Baseball: Aggies Fall 4-3 to Bearkats

NM State struck first in the second inning, using small ball and execution to manufacture runs.

Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photo By Destinie Ramos for NMSU: Courtesy

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Sam Houston held on late to defeat NM State 4-3 on Friday night at Presley Askew Field at Johnson Stadium, securing the second game of the Conference USA series. NM State drops to 16-21 on the year and now sits at 7-10 in conference play.

NM State struck first in the second inning, using small ball and execution to manufacture runs. After Tommy Meluskey singled and Dane Woodcook worked a walk, Boston Vest delivered an RBI single to open the scoring. Steve Solorzano followed with a sacrifice fly to plate Woodcook and give the Aggies an early 2-0 lead.

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Sam Houston later responded with a multi‑run fifth inning to swing momentum. The Bearkats loaded the bases and capitalized with an RBI double from Sean Bazmore, to tie the game at 2-2.

The score remained even until the eighth, when Sam Houston broke through again. The Bearkats capitalized on baserunners and pressure on the basepaths to push across two runs in the top of the eighth, taking a 4-2 lead.

NM State responded immediately in the bottom half. Jonatan Clough doubled to start the inning and moved to third before Easton Rulli drove him in with an RBI groundout, trimming the deficit to 4-3 and bringing the tying run to the plate. The Aggies threatened again later in the frame but could not produce the equalizer.

Sam Houston’s bullpen closed out the game to secure the one‑run victory. Connor Mondey earned the win in relief, while Hazen Wright took the loss for NM State.

NOTABLES

• Saturday marked just the fifth one-run game the Aggies have played in this season. With the loss, they are now 1-4 in one-run contests. Additionally, this marked the first time that the Aggies played back-to-back one-run games since the 2024 season when they played consecutive one-run games on the road at McNeese, dropping both.
• The Aggies are now 3-20 this season when scoring seven or fewer runs. Contrarily, the Aggies are 13-1 when tallying at least eight runs.
• The loss marks just the second time this season that the Aggies have lost back-to-back games at home.
• Boston Vest, Chris Daniels and Jonatan Clough each extended their hit streaks to five games to mark the longest active streaks by any Aggies.
• For the second consecutive start, Connor Wylde went 4.0 innings. Saturday marked his second outing of the season in which he did not allow any runs.
• Hazen Wright posted a career-high 3.1 innings.

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).