Lobos blast Aggies 13-0 behind Jackson’s dominant start

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Dylan Ditzenberger got on base in all five plate appearances, Jaren Jackson threw five shutout innings, and the New Mexico baseball team exacted revenge in a big way on Tuesday night at Presley Askew Field with a resonating 13-0 victory over host New Mexico State.

The run-rule triumph was a far cry from a 2-0 loss to the Aggies on March 21, as the Lobos evened the season series between the teams. New Mexico improved to 18-14 on the year, while NMSU fell to 9-23 with the defeat.

Jackson earned his second win of the season with five dominant innings, as he struck out a season-high six hitters while scattering five hits. “Everything was working – my changeup and slider were working,” said the junior left-hander. “I was hitting all my spots, and was able to come through with big pitches when I needed them. It was nice to be able to get through those tough moments with runners on base.”

Jackson allowed just one walk among the 80 pitches he threw, going at least five innings for the fourth time among his six starts this season. “It was much needed,” Jackson said after allowing six runs on eight hits in seven innings in his last start on April 11 – a no-decision. “Whenever I got into situations with runners on tonight, I tried to change my mindset, bear down, and figure out what I needed to do. I just tried to hit my spots when I needed to, and it worked out.”

Justin Olson hit his fourth home run in the last six games, and Devon Dixon and Lenny Junior Ashby each added long balls on Tuesday night. Ditzenberger finished 3-for-3 while walking twice, Braydon Runion was 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs, and Reed Spenrath, Jake Holland, and Dixon drove in two runs apiece. “It helps a lot when you have one of the best hitting teams in the nation behind you,” said Jackson, who had an 8-0 lead after throwing just one inning. “It gives you confidence in tough innings to get after it and get the job done.”

In his return to the lineup after missing six games, Ditzenberger drew a leadoff walk that kicked off a big first inning. Runion hit an RBI-double off the wall in center, Spenrath followed with a two-run single, and Deylan Pigford capped the rally with a two-out, RBI-single to make the score 4-0.

Spenrath showed off his athleticism in the bottom of the first, straying from his position to field a high-chop ground ball before diving to the bag to beat speedy NMSU leadoff man Keith Jones II in a bang-bang play.

Ditzenberger led off the top of the second with his eighth double of the season, and the Lobos turned it into four more runs on two-out, two-run hits by Runion and Holland to make the score 8-0.

Jackson built off the momentum in the bottom of the second, working around a one-out single and picking up his first strikeout of the evening on the way to another zero. The lefty added another strikeout in the third and closed the fourth with back-to-back punch outs. “After the third inning, I felt every pitch working for me again,” Jackson said on building strength as the evening progressed. “It helped me get through that and get a win. It especially eases the pressure when the team has 11 runs by the fifth inning.”

Holland hit his first triple as a Lobo in the top of the fifth and scored on a wild pitch, before Pigford laid down a textbook drag bunt single to set the stage for Dixon. The Lobo second baseman crushed his fifth home run of the season over the fence in right field, extending UNM’s advantage to 11-0.

Jackson shrugged off his lone walk of the day to start the fifth, striking out the next two hitters and ending his stellar start with a routine ground ball to Dixon. Wil Bannister had a strikeout in a scoreless sixth, and Brian McBroom finished the game with two strikeouts in a scoreless seventh to complete UNM’s second shutout of the 2023 season.

Ashby hit his fourth home run of the season in the top of the sixth, and Olson followed with his fifth of the season as the Lobos increased the spread to 13-0. It was the second time this season that UNM hit back-to-back home runs, as Holland and Pigford achieved the feat in UNM’s last game on April 12 against CSU Pueblo.

No Aggie had multiple hits in the game, as the hosts totaled seven knocks with Nolan Funke notching the lone extra-base hit with a double. NMSU used six different pitchers, with Will Sierra starting and taking the loss and Aaron Treloar and Matthew Maloney each turning in scoreless appearances out of the bullpen.

LOBO NOTES: UNM is now 165-92 all-time against NMSU and is 63-49 in road games against the Aggies…Dixon’s home run was the 11th of his collegiate career…Holland’s triple was the second of his collegiate career and his first since 2021 when he was at Georgia Tech…Jackson’s previous season high in strikeouts was four, which he reached on two previous occasions this spring…Ashby’s home run was the 36th of his collegiate career and his 21st as a Lobo…Olson’s home run was the 16th of his collegiate career and his ninth as a Lobo…Jackson’s win was the 17th of his collegiate career…it was the 11th time in his collegiate career he logged a scoreless outing of at least 2.0 innings pitched.

NEXT UP: The Lobos jump back into Mountain West play this weekend with a three-game series at Air Force kicking off on Friday afternoon in Colorado Springs, Colo.