ALBUQUERQUE - The New Mexico State University baseball team lost a 9-3 lead by allowing 14 runs over the final three innings in a 17-13 loss to the University of New Mexico on Tuesday. The loss dropped the Aggies to 22-8-1 on the season, while the Lobos improved to 7-16-1. The win gave UNM a split of the two-game season series. NMSU's Billy Becher hit his 17th home run of the season and drove in six runs, while Emory Davies drove in a career-high four runs. The two teams combined for 30 runs, 26 hits and five home runs, and each team used six pitchers. Brian Gausman was credited with the loss for the Aggies and fell to 4-2, while Darren Cotrinari earned the win and evened his record at 1-1. The Aggies got off to a good start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first. Xardiel Cotto extended his hitting streak to 12 games by tripling to dead center field to drive in Dustin Mote. Becher singled to right to score Cotto and make it 2-0. Mark Aranda walked, and after Adrian Ballesteros hit a line out to second base, designated hitter Davies doubled to left center field to drive in Becher and Aranda to make it 4-0. The Lobos scored a two-out run in the bottom of the third, but the Aggies came right back with two runs in the top of the fourth. After two outs, Mote and Cotto walked, and Becher doubled off the top of the right center field wall. UNM came back and got the first two runners aboard with no outs in the fourth against Aggie starter Zach Cobb. After Cobb struck out Jeff Grady, he got Ryan Barba to ground out, but Matt Young tripled to cut the lead to 6-3. The Aggies added another two-out run in the top of the fifth. Gavin Monjaras walked, stole second and went home on a run-scoring single to left field by Mark Keller, which gave the Aggies a 7-3 lead. Senior Justin Quaempts relieved Cobb in the fifth. Cobb, a redshirt freshman making his first career start, allowed three runs on six hits and threw 71 pitches in four innings. After Quaempts retired the Lobos in order, NMSU struck again. Mote walked to start the inning and Cotto singled sharply to center, but Becher popped out and Aranda struck out. Ballesteros walked and Davies drew another walk to force in a run to bring the score to 8-3. With Monjaras at the plate, Lobo pitcher Darren Coltrinari uncorked a wild pitch to score Cotto and make it 9-3. But the Lobos blasted the Aggie bullpen in the bottom of the sixth, scoring 10 runs on just four hits off of four pitchers. The key hits were a grand slam home run by Joe Salas off of Gausman and a three-run home run by Jeff Grady off of J.T. Severe to give the Lobos a 13-9 lead. The Aggies came back in top of the seventh when Ewen and Cotto walked. Becher then hit his 17th home run of the season to cut the lead to 13-12. The Lobos countered with more runs in the bottom of the seventh, as Sean Murray fouled off four pitches with a 3-2 count before doubling down the left field line to push the lead to 15-12. Davies led off the top of the eighth inning with a solo home run to center field to cut the lead to 15-13. But Matt Young hit a two-run home run off of Joseph Hampel in the bottom of the eighth to give the Lobos a 17-13 lead. NMSU will travel to Little Rock, Ark., this weekend to take on the University of Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans in a Sun Belt Conference series.
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