Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Six-run ninth sparks Aggie baseball past Seattle U

From NMSU Athletics news release

The Basics

Game Thirty Six
Score: NM State 12, Seattle U 3
records: NM State (15-21, 5-12 WAC); Seattle U (10-24, 8-12 WAC)
Location: Bellevue, Wash. (Bannerwood Park)

BELLEVUE, Wash. – Winning is fun and the NM State baseball team got back to its winning ways on Saturday over Seattle U. Fueled by a six-run ninth inning, the Aggies cruised to a 12-3 win to even the weekend set.

After a pair of scoreless innings from Pablo Cortes to open the game, the Redhawks got on the board in the third inning with two runs. Wasting no time responding, the Aggies put up three runs in the top of the fourth inning. Logan Gallina singled down the right field line, scoring Kevin Jimenez. For his second hit of the day, Ryan Grabosch put low-flying aircraft in danger with a two-run home run to left field.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Seattle U tied the game at three with a bases-loaded walk. Gallina launched a home run to left-center in the sixth inning and put the Aggies on top. From there, NM State would not look back, outscoring Seattle U 9-0 over the final three innings.

After doubling to lead off the seventh inning, Cal Villareal scored on a balk to give the Aggies a two-run lead. In a pinch-hit scenario, Edwin Martinez-Pagani ripped an RBI double before eventually being thrown out at third. Nonetheless, Martinez-Pagani scored Cal Kilgore from second base.

After throwing out a baserunner attempting to steal in the eighth, Kilgore led off the ninth inning with a double – his first of two hits in the inning. After back-to-back walks from Martinez-Pagani and Jimenez, Gallina broke the game wide open with a two-run single. With his third hit of the game, Gallina drove in his third and fourth runs of the game and the ninth and tenth runs of the week.

Three consecutive Aggies reached following the Gallina single, including back-to-back RBI singles from Tommy Tabak and AJ Garcia. Villareal plated the 12th and final run of the day for the Aggies with a groundout, scoring Tabak. Hayden Johns closed out the ninth inning on the mound for the Aggies, working a scoreless frame.

Quick hits

  • The NM State bullpen combined to work 4.0 scoreless innings, including 3.0 scoreless from Lyle Hibbits.
  • Logan Gallina and Ryan Grabosch combined to go 6-9 with six RBI and two home runs in the ballgame.
  • The last six hitters in the Aggies starting lineup all tallied multi-hit games, combining for 14 hits.
  • Seven of the nine starters in the NM State lineup recorded a base hit on Saturday.
  • NM State only struck out twice in the ballgame on Saturday.
  • As a pitching staff, the Aggies only allowed one walk in the contest.
  • AJ Garcia picked up his first multi-hit game of the season.
  • Pablo Cortes will pick up his third win of the season on the mound.

on deck
NM State and Seattle U will square off in a rubber match on Sunday morning in Seattle. With an 11:00 am PT (12:00 pm MT) first pitch, the Aggies will look to win the series and gain ground on Seattle U in the WAC West standings.

For complete coverage of NM State baseball throughout the Aggies 2022 campaign visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of Aggie athletics – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Baseball), Twitter (@NMStateBaseball) and Instagram (@NMStateBaseball).

Comments are closed.