LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Trailing by four runs in the fifth innings, NM State needed to get the offense going in a hurry on Thursday. The Aggies did just that, scoring seven unanswered runs over two innings, taking a 9-6 lead. St. Thomas found a late surge of their own, scoring six runs in the eighth and ninth innings to take a 12-9 victory in the series opener.
After falling behind 4-0 early, NM State was immediately forced to claw back into the game. In the second inning, NM State was able to cut the deficit in half following an RBI single from
Mitch Namie and a double down the left field line by
Romeo Ballesteros.
In the fourth and fifth innings, St. Thomas pushed a run across in both frames to extend their lead back to four. Going right back to work, the Aggies got back-to-back RBI singles from
Christian Perez and
Preston Godfrey. The knock from Perez was the second of four on the night, extending his hit streak to a career-long 14 games.
Nick Gore would plate the third run of the inning, bringing NM State back within a run, on a sacrifice fly to right field.
A red-hot Godfrey continued to deliver in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Godfrey smashed a towering home run over the trees in right-center, giving the Aggies their first lead of the night. Following a five RBI showing versus the Tommies, Godfrey has now driven in 13 runs over his last five games.
Sadly, for the Aggies, that is where the offense stopped on Thursday night. Taking a 9-6 lead into the eighth inning, the home dugout was starting to get comfortable. Before long, St. Thomas had knotted the game at nine following a three-run inning.
Matthew Maloney took the mound in the ninth inning for NM State and looked to give the offense a chance to walk it off. The Tommies had Maloney's number on Thursday night, though, tagging him for three runs, including a two-run triple to break the score.
St. Thomas and NM State will meet again on Friday night with first pitch being thrown at 6:00 p.m. MT. The Aggies will look to even the series in game two. Fans will be able to watch the action on the WAC Digital Network or by tuning into 91.5 FM KRUX.
Quick Hits
- Thursday's game was delayed 32 minutes due to lightning.
- With a second-inning double, Christian Perez's hit streak reached 14 games – The longest by an Aggie this season.
- Perez notched four hits in the series opener, scoring a pair of runs as well.
- Preston Godfrey launched a grand slam in the sixth inning to put the Aggies in front
- Following 5 RBI night, Godfrey has driven in 13 runs over the last five games.
- Eight of the nine hitters in the NM State lineup recorded base hits on Thursday.
- Treyjen Meza walked a season-high four batters on Thursday night
- With the loss, Matthew Maloney fell to 1-6 on the season.
##NM State##