Written by: NMSU Athletic Dept.
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The New Mexico State baseball team split the season's first double-header of the year as they beat Ball State 24-19 in game one and fell 12-6 in game two at Presley Askew Field, Saturday, March 1.
Marcos Rosales (Gilbert, Ariz.) hit a home run in the second inning to lead a six run charge that put the Aggies up 6-1 after the third inning. The Ball State pitchers found some rhythm to hold NMSU scoreless in five straight innings and crossed the plate 11 times to take a 12-6 lead. Head coach Rocky Ward knew it would be tough get out of the hole late in the game.
"We keep digging ourselves in holes and it seems like we are always have to come from behind," Ward said. "We just can't keep doing that."
BSU pitcher Brad Piatt got the win while he pitched effectively going 5 2/3 while giving up six runs, four of them earned. Aggie right-hander Oliver Webster (Duvall, Wash.) fell to 0-1 on the season as he gave up the runs to give the Cardinals the lead.
The Aggies struggled at the plate in game two. They came up with only six hits and struck out 10 times.
Game 1
The Cardinals were able to put up 11 runs after two innings, but that would not be enough as the Aggies came back to win 24-19 in game one of the double-header.
Down 17-8 in the sixth inning, NMSU put up 11 runs on the board to take a 19-11 lead. It was a total team effort as three consecutive Aggie batters got on with walks before, Marquez brought in the first run of the inning with a single through the left side.
Marcus Quade (Littleton, Colo.) immediately followed that with a double to right-center that brought in two more runs. The fun wouldn't stop there for the Aggies as Richard Stout would come to the plate and blast his first bomb of the season over the left field wall for three RBI. NMSU scored another four times after that getting some help from the Ball State pitching staff, as runners and advanced on two wild pitches and one runner scored on a passed ball.
The Aggies scored five more runs in the seventh inning that included RBI from Nick Cejka (Richmond, Wash.) and Jake Hammons (Snohomish, Wash.). After seven, NMSU had 24 runs on the board, which would be enough for the win.
Erik Nyquist (Fairfield, Calif.) earned his first win as an Aggie. He pitched four innings, struck out three batters and gave up only two runs. The Cardinals' Heath Riley took the loss as he gave up six runs in 1 2/3 innings.
"Erik Nyquist stabilized the game for us and gave us a chance to get back in it," Ward said. "We put up some runs and it was quite an accomplishment to win it the way we did."
NMSU will wrap up the four game series with the Cardinals at Presley Askew Field, Sunday, March 2 at 1:05 p.m. Fans can access live stats for free at www.nmstatesports.com or watch the game on a web cast for a fee. A recap and box score of the game will also be available on the Aggie website.
