LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State baseball racked up 15 hits and eclipsed 10 runs in the team’s13-7 victory over California Baptist at Presley Askew Field on Saturday.

The Aggies opened the scoring in the first inning when Keith Jones II scored on a wild pitch before California Baptist scored four unanswered runs.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Aggies got an RBI single from Christian Perez before Mitch Namie lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing NM State back within a run. Just as was the case earlier in the game, the Lancers had an immediate response, scoring two runs on a single through the left side.

NM State flipped the script, scoring five unanswered runs in the fourth and fifth innings. After Kevin Jimenez lifted a sacrifice fly, Perez picked up his second run-scoring single of the game. Trailing by just one run, Nolan Funke roped a double into the left field corner, scoring Nick Gore.

In the fifth inning, NM State took the lead when Namie scored on a wild pitch. The lead grew to two when Damone Hale scored Romeo Ballesteros from third with a sacrifice fly.

California Baptist cut the lead in half with a run scoring double to right-center. Sitting at 8-7 in favor of the Aggies, the score would remain until the bottom of the eighth.

Matthew Maloney continued his masterclass out of the bullpen in the finale, working 3.0 scoreless innings. The Huntington Beach, California native allowed just one hit while setting a new career-high in strikeouts with four.

After Jimenez scored on a wild pitch, Namie laced a two-run single to left field. After a strikeout, Hunter Antillon launched his first Division I home run to straight away center field – A two-run blast. The home run is where the scoring would end for NM State on Saturday, pushing the score to 13-7.

The Aggies will look to ride the momentum into a midweek clash at Arizona. NM State and Arizona will meet on Tuesday night, beginning at 6:00 p.m. MT.

Quick Hits

  • Keith Jones II’s first inning single extended his on-base streak to 16 games – The longest streak for an Aggie in 2023. Jones’ hitting streak has also reached 10 games, also the longest mark of the season for an Aggie.
  • After entering the game with five sacrifice flies on the season, NM State lifted three on Saturday.
  • Darius Garcia lasted just 1.1 innings – His shortest start of the season.
  • Will Sierra picked up his first win out of the bullpen. Sierra worked 1.1 innings and allowed just one run.
  • All seven Aggies who recorded hits on Saturday picked up multi-hit games.
  • Matthew Maloney and Noah Estrella combined for 4.0 innings of shutout baseball in relief.
  • As a team, NM State drew ten walks in the ballgame. The last time the Aggies drew ten or more walks in a ballgame was March 1, 2020 against Purdue Fort Wayne.