By Marshall Mecham and Jeremy Padilla
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — The New Mexico State baseball team swept Prairie View A&M in dominant fashion at Presley Askew Field this past weekend (12-6, 7-2, 16-1). They have now won four consecutive games and are 5-6 on the season.
The Aggies were hot right from the start in the first meeting between the two teams Friday, Feb. 27, scoring four first-inning runs to set the tone early. Doubles from Aidan Taclas, Steve Solorzano, Bryce Campbell and Chris Daniels led to this quick surge.
Prairie View scored a run in the second inning to cut the lead to three, but the Aggies responded with two runs of their own in the third, thanks to a Daniels sacrifice fly and a Cole Rogers RBI triple, to take a 6-1 advantage.
They scored another run in the fourth inning and then both teams went scoreless in the fifth. After falling behind 7-1, the Panthers scored three runs in the sixth inning to cut the lead to three once again. However, the Aggies responded with three runs in the inning to extend the lead back to six. They maintained this the rest of the way through and secured a 12-6 victory to open the series on a high note.
Daniels drove in a career-high five runs, the most by an Aggie so far this season. Rogers also had himself a night, driving in three runs.
Saturday night’s game was a little tougher, but the Aggies still found a way to come on top. They were not as hot to start as the first contest, as the score was knotted up at two heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. This is where the Aggies found momentum, scoring five runs to take a 7-2 lead, which ended up being the final score.
Free passes and defensive miscues led to this late surge for the Aggies. After getting walked to start the inning, Rodgers managed to steal second base. Dane Woodcook was also walked moments later and after a fielder’s choice, Tommy Meluskey was intentionally walked to get bases loaded. Boston Vest was then walked directly after to give NMSU its first lead of the night.
This was followed up by Taclas getting hit by a pitch, extending the lead to two. Two Panther throwing errors on the next play brought in two more runs and Solorzano later scored on a wild pitch to take a five-point lead.
Pitcher Dylan Weekly recorded his first collegiate victory, while matching a career-best four strikeouts.
The final game of the series was complete domination from the Aggies, as they breezed to a 16-1 victory in seven innings. They scored in five of the six innings and maintained a 15 run lead after the top of the seventh inning, sealing the sweep.
Brandon Clizbe delivered a career-high four RBIs to help lead NMSU. This is the most runs the Aggies have scored against a Division I opponent this season.
Although starting pitching was a concern early for the Aggies, the staff responded by allowing just three total runs in the first three innings of the series. Defensively, the Aggies also stepped up, surrendering only nine runs over the weekend. A marked improvement from their previous average of 7.87 runs allowed per game entering the series.
With both the offense and defense hitting their stride, the Aggies have managed a four-game win streak entering their first of four matchups with rival University of New Mexico Tuesday, March 3.
UNM enters the game as one of three undefeated teams left in the country with a 12-0 record. With the Aggies finding their groove early and UNM looking to stay unbeaten, the Rio Grande Rivalry will be a game to watch.
First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Presley Askew Field Tuesday, March 3. Fans can listen to the game on 91.3 FM KRUX.
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