Baseball: Aggies Suffer Sunday Defeat at Middle Tennessee

NM State tallies 16 hits, including multi-hit days for five Aggies.

Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photo: Courtesy

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – NM State again mounted a late rally on Sunday afternoon at Reese Smith Jr. Field, but Middle Tennessee was able to secure the win as the Aggies fell 9-6 on the road despite recording seven more hits than the Blue Raiders.

Middle Tennessee took advantage of an early defensive miscue in the first inning, using a grand slam from Layne Akers to jump out in front. NM State got one back in the fourth when Easton Rulli singled and later scored on an RBI single by Dane Woodcook. However, MTSU quickly regained momentum as it notched two runs in the bottom half of the fourth and another in the fifth.

Later, Boston Vest, Easton Rulli and Jonatan Clough submitted a trio of two-out singles to scratch across a run in the seventh, bringing the score to 7-2 entering the eighth inning. NM State added another run in the eighth on Camden Kaufman’s RBI base hit.

NM State’s biggest push came in the ninth, opening the inning with consecutive baserunners and scoring three times on RBI singles from Clough, Aidan Lombardi and Woodcook to pull within three runs. Middle Tennessee finally shut the door as the Aggies left two runners stranded.

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NOTABLES

• Easton Rulli, Dane Woodcook and Camden Kaufman all recorded three-hit days from the bottom half of the lineup.
• For Woodcook, his three hits marks a new career high and serves as his second consecutive multi-hit game.
• The Aggies’ 43 at-bats is the second most in a single game this season.
• NM State stranded 14 runners to match the most this year.
• Julio Ramos equaled his longest outing as an Aggie, tossing 1.1 innings.
• Hazen Wright recorded his longest outing of the year, throwing 2.1 innings.
• The Aggies tallied three runs in the ninth inning after posting a four-run ninth on Saturday night. This is just the fourth and fifth time this season that the Aggies have recorded multiple runs in the ninth inning. 

For complete coverage of NM State Baseball, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow us on Twitter (@NMStateBaseball), Instagram (@NMStateBaseball) and like us on Facebook (NMState Baseball).