Aggies Fall to Hilltoppers in Heartbreaking Conference USA Championship Opener
Lynchburg, Va. – NM State faced a tough setback in their Conference USA Championship opener, suffering a dramatic 7-6 loss to second-seeded Western Kentucky (WKU) in 10 innings on Wednesday.
The Aggies began strong, seizing a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Brandon Forrester tripled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Mitch Namie. They extended this lead to 2-0 in the second, courtesy of a groundout from Dane Woodcook following Gianni Horvat’s single. The team’s momentum surged in the fourth, where they erupted for four runs. Key hits from Austin Corbett, Woodcook, and Solorzano, alongside a two-run single from Solorzano, set the score at 6-0.
Starting pitcher Connor Wylde kept WKU scoreless for the first four innings, but the Hilltoppers began to chip away, scoring two runs in the fifth and a pivotal three-run double from Ethan Lizama in the sixth that narrowed the gap to 6-5.
Despite having multiple chances to secure an insurance run, including bases-loaded opportunities in the seventh and runners on the corners in the ninth, NM State could not capitalize. WKU tied it in the eighth with a solo shot from Lizama, and in the tenth, after a leadoff walk, Lizama delivered a walk-off double, sealing the Aggies’ fate.
The Aggies outhit WKU 11-9 but failed to convert on key scoring opportunities, leaving 13 runners stranded. The defeat now places NM State in a precarious position, forcing them into an elimination game against No. 3 Kennesaw State on Thursday at 7 a.m. MT.
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