Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 LAS VEGAS, N.M. – The Cowboys scored seven runs in the first two innings of game one today, but only managed to score two the rest of the day as the New Mexico Highlands baseball team (29-18, 26-11 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) split with visiting Metro State (14-27, 12-24 RMAC), holding on to win game one 9-8 before dropping game two, 2-0.
The Cowboys took it to Metro State from the first pitch of the bottom of the first when junior
Andrew Ratterman doubled down the left field line. After an out, redshirt junior
Matthew Chavez tripled to left center on a full count to put Highlands on the board. Junior
Morgan McCasland followed with an RBI single before stealing second. Classmate junior
Colby Wilmer joined the hit parade with an RBI double before a pair of groundouts ended the inning after the Cowboys added a trio of runs.
Highlands wasted no time in the second as seniors
Tyler Hayes and
Jordan Goliat along with a Ratterman contributed a base knock loaded the bases with no one out. Senior
Justin Rodriguez drove in a pair with a double to chase the Roadrunners starting pitcher Patrick Gojan, who allowed eight hits and seven runs in an inning pitched. Chavez put the home team up 7-0 when he cleared the bases with a single.
The Cowboys reloaded the bases in the second with no outs, but Mike Thill got out of the inning allowing no more runs.
With hits in his first two at-bats of the day, Chavez extended his hit streak to seven consecutive bats before ending the day with a pair of strikeouts. He contributed three RBI's and a run scored. Hitters 1-5 – Ratterman, Rodriguez, McCasland and Wilmer along with Chavez – all had a pair of hits for the game. Hayes went 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk in game on.
Junior
Blake Harrison navigated through 15 hits to allow six runs and record six strikeouts in seven innings of work.
Metro State cut its deficit to 8-6 in the fifth, but Highlands added a pivotal insurance run in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, McCasland and Wilmer hit back-to-back two-baggers to put the Cowboys up 9-6.
In the final two innings, Darryl Baca and Mitch Gibbons both added solo home runs for Metro State, but senior
Ben Ruff was able to pitch around an error for his conference-leading eighth save of the year.
Baca and Purvis both finished 4-for-5 with a home run and two runs scored, but they only managed a single RBI.
In game two, both Ryan Baca for the Roadrunners and senior
Greg Hansen twirled complete games, but Baca was able to pitch around four hits and four walks to improve to 3-2 on the year. Hansen fell to 7-4 as Metro State claimed the 2-0 victory, scoring single tallies in both the fifth and sixth.
McCasland managed his first triple of the year for the Cowboys, but it came with two outs in the fourth.
With one out in the fifth for Metro State, Zach Baldini doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on Reilly Mau's single. Hansen than got a pop out to shallow right field, but the throw was wide as Baldini eluded the tag for the visitor's first lead of the ballgame. In the sixth, Nick Comito led off the inning with a single, was bunted to second and scored on Baca's RBI double to put Metro State up a pair.
Comito and Mau led the visitors with two hits in three at-bats in game two.
The New Mexico Highlands baseball team, who will be the second seed in the RMAC Tournament, returns to action tomorrow for another nine- and seven-inning double header beginning at noon. The athletic department will celebrate senior day for the track and field seniors before the first game before recognizing the baseball seniors between games.
