THE BASICS:                               
Score: Gm. 1, NM State 5– WKU 4
Gm. 2, NM State 9 – WKU 11
Records: NM State (25-26), (10-13) | WKU (33-20), (14-9)
Location: Nick Denes Field
Gm. 1 | Win: Treyjen Meza (5-5) | Loss: Corey Bosecker (0-2)
Gm. 2 | Win: Lucas Litteral (4-2) | Loss: Hayden Walker (6-3)
 
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Aggies split with Western Kentucky in their double header on May 16, in Bowling Green, Ky. The Aggies won the first game of the double header 5-4 but came up short in game two 9-11 forcing a rubber match for the series win Saturday, May 18.
 
GAME ONE:
Designated hitter Logan Gallina started off the scoring for the Aggies in the top of the first with a solo home run to center field. The Aggies then hit three consecutive base hits to load the bags. Edwin Martinez-Pagani came up big for the Aggies with a single to right field to score Kade Benavidez and Nick Gore to give the Aggies a three-run lead in the first inning.
 
Connor Wylde earned the start on the mound for the Aggies entering the game with a three-run lead.  In the top of the second Romeo Ballesteros singled to lead off the inning, he then stole second and was advanced to third on a fly ball hit by Jones.
 
With runners on first and third, Gallina hit his seventh double of the season to score Ballesteros and to put the Aggies up four.
 
In the bottom of the second the Hilltoppers added a run on a sacrifice fly to cut the Aggie lead to three runs. They kept the scoring going in the bottom of the third, after walking two and hitting a Hilltopper batter the bases were loaded. A two RBI single gave WKU three runs.
 
Treyjen Meza entered the game for the Aggies in the bottom of the fourth, closing Wyldes line at 3.0 innings pitched allowing three runs on four hits with two strikeouts. After giving up back-to-back singles, Western Kentucky laid a bunt down to advance the runners to second and third. They then tied the game at four on an RBI ground out.
 
In the top of the seventh, the Aggies got two runners on-base with back-to-back singles. Austin Corbett then hit a single up the middle to give the Aggies five runs and the lead.
 
Saul Soto came onto the mound in the bottom of the ninth to close out the game and he only needed to see three batters as he sat them all down to secure the 5-4 win for the Aggies.
 
GAME TWO:
Cade Swenson started on the mound for the Aggies. In the bottom of the first, Western Kentucky took the lead, they did so on an RBI single to score the first run of the game. With runners on first and third, WKU hit a fly ball to left field which scored the runner on third. They added another run on an RBI single to left center to take a 3-0 lead.
 
In the top of the second the Aggies managed to earn their first run of the ballgame after Mitch Namie led off the inning with a ground rule double, he then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Steve Solorzano was walked to put Aggies on first and third. Martinez-Pagani hit a fielder's choice which scored Namie. With runners on second and third, Ballesteros bunted to score Martinez-Pagani which gave the Aggies two runs.
 
Dumitru led the top of the third off with a walk, he then stole second and on the very next pitch took third on a wild pitch. With Dumitru on third Namie hit an RBI single to score Dumitru. Solorzano then hit a double down the left field line to score Namie and give the Aggies a one run lead.
 
Aggies kept the scoring going in the top of the fourth. With back-to-back walks and a ground out which put runners on second and third. Titus Dumitru launched his 12th home run of the season to put the Aggies up four runs.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, Western Kentucky hit a single up the middle to score two runs. They then hit an RBI single to cut the Aggie lead to one run with a score of 7-6 in favor of the Aggies.
 
Namie led off the top of the fifth with another ground-rule double, his second of the day. Solorzano followed that up with a double of his own to give the Aggies eight runs in the game.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, the Hilltoppers lead off the inning with a double, another double drove in a run for WKU for their seventh run of the game. They were able to tie the game on an RBI ground out. With a runner on third WKU laid down a bunt to take a one run lead over the Aggies.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, the Hilltoppers extended their lead on a two RBI double to right center. The Aggies threatened WKU's lead thanks to an RBI double hit by Gallina, unfortunately they came up short losing 11-9.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• In game one of the series Martinez-Pagani earned his ninth multi-RBI game on a two-run single.
• With the home run in the first inning of game one, Gallina is now tied for fourth in career home runs in program history.
• With an RBI double in game one Gallina earned his eighth multi-hit game of the season and 11th multi-RBI game of the season.
• Solorzano went 2-4 in game one for his 11th multi-hit game of the season.
• Martinez-Pagani had two hits in game one for his ninth multi-hit game of the season.
• Austin Corbett recorded three hits in game one for his first multi-hit game of the season.
• Soto earned his third save of the season in game one.
• Namie recorded two hits in his first two at-bats in game two for his 15th multi-hit game of the season.
• On a three-run homer in the second game Dumitru earned his ninth multi-RBI game of the season.
• Solorzano had two hits and two RBIs in the second game for his 12th multi-hit game of the season and fifth multi-RBI game of the season.

 
UP NEXT:
The Aggies will play in their regular season finale against Western Kentucky on Saturday, May 18 at noon MT. For complete coverage of NM State Baseball, visit NMStateSports.com - the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateBaseball), Instagram (@NMStateBaseball) and like us on Facebook (NMState Baseball)


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