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NM State extends home winning streak to five games.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Michael Navarrette
Photo By Destinie Ramos for NMSU: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State pulled off a thrilling extra-inning victory on Friday night, defeating Oakland 5-4 in 10 innings at Presley Askew Field. A clutch at-bat from Aidan Lombardi who saw his first action as an Aggie, sealed the walk-off win and improved the Aggies’ record to 6-3 on the season.
Two late runs allowed the Golden Grizzlies to pull even, however, timely pitching and late two-out heroics pushed the Aggies over the top. In total, the Aggies finished with nine hits and, despite three errors, forced Oakland to leave 12 runners stranded.
The Aggies struck first in the second inning as back-to-back doubles from Steve Solorzano and Kade Benavidez produced a run to grab an early 1-0 lead. Oakland responded with a run in the third, but NM State took control in the fifth, plating two runs to make it a 3-1 ballgame.
In the fifth, Jonatan Clough came home to score on a squeeze bunt laid down by Sheehan O’Connor while a Mitch Namie single brough in the speedy Brandon Forrester from second base.
After both teams traded runs in the sixth, Oakland made a late push in the eighth, scoring twice to tie the game at four apiece. However, NM State’s bullpen held strong, with Saul Soto tossing 2.2 scoreless innings to keep the game even heading into extra frames.
In the bottom of the tenth, NM State loaded the bases before Lombardi shot a chopper to the Oakland third baseman who mishandled the ball, allowing Steve Solorzano to come home to score the winning run.
At the plate, Benavidez led the Aggies with two hits and an RBI, while Mitch Namie and Camden Kaufman each contributed run-scoring hits. NM State’s pitching trio of Jack Turner, Ian Hoslett and Soto combined for seven strikeouts.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The win in extra innings marks the first extra-inning victory for the Aggies since a 16-15 home victory in 13 innings over LA Tech on May 4, 2024.
- Aidan Lombardi’s heroics came on the first pitch of his first at-bat as an Aggie.
- NM State was hit by a pitch four times on Friday night which marks the most this season.
- Steve Solorzano finished the night 1-for-1 while earning four walks across his five plate appearances. In total, the first baseman would come around to score three times which equals the most runs scored by an individual Aggie this season.
- Mitch Namie extended his hitting streak to nine games and would go on to finish 2-2 with an RBI, one walk and one hit by pitch. This was his fourth multi-hit game of the season.
UP NEXT
NM State will return to Presley Askew Field on Saturday evening to host the second game of the four-game series with Oakland. First pitch for Saturday’s contest is slated for 4 p.m.
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 (NM State Baseball).
