Feb. 12, 2005
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The New Mexico baseball team earned its first victory of the young season with a 13-9 victory over New Mexico State Saturday night at Isotopes Park. The Lobos (1-4) used a nine-run fifth inning to pull away from the Aggies (1-5). Sophomore first baseman Daniel Stovall went 3-for-5 with three RBI and a solo homer, and junior catcher A.J. Spitaleri also collected three hits and two runs. The two teams will meet Sunday afternoon in a doubleheader, beginning at 12 p.m.
Jason Fernandez (1-1) picked up his first win of the year on the mound, allowing 13 hits and four runs, three earned, in six innings of work. Fernandez walked two and struck out two in throwing 117 pitches. Javier Lopez got the save after pitching three innings of one-run ball to close the game.
The Lobos got it going offensively, producing 15 hits in the contest, including two each by Matt Foote, Jordan Pacheco and Ryan Barba.
The Aggies got on the board early, plating two in the top of the first, but the Lobos added one in the bottom of the inning on a Stovall RBI single. Stovall was at it again in the third, blasting an opposite-field homer to right field for his first round-tripper of the season. Spitaleri doubled on the next play, and later scored on an Aggie balk to give UNM a 3-2 lead. NMSU pitchers had three balks in the game.
Both teams scored a run in the fourth, and New Mexico State tied the game at 4 in the fifth. But in the bottom half of the inning, the Lobos slugged out nine runs on six hits and two Aggie errors. Pacheco, Foote, Stovall and Chris Dabbs all delivered RBI hits in the inning.
The Aggies cut into the lead with four runs in the seventh and one in the eighth on a Mark Aranda homer, but it wasn’t enough as the Lobo bullpen held onto the victory.
NMSU starter Dustin Cameron (0-2) took the loss, surrendering seven runs and 10 hits in 4.1 innings of action.