LAS CRUCES, N.M. – As was the case on Friday night, the Aggies struggles at the plate. Following Friday’s sixteen strikeouts for NM State, the Aggies whiffed 13 more times on Saturday afternoon. The Aggies put six hits on the board on Saturday, powered by two hits from Gunner Antillon and Damone Hale. The Aggies fell to 0-2 on the season following an 8-1 loss to Bellarmine.
Tyler Hoeft made his first start as an Aggie after coming from Washington State, the current home of former NM State skipper Brian Green. Striking out two of his first three batters, Bellarmine connected on a base hit and knocked in a run to put the Aggies behind 1-0 early in the first. Preseason All-WAC Selection Logan Gallina recorded a first pitch single up the middle, stealing second before advancing to third, but was left stranded.
Bellarmine added another pair of runs off a two-run blast to right field by Gabe Bratetic, putting NM State in a 3-0 hole after an inning and a half.
Pablo Cortes came in to relieve Hoeft in the top of the fifth, ending his afternoon with a statline of 4.1 innings pitched, six hits, three earned runs and a career-high five strikeouts.
Out of the bullpen, Aaron Treloar and Cade Swenson made scoreless appearances. In his NM State debut, Treloar worked 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit. Working a perfect ninth inning, Swenson struck out two without allowing a baseball.
With two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning, Antillon lifted a home run to left center for the first NM State long ball of the season. The home run broke up Bellarmine’s shutout efforts with just one out to play.
Quick Hits
- Cal Villareal, Xaige Lancaster, Edwin Martinez-Pagani, and Romeo Ballesteros all came off the bench for NM State.
- Nick Gore ripped a double for his first hit as an Aggie.
- Tyler Hoeft, Pablo Cortes, Aaron Treloar, and Cade Swenson all made their season debuts on the mound for NM State.
- Gunner Antillon drove in the first NM State run of the year with a home run in the ninth inning.
- Hoeft took the loss in his first appearance as an Aggie.
- The Aggies fall to 0-2 in the season and look to pick up their first victory on Sunday afternoon.
Up Next
The Aggies and Knights will complete their three-game series on Sunday, February 19, beginning at 1:00 p.m. MT. The game will be streamed on the WAC Digital Network and will be broadcast over the airwaves on 91.5 FM KRUX.
