Box Score LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Three Sacramento State hitters finished with two hits on the night and the Hornets scored five runs in the first to jump out to an early lead before holding off host New Mexico State for a 6-5 win in the series opener on Friday night in Las Cruces, N.M.
The win was the third in the last four Western Athletic Conference games for Sacramento State, which improved to 14-15 overall and 6-7 in league play, while the Aggies fell to 11-16 overall and 3-10 in conference action.
Sophomore right-hander Eli Saul (4-0) won his second straight start — and his fourth in his last five — allowing two earned runs on three hits while striking out four over six innings, helping the Hornets improve to 8-0 in his starts this year. Max Pettey allowed a run on a hit while striking out a pair in 1.2 innings of work before giving way to Jack Zalasky in the eighth, who got the final four outs to pick up his third save of the year.
Sacramento State sent all nine hitters to the plate in a big first innings, collecting four hits and a walk with some help from an error to score five times. Nick Iwasa doubled off the wall in left centerfield to lead-off the game and scored easily from third two batters later when Cesar Valero doubled to center for the 1-0 lead.
Following an infield single off the bat of Jeffery Heard that put runners on the corners, a wild pitch from emergency starter Lyle Hibbitts (1-1) plated Valero for a 2-0 advantage and a double by Dylan McPhillips after a walk to Steven Moretto and a strikeout made it 3-0.
Now with two in scoring position, a ball off the bat of Trevor Doyle was mishandled by the NMSU infield, allowing both Moretto and McPhillips to scamper home for a 5-0 advantage.
New Mexico State finally broke through in the fourth with a home run off the bat of Gunner Antillon and added two more on a single by Cal Kilgore and a run-scoring ground ball by Preston Godfrey to make it a two-run game in the fifth. Another home run, this time off the bat of Brandon Dieter in the eighth, pulled the Aggies to within a run, but Zalasky got a strikeout to strand the potential tying run in scoring position.
Iwasa was again the catalyst for an important run in the ninth, drawing a one-out walk, moving to second on a wild pitch, and scoring on a double to center by Jorge Bojorquez to push the lead back to two at 6-4.
New Mexico State wasn't done, however, making things interesting with a run in the ninth on a two-out double by Ryan Grabosch to pull to within a run once again, but Zalasky induced Dieter into a ground ball back to the mound to end the game.
Iwasa finished 2-for-4 and was on base three times, while Moretto and McPhillips each added a pair of hits as Sacramento State out-hit its host by an 11-6 count.
Game two of the series is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT on Saturday (April 9) and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
