by David Sanders
Sports Reporter
The New Mexico State University baseball team was swept by conference rival Sacramento State this weekend in Sacramento, Calif.
The Aggies (21-28, 6-15 in Western Athletic Conference play) dropped the first game of the series to Sacramento (16-32, 10-14 in the WAC) by a score of 11-0 during Thursday's game. The Aggies lost Friday 3-2 and lost Saturday 7-3.
"It's frustrating to be in the position that we were in coming into this series and to give up three straight games to a team I know we could beat," Aggie coach Rocky Ward said in an interview. "Luckily for us, we still have a chance as of right now."
The losses put the Aggies at the bottom of the WAC charts, but they are within one game of San Jose State, meaning next week's conference series against SJS could move them out of last place.
Thursday's game saw Sacramento State pitcher Alvaro Orozco pitch seven innings, giving up only three hits to the Aggies. Not helping the Aggies were the four errors committed during the game.
"Their guy was on, and we just didn't seem to get going offensively," Ward said. "We also made a few mistakes that seemed to hurt us, but the bottom line is, if we can't put any runs on the board, we can't win."
Friday's game was the closest of the series, with the Aggies losing by only one run. The Aggies scored their two runs on nine hits. An Aggie error in the eighth allowed Sacramento to get the winning run.
Saturday's game started out bright for the Aggies, who took an early lead. Aggie sophomore Richard Stout pulled in the first run of the game, reaching first off a hit and then stealing second. He was brought in by sophomore Joseph Scaperotta. The Hornets got their first score at the bottom of the inning when a run was walked in by starting pitcher Noah Garza. The Hornets took the lead in the third with two runs, putting the game at 3-1. The Hornets scored another run in the fifth, then two more in the sixth. The Aggies scored twice in the eighth inning, but Sacramento answered back with a run, and the Aggies were unable to do anything in the ninth.
The Aggies will play their last conference series of the season against the San Jose State Spartans on Friday, May 11, through Sunday, May 13, in Las Cruces.
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