Feb. 13, 2007
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Lobo baseball team snapped a three-game losing streak with an 11-7 win at New Mexico State this afternoon. New Mexico plated 11 runs on 11 hits, moving to 2-3 overall and drawing head coach Rich Alday another win closer to 500 at UNM.
Senior first baseman Daniel Stovall drove in senior left fielder Jay Russell and junior second baseman Jordan Pacheco to jumpstart the scoring in the first. Stovall scored on a sacrifice fly from sophomore right fielder Dane Hamilton and freshman shortstop Scott Gracey singled to left, bringing home the final two runs of the inning for a 5-0 lead.
The Aggies got one run back in the bottom of the first on a RBI single from Leo Agguire. NMSU added one more in the fourth on a RBI double from Marcus Quade.
After five scoreless innings for the Lobos, junior designated hitter Matt Hibbitts blasted a two-run homer to left, extending the lead to 7-2. In the eighth, junior catcher Drew McDonald scored on a wild pitch and Russell scored on a Pacheco single and an error by NMSU left fielder Tyler Hardt for a 9-2 advantage.
New Mexico State, which pounded out just eight hits prior to the eighth inning, posted five in the bottom of the eighth, leading to three run and cutting the UNM lead to 9-5.
With two outs in the ninth, Gracey hit his first career home run, picking up two more RBI. The Aggies’ Ryan Gibson hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth but it wasn’t enough, clinching the 11-7 win.
Freshman Brian Hill earned the win, striking out two in 1.2 hitless innings of relief. Freshman starter Shane Dyer went 4.1 innings for seven hits, two runs (one earned), four walks and four strikeouts. The Aggies’ Noah Garza picked up the loss, allowing five earned runs in 3.1 innings.
Hibbitts hit a team-high .750, going 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. Three Lobos, Gracey, Stovall and Pacheco, were all 2-for-4. Gracey recorded a team-high four RBI. Hardt and Joe Leghorn led NMSU, going 3-for-4.
The Lobos return to action on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at the University of Texas-Arlington tournament, playing Nebraska, which is ranked as high as No. 7 in the Collegiate Baseball poll. With a win, Alday (489-486-3) will be 10 shy of 500.