LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State baseball dropped the season opener to Bellarmine 7-2 at Presley Askew Field on Friday night. A near-capacity 1,004 fans packed Presley Askew Field as the Aggies’ got their season underway.
In the early part of the season, pitching tends to dominate the hitting and that was exactly the case for the NM State offense on Friday. The Aggies struck out 16 times in the season opener while recording just four hits.
For Bellarmine, Noah Pender tossed a fantastic ballgame, working 6.0 innings and striking out 11 while allowing just two hits. Washington State transfer Keith Jones II picked up the Aggies’ first hit of the season when he led off the fourth inning with a single to left field.
The Knights had no issues with the bats, hitting four home runs in the game to propel themselves to a 1-0 start to the season.
NMSU and Bellarmine will square off in game two of the series on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Las Cruces.
