LAS CRUCES, N.M. – In front of a record-setting crowd at Presley Askew Field, the New Mexico State baseball team opened a weekend series against Western Athletic Conference opponent Utah Valley on Friday night. The 2,147 fans in attendance saw the Aggies take a one-run lead in the fifth inning that they held on to and took down the Wolverines, 4-3.
NM State (30-16, 13-6 WAC) ace
Kyle Bradish took the mound in game one opposite Jake Mayer of Utah Valley (14-29, 5-11). The Aggies got on the board first when a fielding error brought in a runner from second to put NM State ahead 1-0 at the end of the first inning.
This lead did not last long, however, when the Wolverines answered in the top of the second. A single through the right side scored a man from second for Utah Valley's first run. Then with runners on the corners, a passed ball brought home one more Wolverine to put the Aggies behind 2-1.
The deficit for NM State then expanded in the next inning with UVU bringing another man across the plate. An RBI single through the left side put the Crimson & White behind 3-1 through three innings.
NM State went down in order in the next two frames as the team still had a two-run hole to climb out. In the bottom of the fifth, the momentum swung in favor of the Aggies. The scoring opened with two men on and one out when
Trey Stine roped a double to right field that brought in one run and left two runners in scoring position.
Caleb Henderson then continued the rally and tied the ballgame up at 3-3 with an RBI knock to short. This left the go-ahead run 90 feet from home plate with two outs and
Logan Ehnes delivered. On a full count, Ehnes turned on a pitch that he sent to right field to bring in the runner for a 4-3 Aggie lead.
Over the next three frames, NM State's pitching staff allowed UVU to get just one runner on, which it could not advance. Then in the ninth inning and still ahead by one run, the Aggies stuck with closer
Brock Whittlesey on the mound. The right-hander seemed to be in a jam with two runners on and just one out, but he buckled down and got the final two batters to strike out looking to secure the 4-3 win for the Crimson & White.
Braidsh (6-3) earned the win after 7.0 innings of work with six punch-outs and Whittlesey notched his seventh save of the season. The record crowd of 2,147 Aggie faithful topped the previous record of 1,835 set against Nevada on April 11, 2010.
The second contest of the three-game series between New Mexico State and Utah Valley is set for 2:05 p.m. MT at Presley Askew Field on Saturday, May 5.
