LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- Freshman Wehiwa Aloy tied his career high with four hits, including his record-tying 11th home run of the season, while classmate JP Smith and sophomore Jeffery Heard each homered in the 10th inning on Friday night, helping lift the Sacramento State baseball team to a 6-5 victory over New Mexico State at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, N.M.
The win moved the Hornets to 22-20 overall and 8-11 in league play, taking the series opener for the fourth time in seven Western Athletic Conference series. The Aggies, who came back to tie the game with a pair in the bottom of the night, fell to 10-27 overall and 7-15 in conference.
A pitcher's duel through seven turned into a slugfest over the final three innings as Sacramento State slugged three home runs and NMSU added another as the night heated up. Aloy led-off the eighth by taking a 1-1 pitch over the wall down the left field line for his 11th of the season, matching Justin Lamb's record for most home runs by a freshman in the program's Division I history set in 2009.
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The Hornets then added a much-needed insurance run as
Martin Vincelli-Simard, who was at third following a single, a wild pitch, and a ground ball to the right side, was awarded home plate after a pitch from Aggies' reliever Matthew Maloney (1-4) got lodged in the catcher's chest protector. By rule, the ball was declared dead and Vincelli-Simard was awarded home plate.
That run proved crucial as, after Sacramento State left the bases loaded in the ninth, Nick Gore led-off the bottom of the inning with his seventh home run of the year and Kevin Jimenez drove home the tying run with a single later in the frame.
The Hornets then caught a break as New Mexico State committed the final out of the inning at the plate.
Jack Zalasky's (3-1) pick-off attempt to second went right to Aloy, who immediately threw home to erase Mitch Namie trying to score and send the game to extra innings.
Smith needed only three pitches to give Sacramento State the lead once again as he took an 0-2 offering from Maloney over the wall in right for his ninth home run of the season and a 5-4 advantage, followed by Heard two batters later, who no-doubted a 3-1 pitch over the wall in right for his seventh of the season and a 6-4 lead.
With his ninth of the year, Smith moved into fourth on the list for the most home runs by a freshman, just one shy of joining Lamb, Aloy, and Rhys Hoskins (10 in 2012) as the only freshmen to reach double-digit home runs in the program's Division I history.
The Aggies made it interesting in the home half of the 10th as Gore came through once again, scoring Christian Perez with a two-out RBI double to make it a one-run game, but
Max Pettey nailed down his first save of the year by inducing Romeo Ballesteros into a fly out to right to end the game.
Starter
Evan Gibbons capped off his fourth straight "quality start" in the no decision, allowing two runs on eight hits over six innings and striking out one before giving way to
Cooper Rons, who allowed only one hit and struck out four over two scoreless innings.
Aloy and Smith each extended their respective hitting streaks to eight games — the latter notching his career-best streak — while Heard's blast kept his own hitting streak alive at seven games. Meanwhile, Aloy tallied his 22nd multi-hit game of the year for the most such performances by a Hornet since Ian Dawkins finished with 30 in 2018.
The three home runs by Sacramento State on the night gave the team 59 for the season for the most since the 2009 squad finished with 63 and just one shy of becoming the seventh Hornet team to hit 60 in a season since 1979.
Meanwhile, the defense was also on point, turning four double plays on the night to tie its season high set against UT Arlington on April 15. The Hornets entered the week ranked No. 10 in the nation in that category.
Game two of the series is scheduled for Saturday (April 29) at 1 p.m. PT.
