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Aggies, Oh Aggies!
Christian Perez celebrates a home run with Damone Hale
Prentice James
12
St. Thomas UST 9-34
13
Winner New Mexico State NMSU 14-36
St. Thomas UST
9-34
12
Final
13
New Mexico State NMSU
14-36
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
St. Thomas UST 3 2 0 0 3 0 1 1 2 12 16 1
New Mexico State NMSU 3 0 1 3 3 0 0 1 2 13 10 1

W: Cortes, Pablo (2-6) L: Coborn, Duke (2-5)

Game Recap: Baseball | | NM State Athletics Media Relations

Walk-Off Home Run from Perez Lifts NM State

NM State will honor nine seniors on Saturday morning

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Long live the long ball. Four home runs by the Aggies, including a walk-off blast by Christian Perez, powered the Aggies to a 13-12 victory on Friday night.  
 
St. Thomas opened the scoring in the first inning, striking for three runs against starter Noah Estrella. In the bottom half of the inning, senior Kevin Jimenez got things started for the Aggies. In his second-to-last game, Jimenez launched his 18th career home run, a three-run shot, to tie the ballgame.
 
The resilient Tommies fought right back in the second inning, pushing a run across on a two-run single. After the Aggies were held scoreless in the second, Mitch Namie cut the deficit in half with a solo shot in the third inning. One inning later, the Aggies scored three runs without recording a hit.Back-to-back bases loaded walks by Namie and Jimenez made the score 6-5 in favor of NM State. One batter later, Christian Perez was hit by a pitch, pushing the Aggies' lead to two.
 
Three run frames were common in the middle part of the ballgame as the Tommies responded with one of their own. Half an inning later, Keith Jones II smoked a three-run home run to right-center, putting the Aggies back on top, 10-7. The blast marked the third consecutive frame in which a team scored three runs.
 
Scoring in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings, NM State entered the bottom of the ninth, trailing by a run. Namie led off the ninth inning with a single to the third baseman before Jimenez lined out for the first out. Perez sent a moonshot towards Aggie Memorial Stadium, clearing the trees in right-center and kicking off the celebration.
 
Perez's walk-off home run was the second of the season for NM State as he joins Preston Godfrey in the exclusive club. Godfrey, Perez, and company will go for the series win on Senior Day tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. MT. The Aggies will honor nine seniors and graduates in a pregame ceremony, beginning at 10 a.m. MT.
 
Quick Hits
  • With a sixth-inning single, Christian Perez's hit streak reached 15 games – The longest by an Aggie this season.
  • Perez's walk-off home run was the first of his career and the Aggies second of the season.
  • The Aggies drew a season-high 12 walks on Friday, including three by Nick Gore.
  • The first four hitters in the Aggie lineup – Keith Jones II, Mitch Namie, Kevin Jimenez, and Perez – combined to drive in 12 of the 13 runs for NM State on Friday.
  • Jones, Namie, Jimenez, and Perez all homered in the win
  • Pablo Cortes picked up the win on Friday night, moving to 2-6 on the season.
  • The Aggies scored 13 runs and needed just 10 hits to do so.
##NM State##
 
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