LAS CRUCES, N.M. – After dropping the series opener to Seattle U on Friday, NM State baseball looked to bounce back on Saturday afternoon. Backed by five runs batted in by Christian Perez and phenomenal pitching from Noah Estrella, Cade Swenson, and Matthew Maloney, the Aggies did just that, evening the series with a 6-4 victory on Saturday.
 
Perez, a true freshman, entered the day with just four home runs on the season. On Saturday, the Phoenix native swatted two more for his first multi-home run game of his collegiate career. In the first inning, Perez opened the scoring with a big fly to left-center, plating Keith Jones II.
 
Seattle U cut the deficit in half during the third inning on a run-scoring single to left-center. After Estrella escaped the jam and worked two more scoreless frames, Perez once again delivered. The Aggie third baseman swatted his second home run of the day, this time of the three-run variety, pushing the NM State lead to 5-1. While rounding the bases, Perez stole the show with Randy Arozarena's crossed arms celebration after touching third.

Down, but not out, the Redhawks continued to fight. In the sixth inning, Seattle pushed three runs across after swatting two home runs in the inning. Estrella would end the inning as NM State clung to a one-run lead.
 
Looking for insurance run, NM State found its plan with Kevin Jimenez on base. After Jimenez singled to right field, the senior immediately stole second base. Just a few pitches later, the infielder scored from second base on a wild pitch, pushing the Aggie lead back to a pair.
 
After a season-high 7.0 innings from Estrella, the Aggies turned to Swenson out of the bullpen. Swenson fanned two batters in 0.2 innings of work before giving the ball to Maloney for a four-out save. The Huntington Beach, California native was stellar on Saturday, working 1.1 perfect innings and recording a pair of strikeouts in the process.
 
Quick Hits

• Christian Perez launched two home runs on Saturday – His first collegiate multi-homer game.
• Perez also drove in a season-high five runs in the process.
• NM State pitchers recorded nine strikeouts while allowing just one walk on Saturday.
• Noah Estrella picked up the win, moving to 3-1 on the season.
• Estrella's third win marks a new team-high for the Aggies
• Matthew Maloney picked up the save to take the lead among NM State pitchers.
• Maloney became the first Aggie to pitch in 20 games this season.
• Hunter Antillon drew three of NM State's five walks on Saturday