April 12, 2005
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Despite four homers by the Lobos, New Mexico State outslugged the New Mexico baseball team, 10-8, Tuesday night before 507 fans at Presley Askew Field. The Aggies and Lobos split the season series, 3-3, with each team winning three games at home. The Lobos return to action this weekend (April 15-17) to face Air Force at Isotopes Park; the first game is set for Friday at 6 p.m.
The Aggies (19-14) slammed 14 hits and three homers in the contest, and scored seven runs after the Lobos led 4-3 in the fifth.
New Mexico (16-18) collected 14 hits in the contest, including three each by Jordan Pacheco, Garrick Haymore, Daniel Stovall and Tim Grady. Grady tallied his first multi-homer game of his career, parking two solo shots over the left-field fence.
Down 10-5 in the ninth, the Lobos made things interesting as Stovall hit a towering three-run homer to left field with two outs, cutting the margin to 10-8. Tim Grady then delivered a single to left field, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and went to third on a Matt Foote single to right. A Brandon Bingham groundout to the pitcher ended the game and the Lobo rally.
The Lobos got on the board first as Foote led off the second inning with a triple down the right-field line, and then scored on a wild pitch.
Although New Mexico State captured the lead with two runs in the bottom of the third, it could have been worse, as the Aggies loaded the bases with no outs. Mark Aranda, the national leader in runs driven in, knocked in his 58th of the season on a single. After a strikeout, Luke Hopkins brought home another run with a sacrifice fly, but the rally ended on another Aggie flyout.
UNM tied the game at 2 in the fourth as Tim Grady hit his first homer of the game, a solo blast over the left-field fence.
The Aggies reclaimed the lead on a Xardiel Cotto RBI single in the bottom of the fourth, but UNM dodged another bullet as Perez struck out Aranda looking with runners on first and second to end the inning.
The back-and-forth affair continued as Stovall delivered an RBI single in the fifth to plate Haymore, tying the game once again at 3. Tim Grady smashed his second solo shot of the game – in almost the same spot past the left-field wall – in the top of the sixth, giving the Lobos a 4-3 advantage.
The Lobos got a solid start from Jesse Perez, as the junior tossed five strong innings in his first start of the season. Perez put himself in position for the win as he only allowed three runs on seven hits while striking out a season-best four batters.
Unfortunately Perez would not be rewarded for his efforts, as the Aggies scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to go up 7-4. Cole Monreal led off with a solo homer to deep left-center, Aranda drove in another run on an infield groundout, and Adam Harvey roped a two-run double.
New Mexico bounced right back in the top of the seventh as Pacheco hit a solo homer – his team-leading eighth of the year – to straight-away center field. UNM almost cut it to 7-6 on a two-out Stovall single to right, but Haymore was thrown out at the plate by right-fielder Mark Aranda to close the inning.
The Aggies returned the favor in the bottom half of the seventh with two long balls, a solo shot by Derek Maytubby and a two-run blast by Vince Rodden, giving NMSU a 10-5 lead.Bobby Moore (0-2) took the loss for UNM after surrendering four runs on four hits in the decisive sixth inning.
Alec Sheppard (1-1) earned the win by pitching 4.2 innings of effective relief, scattering nine hits on six runs. Kyle McFadden picked up the save for NMSU, his first of the year.