Baseball: Early hole too much for New Mexico bats

New Mexico didn’t get off to the start it wanted on Tuesday against New Mexico State, and paid the price despite assembling a late rally.

In the bottom of the third, UNM (6-5) found itself in a 7-0 hole to start, something the potent offense could never quite recover from as the squad fell to NMSU 9-6. The contest was played at a neutral site in El Paso, Texas, on the diamond shared by the Triple-A El Paso Chihuahuas. 

James Harrington, the sophomore right-hander, was only charged with four of those seven runs, as the Lobo defense was subpar to start off the contest, committing two errors on the night.

UNM’s offense didn’t quit, a typical trait for the squad, as the Lobos jumped right back into the thick of things, plating four runs in the fourth inning, and another in the sixth.

However, the 7-5 deficit was as close as the Lobos would get for the remainder of the game when a two-run seventh inning put the game out of reach.

Aggie right fielder Dan Hetzel, left fielder Austin Botello, and shortstop L.J. Hatch each had two-RBI nights that set the pace for NMSU (8-6) in the victory.

New Mexico junior catcher Chris DeVito tallied up another multi-hit game, collecting two hits on the day, including his third long ball of the year. DeVito has hit safely in 10 of UNM’s 11 games and is riding a nine-game hit streak.

UNM will take on NMSU three more times this season. The next will be at another neutral site in Roswell.

Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.