OREM, Utah -- Behind a career-best nine strikeout performance from righty Rorik Maltrud, the NM State Aggies baseball program downed Utah Valley University 6-3, Friday afternoon at doTERRA Field at UCCU Ballpark.

With the victory, the Aggies (18-25, 15-14 WAC) have now won four consecutive games, three straight road contests and seven of eight overall.

At the plate, the Aggies were led by Tommy Tabak who went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Kevin Jimenez who went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles. Jimenez scored and drove in a run as well. Second baseman Connor Laux also turned in a 2-for-4 day with a pair of runs scored and an RBI.

After neither side was able to scratch across a run through the first two innings, NM State struck for a pair of runs in the top of the third. Laux and Tabak led off the frame with back-to-back singles, bringing Zarek Sanez to the dish. With runners at second and third, Sanez bounced into a fielder's choice that scored Laux.

The next batter, Jimenez, smoked a double into the left fielder corner that brough Ethan Mann to the plate with runners at second and third. Mann drove a fly ball into the gap in left-center that plated Sanez.

Staked to a 2-0 lead, Maltrud worked around a one-out double and a walk to fire another zero. After neither side was able to scratch across a run in the fourth, the Wolverines (7-37, 5-24 WAC) answered with an unearned run in the fifth to cut the Aggies advantage to 2-1.

Needing an answer, the Aggies answered with a three-run top of the sixth. Brandon Dieter led off the inning with a single, and advanced to second on a Ronnie Allen Jr walk. After Britt Graham bunted the runners to second and third, Laux dumped a single into right that scored Dieter. The hit placed runners at the corners for Tabak who singled home Allen Jr. NM State's third run of the inning, scored on a bases loaded sac-fly from Jimenez after another walk by Saenz.

As he did the first time the offense came through from him, Maltrud made the 5-1 advantage stand, using a pair of strikeouts to fire a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the sixth. A pair of walks and single loaded the bases for the Aggies in the top of the seventh, but UVU used a two-out strikeout to escape the jam. In the home half of the inning, the Wolverines started a mini rally.

Leading off the frame, Mick Madison took a 2-2 pitch from Maltrud deep to left field for his seventh home run of the season. The solo shot cut the Aggies lead to 5-2. After a one-out strikeout from Maltrud, his career-best ninth of the day, Mitch Morales singled to right. The base knock prompted a pitching change as Maltrud was lifted in a favor Ian Mejia. On the second pitch he threw, Mejia rolled a tailor-made 4-6-3 twin-killing to end the mini UVU threat.

As they did all afternoon the Aggies answered the Utah Valley run in the top of the eighth. A lead-off double from Jimenez, a walk and a wild pitch placed a pair in scoring position for Tristian Stacy who lifted a flyball to left that chased home Jimenez. Stacy entered the contest as a defensive replacement for Cal Villareal in the bottom of the seventh.
In the eighth, Mejia used a 6-4-3 double play to get through the penultimate frame unscathed. After the Wolverines set the Aggies down in order in the ninth, UVU mounted another mini rally in their last turn at-bat.

With one out, Jeff Arens walked and later advanced to second on a Madsen single to center. The next UVU batter, Andrew Hacker sent a bouncer up the middle that Dieter was able to field. The shortstop shuttled the ball to second for the second out of the inning, but Ryan Olsen's return throw to first was wild, allowing Arens to cut the NMSU lead to 6-3.

With the tying run on deck, Mejia got Moralez to fly out for the final out of the ballgame. The victory snapped the Aggies six-game Friday losing streak. NM State last won a Friday opener back on Mar. 21 against Northern Colorado.

ON THE HILL:
• Maltrud's nine strikeouts tie his career-high set back on 3/21 against Northern Colorado.
• The righty pitched into the seventh inning for the second time in his career. Maltrud threw a career-best seven strong innings at Oregon back on April 3.
• Maltrud lowered his ERA for the season to 3.42.
• Mejia continues to impress as of late, as the righty has not allowed an earned run in his last 12.2 innings of work. The former New York Mets draft pick recorded his first-career save Friday.
• Every time the Aggies bats scored a run Friday, Maltrud and Mejia answered with a zero.
• The Aggies turned two more double plays, the 38th and 39th this season. With the majority of games to still be played today, that mark is currently the fifth-most in the nation.

AT THE DISH:
• With his 3-for-4 day, Jimenez is now batting .353 on the season.
• The infielder recorded his 11th and 12th doubles of the season.
• Tabak with his two hits today raised his batting average to .363 on the year. Since returning to lineup, Tabak has recorded seven consecutive games with multiple hits.
• The two-hit performance was his 15th game with at least two hits and ran his hitting streak to nine games in-a-row.
• Saenz and Jimenez each scored their 42nd runs of the year. The duo moves into third place in the WAC in total runs scored, behind Keith Damon (45) of CBU and Channy Ortiz (43) of GCU.
• Saenz reached base for the 17th consecutive game.  
• With his RBI in the third, Mann drove in his WAC leading 42nd run of the season.
• The Aggies answered two of the three innings that UVU scored a run. The only time UVU scored and NM State didn't answer was the bottom of the ninth.
• Led by Allen Jr's three walks, the Aggies worked eight free passes on Friday.

ON DECK: 
The Wolverines and Aggies will continue the weekend series with a doubleheader tomorrow. Saturday's first game of double dip will be a seven inning game beginning at 1 p.m. Senior Chris Jefferson and freshman Sammy Natera are due to take the ball in the two games for NM State. 

++ NM STATE ++