STEPHENVILLE, Texas - A pair of factors - inning-extending errors and the inability to drive runners in - held the NM State baseball team back in its 4-1 loss to Tarleton in game one of a WAC doubleheader Saturday at the Cecil Ballow Complex.
In their ninth-straight setback, the Aggies committed four errors in the seven-inning bout and left 13 runners on base.
SCORING SUMMARY
B2 | With a chance to make it out of the second unscathed, the Aggies instead committed their lone miscue of the game which handed the hosts the lead. London Green's leadoff double to right turned into the game's first run when he came home after a misplayed ball off the bat of Dean Frew. The error gave Tarleton a 1-0 lead.
B4 | Green's extra-base power was on display yet again in the fourth when he tagged Aggie starter Chris Jefferson for a leadoff homer. The long ball pushed the Texans' lead to 2-0.
B5 | More Aggie errors - two of them, to be precise - helped the hosts tack on another pair of runs in the fifth. With two outs, Kemue Thomas-Rivera reached on the Aggies' third miscue of the game. Two batters later, Green continued his single-handed assault on NM State by punching an RBI single to right field. Wreaking havoc on the base paths, Green stole second base while Blake Burns, who reached on a single of his own earlier in the frame, came home on an error by NM State's backstop which put the visitors at a 4-0 disadvantage.
T6 | NM State finally got on the board in the sixth thanks to some two-out plate discipline. Britt Graham and Tommy Tabak delivered back-to-back two out singles to get NM State going and from there Zerek Saenz drew a walk to load the bases. Following Saenz's free pass, Kevin Jimenez drew a bases-loaded walk which cut the Texans' lead to 4-1.
AT THE DISH
• Leading NM State's five-hit attack was Austin Duffy who went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles. Brandon Dieter, Graham and Saenz each reached base twice, too, by going for one hit and drawing one walk each.
• Green was the Texans' top threat in the batter's box, finishing 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored. Each of the Texans' remaining hits were distributed evenly among five different batters.
• Driving in runs proved difficult for NM State who left 13 men stranded on the basepaths in its ninth-straight loss.
ON THE HILL
• Jefferson (4-5) yielded just a single earned run through his WAC-leading fifth complete-game effort. What hurt the senior were the Aggies' four errors which allowed Tarleton to plate a trio of unearned runs.
• Luke Baley (4-3) pushed his 2021 pitching record back above the .500 mark by working five innings of two-hit baseball. The Texans' starter fanned five Aggies before handing things over to a pair of relievers.
• A.J. Wood recorded his ninth save of the year by tossing the game's final 1 1/3 innings. Wood allowed two of the Aggies' six hits but didn't get charged for a run.
COMING UP NEXT
• Game three of the series between the Aggies and Texans is set to begin at 3:00 p.m. MT from the Cecil Ballow Complex in Stephenville. Hoping to get their first win of the series, the Aggies will sent left-hander Sammy Natera to the pitcher's mound.
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