Baseball: Clough, Lombardi Homer in Series Finale Against Liberty

NM State travels to Tucson for a midweek matchup against the Wildcats.

Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photos By Cameren Valenzuela for NMSU: Courtesy

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State made a late push but came up short Sunday afternoon at Presley Askew Field at Johnson Stadium, falling 7-4 to Liberty in the series finale. With the loss, the Aggies drop to 19-26 overall and 8-15 in Conference USA play.

Liberty struck first with a two‑run home run in the second inning before extending its lead with a three‑run fifth. NM State answered with a solo homer from Jonatan Clough in the third and added another run in the fifth when Steve Solorzano drove in Tommy Meluskey with a bunt single.

The Aggies made things interesting in the eighth as Aidan Lombardi launched a two‑run home run to left to pull NM State within two, but Liberty answered with an insurance run in the ninth and closed the door in the bottom half.

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Clough finished 3‑for‑4 with a home run, double and RBI, while Meluskey and Boston Vest added two hits for NM State. On the mound, JT Price took the loss, with the Aggie bullpen holding Liberty to two runs over the final four innings.

NOTABLES

• NM State falls to 14-10 at home this season, including a 5-7 mark in Conference USA play.
• Freshman JT Price recorded a new career high in innings pitched, tossing 4.2 innings in the ninth start.
• After notching double-digit hit totals in each of the last three games, the Aggies were held to nine hits in the finale.
• Steve Solorzano extended his hitting streak to eight games to mark the longest active streak by any Aggie.
• Aidan Lombardi submitted his fourth multi-RBI game of the year, while tallying his third home run of the season after not hitting any during his first year with the Aggies in 2025.
• Chris Daniels has now reached base in 19 consecutive games.

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).