LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Behind another strong day at the plate, the NM State Aggies baseball program downed the UTRGV Vaqueros 11-10 Sunday afternoon at Presley Askew Field.
With the victory, the Aggies (17-25, 14-14 WAC) have now won three straight overall and six of their last seven games.
Right fielder Cal Villareal continued his torrid weekend, as the sophomore went 3-for-5 at the plate with another two RBIs. Ethan Mann drove in three runs in a strong 2-for-4 day, while Tommy Tabak went 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored and two RBIs.
After neither side was able to scratch across a run in either of first two innings, the Aggies struck first in the bottom of the third.
Following a leadoff single and a fielder's choice, Zarek Saenz drew a walk to bring up Kevin Jimenez who loaded the bases with another single. The next Aggie batter, Mann, won an eight-pitch battle that ended with a base-loaded walk. The free pass gave the Aggies a 1-0 lead. Villareal, the next Aggie batter, pushed a single back up the middle to run the advantage to 3-0.
The Vaqueros (22-20, 13-11 WAC) cut the NM State lead to just 3-2 a half inning later on a pair of solo home runs by Andy Atwood and Elijah Alexander.
Needing to regain control, the Aggies used a Brandon Dieter solo home run, back-to-back two-out singles from Tabak and Saenz to bring Jimenez to the plate. Jimenez smoked a 2-0 pitch for a double that scored both Tabak and Saenz, giving the Aggies a 6-2 lead.
After a Freddy Rojas Jr homer brought UTRGV to within 6-3, the Aggies used an RBI single from Dieter and a two-RBI single from Tabak to take a 9-3 lead after five.
UTRGV used a wind aided three-run double in the sixth and a pair of home runs from RJ Ochoa and Jacob Hirsh in the eighth to cut the Aggie advantage to just 9-8 with nobody out. The Vaqueros would eventually load the bases with two out against Aggie reliever Lyle Hibbitts, but the righty got pinch-hitter Joseph Impeduglia to lineout on a 3-2 pitch.
Looking for insurance, Jimenez walked with two outs, bringing up Mann. On the very first pitch Mann saw from UTRGV reliever Chase Bridges, the infielder lifted a towering blast to left-center that gave NM State an 11-8 advantage.
Hibbitts returned for the ninth and allowed an Alexander single and an Ochoa homer that made in an 11-10 ballgame. With the game in the balance, Hibbitts struck out Jesse Fonteboa with the tying run on first base to seal the victory.
AT THE PLATE:
• The Aggies went an impressive 10-for-15 with two outs Sunday. NM State scored nine of its 11 runs when there were two outs.
• Villareal went a combined 9-for-14 in the final games of the weekend series. The outfielder drove in nine runs this weekend and is now batting .319 on the season.
• Dieter notched his eighth longball of the season, the most on the team. The shortstop has also driven in the most runs (41), scored the second-most runs (34) and leads the roster in total bases (82)
• Saenz scored his 40th run of the season. The Las Cruces native is batting an impressive .391 on the year.
• Five different Aggies recorded multiple RBIs. Mann drove in three, followed by Dieter, Villareal, Tabak and Jimenez.
• NM State scored 35 runs in the three victories, and 40 runs in the series. It's the second time this season that the Aggies have scored at least 10 runs in three straight games.
ON THE HILL:
• Blazek earned his third victory of the season.
• By securing the victory, Hibbits earned the first save of his Aggies career.
• Every Aggies pitcher that entered the game Sunday recorded at least one strikeout.
• The Aggies struck out eight UTRGV batters.
• UTRGV was limited to just 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position by Aggies arms.
UP NEXT:
The Aggies will close out the road portion of the 2021 schedule next weekend at Utah Valley. First pitch from Orem is set for Noon Friday. The series continues with a 1 p.m. double-dip Saturday, before the two sides close the series out at Noon on Sunday.
