MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – NM State put together a late rally on Saturday afternoon at Reese Smith Jr. Field, but Middle Tennessee kept the Aggies at bay, stranding two runners in scoring position to defeat NM State 8-7.
 
The Aggies pushed across their first run in the third inning after Camden Kaufman reached base and later crossed the plate following defensive miscues, tying the game at 1-1 after MTSU plated a run in the second. The Aggies' momentum carried into the fourth, when Aidan Lombardi launched a two‑run home run down the left‑field line to push NM State in front.
 
Middle Tennessee responded with steady pressure at the plate, answering in the middle innings with timely hits and aggressive baserunning to keep the game tight. NM State continued to generate chances, leaning on patience and speed, as the Aggies drew walks and advanced runners into scoring position repeatedly.
 
Later, the Blue Raiders would tally six runs across the sixth, seventh and eighth innings to build up an 8-3 advantage. With their final at-bat, the Aggies applied pressure to make things interesting late in the contest. Aidan Lombardi opened the inning with a walk before Dane Woodcook singled and Camden Kaufman loaded the bases with a walk of his own. Steve Solorzano and Aidan Taclas then tallied back-to-back singles to score three runs, cutting the deficit to two with no outs away. An Easton Rulli RBI single would pull the Aggies within one, but they were unable to push any additional runs across.
 
NM State used five pitchers on the night, with Jaden Davis, Carson Timmons, Fabian Ibarra, and Bradyn Barnes all seeing action out of the bullpen as the Aggies worked to control the damage and keep the game within reach.
 
NOTABLES

• Easton Rulli, Jonatan Clough and Dane Woodcook each tallied two hits in the game.
• Steve Solorzano and Easton Rulli both pushed their hit streaks to nine games, marking the longest streaks of the season for the Aggies.
• Solorzano tallied his ninth multi-RBI game of the year, pacing all Aggies.
• Following Saturday, the Aggies currently have five players who have reached base in at least 10 consecutive games as Easton Rulli (18), Steve Solorzano (13), Boston Vest (12), Aidan Lombardi (10) and Aidan Taclas (10) have all been able to get aboard consistently as of late.
• NM State falls to 2-14 when scoring fewer than eight runs this season.

 
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).