SACRAMENTO, Calif. - In search of its first victory over a ranked opponent in 2021, the NM State baseball team scored four early runs, but 24th-ranked Sacramento State took advantage of the free bases issued by Aggie pitchers and answered with 10 runs to earn a 10-5 victory in the series opener between the two teams Friday afternoon at John Smith Field.

SCORING PLAYS
T1 | Intent on securing another WAC victory - as well as one over a ranked adversary - the Aggies jumped on Sacramento State ace Scott Randall early. A string of one-out singles - four, to be precise - helped NM State strike first. Brandon Dieter and Kevin Jimenez started the run of hits before RBI singles from Ethan Mann and Cal Villareal handed the visitors a 2-0 lead.
T3 | Mann was at it again in the third, this time showing off his extra-base power to double NM State's lead. The sophomore turned on a 1-1 offering from Randall and launched it out of John Smith Field for a two-run homer. Mann's team-leading fourth long ball of the year made matters 4-0 NM State.
B4 | After being stymied by NM State starter Chris Jefferson through the first three frames, Sacramento State used the long ball to get even. Ryan Walstad led off the Hornets' fourth by blasting a 1-1 toss from Jefferson beyond the fence in right-center. Following that solo homer, Jefferson issued a walk, hit another batter and then watched as nine-hole hitter Keith Torres blasted a 2-2 offering to left for a three-run homer. That long ball knotted matters at 4-4.
B5 | Again, free bases wound up hurting the Aggies as the Hornets took their first lead of the game. Three consecutive walks - two from Jefferson and one from NM State relief man Frank Dickson Jr. - loaded the bases for Dawsen Bacho. The Hornets' backstop didn't have to do much as he lofted a fly ball to right which allowed Trevor Doyle to score from third. With its first lead of the game, Sacramento State started the process of padding it as a fielder's choice ball by Steven Moretto and an infield hit off the steel of Aaron Zeidman each produced runs. By the time Dickson Jr., handled an inning-ending groundout back to the mound, the Aggies found themselves down 7-4.
B6 | Sacramento State added another trio of runs before all was said and done. A two-out, two-run double off the bat of Bacho pushed the Hornets' lead to 9-4 and the hosts' run total hit double digits when Dylan McPhillips came up with an RBI double to put the Aggies in a 10-4 hole.
T7 | Jimenez cut the Hornets' lead in by coming up with an RBI single off of relief arm Stone Churby. The Aggie infielder's third hit of the game made the score 10-5 in favor of the hosts. 

AT THE DISH
• The heart of the Aggies' order did all of the damage for the visitors. Mann went 4-for-4 with three RBI while Jimenez and Dieter generated three and two hits respectively.
• Villareal added another hit for NM State who finished with nine base-knocks.
• A trio of Hornets finished with multi-hit games and leading the way in that category was McPhillips. Sacramento State's designated hitter went 3-for-4 with an RBI while Torres was 2-for-3 with a trio of RBI.
• Bacho drove in another three runs for the Hornets who played their first game in two weeks.

ON THE HILL
• Jefferson (4-3) suffered his second-straight loss, lasting just four innings. In that span, the senior gave up six runs on four hits, five walks and a hit-by-pitch.
• Randall recovered from his first inning woes to move to 5-0 on the year. Sacramento State's starter finished with 11 strikeouts in six innings of work while allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk.

COMING UP NEXT
• Game two between the Aggies and 24th-ranked Hornets comes at 5:00 p.m. MT Friday afternoon. Freshman left-hander Sammy Natera will get the start for NM State on the bump.

++NM State++