of the game's final 13 runs in an 11-4 loss to the nationally-ranked Wildcats Tuesday night at Hi Corbett Field.
SCORING SUMMARY
T1 | Early walks issued to Zerek Saenz and Kevin Jimenez put NM State in business early against Arizona starting pitcher TJ Nichols. The freshman was yanked after just 1/3 of an inning, but that allowed him plenty of time to witness Ethan Mann hand the visitors a 1-0 lead with an RBI single. Noah Haupt took a bases-loaded walk with one out which pushed the visitors' edge to 2-0.
B2 | The Aggies' lead lasted until the home half of the second inning. Following a double and single which put a pair of runners in scoring position to begin the frame, Jacob Blas got the Wildcats on the board with a sacrifice fly. From there, Nik McClaughry knotted matters at two apiece with an RBI single before Mac Bingham put the home team on top for good. His two-run double capped the Wildcats' five-hit frame and handed the hosts a 4-2 lead.
T4 | One of the Wildcats' two fourth-inning errors allowed NM State to pull within a single run. Brandon Dieter started the frame with a single and scampered to second on a miscue by the Wildcats' left fielder. From there, Britt Graham laid down a sacrifice bunt which was thrown away by Arizona's pitcher. That let Dieter race all the way home from second to cut the hosts' lead to 4-3.
B4 | Arizona quickly turned a one-run advantage into a seven-run lead with five hits and a trio of free bases in the home half of the fourth. A double, a walk and a passed ball put two runners in scoring position before the frame's first out was recorded and McCalughry did the rest with a two-run single off of NM State reliever Frank Dickson Jr., which hiked the hosts' advantage to 6-3. Later in the innings, RBI singles by Branden Boissiere and Jacob Berry padded the hosts' lead. Daniel Susac drove in the inning's final two runs by ripping a 2-1 offering from Brendon Rodriguez into right which put the Aggies in a 10-4 hole.
B6 | Berry produced the game's lone long ball, going yard on an 0-2 pitch from Ben Des Rosiers with one down in the sixth. That homer pushed the Wildcats' lead to 11-3.
T8 | Yet another error - the Wildcats' sixth of the game - allowed NM State's final run of the game to score. Austin Duffy chopped a two-out single through the right side of the Wildcats' infield which advanced Nolan Ewans to third. A throwing error by Arizona's outfield was all Ewens needed to race home and provide the Aggies' fourth and final run.
AT THE DISH
• Down in the seven hole, shortstop Brandon Dieter came through with a pair of hits - including a double - to power the Aggies' seven-hit night in Tucson. Dieter reached base on three occasions as did Kevin Jimenez who drew a pair of walks and scored one of the Aggies' four runs.
• Haupt and Mann each drove in a run for NM State who dropped its seventh-straight game.
• The heart of the Wildcats' order did most of the damage with Bingham and Bossiere each registering three hits and combining to drive in a trio of runs. Four Wildcats finished with multi-RBI games, none more than the nine-hole hitter McClaughry who pushed three runs across home plate during his 2-for-3 night at the plate.
ON THE HILL
• With Nichols relegated to the dugout after his difficult start, Randy Abshier picked up the pitching win for Arizona. He worked his way through 2 2/3 innings of shutout baseball to move to 2-0 on the year. Abshier recorded four of the Wildcats' 15 strikeouts on the night
.• Mejia (0-2) let up six runs on seven hits and a pair of walks in three innings of action Tuesday evening. NM State's starter struck out one before being pulled in favor of Frank Dickson Jr., in the bottom of the fourth.
• Des Rosiers also logged a trio of innings, surrendering only a single run on three hits and a walk through that span. In all, NM State used five pitchers in its second midweek loss of 2021.
COMING UP NEXT
• With one of their last three non-conference games of the 2021 regular season in the books, the Aggies are bound for Stephenville, Texas, for a four-game WAC set at Tarleton State. The series opener is set for 2:00 p.m. MT Friday afternoon in the Lone Star State.
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