EUGENE, Ore. - Hoping to salvage at least one game in its series at 19th-ranked Oregon, NM State got a solo home run in the seventh off the bat of Ronnie Allen Jr., but it wasn't enough to counter a 12-hit attack by the Ducks in a 6-1 Aggie loss Saturday at PK Park.
SCORING SUMMARY
B1 | Josh Laukkanen got the first out of the game before the Ducks' bats came alive. Aaron Zavala put the finishing touches on a run of three-straight one-out hits with a two-run double which handed the hosts a 2-0 lead.
B3 | Zavala showed off his extra-base power again in the third. The right fielder punched a 2-0 offering from Laukkanen out beyond the fence in left-center for a two-run shot which extended the Ducks' lead to 4-0.
B4 | NM State lone error of the game translated to another run for 19th-ranked Oregon. Gabe Matthews reached on a fielding miscue to start the game and Josh Kasevich did the rest. The Ducks' shortstop fired a 2-0 pitch from Aggie relief arm Cam Blazek into left for an RBI single that made NM State's deficit 5-0.
B5 | Kenyon Yovan got in on the extra-base action for the Ducks, hammering a solo homer off of Blazek in the fifth. The Ducks' second long ball of the game put the Aggies in a 6-0 hole.
T7 | NM State put its extra-base power on display in the seventh, breaking up the shutout in the process. Ronnie Allen Jr., the first batter who Oregon relief arm Hunter Breault faced, launched a 1-1 pitch to right for solo home run which trimmed the Ducks' lead to 6-1.
AT THE DISH
• Leadoff man Zerek Saenz led the change for NM State's seven-hit attack, going 3-for-5. Aside from Saenz, the only other Aggie to reach base multiple times was Ethan Mann who went 1-for-4 while drawing one of three walks.
• The heart of Oregon's order had a great day in the series finale. Zavala put up a line of 3-for-4 with four runs driven in while Yovan also struck for a trio of hits while scoring half of the Ducks' runs.
• Hanoian and Kasevich added two hits apiece for Oregon who out-hit NM State 12-7.
ON THE HILL
• The majority of the Ducks' damage was done off of Laukkanen (1-5). NM State's starter was tagged for four runs on seven hits in his three innings of work. Four other Aggie pitchers took the bump with Ben Des Rosiers, Joey Arellano and Ian Mejia tossing scoreless relief outings of one or more frames.
• Brett Walker (4-1) added another win to his 2021 docket after firing six frames of shutout baseball. Walker fanned 13 Aggies through that span and let just five NM State batters reach the base paths.
COMING UP NEXT
• NM State wraps up its 12-game road trip to the Pacific coast by returning to Western Athletic Conference (WAC) action. The Aggies start a four-game league series with Sacramento State Friday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
++NM State++
