LINCOLN, Neb. – A tough offensive night turned a thrilling ninth inning for the NM State baseball on Tuesday night against Nebraska. Trailing by nine going into the ninth inning, the Aggies posted a six-run ninth and left the bases loaded to end the ballgame.
 
Nebraska got on the board with three unearned runs in the first inning and added three more runs in the second inning on a two-out home run.
 
Through three innings, the Nebraska pitching staff was cruising and had faced the minimum. Brandon Dieter broke up the perfect game bid with a leadoff walk to open the fourth and Gunner Antillon immediately followed with a single to break up the no-hitter.
 
The Huskers added another pair of runs in the fourth inning to push their lead to 8-0.
 
Frank Dickson IV and Alex Shadid combined to toss 2.2 innings of scoreless out of the Aggie bullpen to keep the game at 8-0 heading into the bottom half of the seventh.
 
Unfortunately, Nebraska eventually managed to get to the Aggie bullpen and plated four runs in the seventh to push their lead to 12.
 
Down by a dozen going into the ninth, the Aggies needed a Midwestern miracle. The Aggies managed to send 12 hitters to the plate in the final frame but the fairytale comeback fell short. Antillon picked up second hit of the game – the Aggies' second of the game – to lead off the ninth inning. Edwin Martinez-Pagani picked up a pinch-hit single and AJ Garcia followed with a walk in a pinch-hit situation to load the bases. After a pop-out, Kevin Jimenez launched a grand slam over the left field wall and made it a 12-4 game.
 
Kyle Westfall and Cal Kilgore both drew walks to keep the NM State rally going. The duo advanced to scoring position on a wild pitch before Jacob Wiltshire drew a walk to load the bases. With the bases loaded, Antillon and Martinez-Pagani also drew walks to for the fifth and sixth runs of the ballgame.
 
With the bases loaded and two away, the Aggies flare for the dramatic finally fizzled out. When the dust settled, the Aggies had scored six runs on three hits and six walks.

Quick Hits 

• Kevin Jimenez's grand slam in the ninth inning was the first grand slam of the season for NM State. It was the third home run of the season for the NM State second baseman.
• Gunner Antillon was the lone Aggie to post multiple hits in the ballgame.
• NM State matched their season-high with nine walks on Tuesday night.
• Frank Dickson IV and Alex Shadid both threw 1.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen. Lyle Hibbits added a scoreless inning in the eighth.

On-Deck 
NM State will look to build on their six-run ninth when they face Nebraska on Wednesday afternoon. With first pitch at 12:35 p.m. MT on Big Ten Network+, the Aggies will look to split the two-game set. Starting pitchers for Wednesday's game have not been announced.
 
For complete coverage of NM State baseball throughout the Aggies 2022 campaign visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics - and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Baseball), Twitter (@NMStateBaseball) and Instagram (@NMStateBaseball).