Blue Raiders End Skid 14-13

After three innings on Saturday night it looked as if the Blue Raiders' five game losing streak would come to a crashing halt. After nine innings, though, Middle Tennessee (19-11, 2-3) was glad to hang on for a 14-13 victory over New Mexico State (25-10, 2-3) on a windy night.

The Blue Raiders jumped out to an 11-0 lead after three innings. Justin Sims blasted three homers in as many at-bats to pace the Blue Raider attack. Josh Archer and Brett Carroll also added long balls over this stretch as Middle Tennessee took the commanding lead.

The Aggies would finally get on the board with a run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single from Ryan Kenning.

The Aggies got two more across in the fourth and pulled within three runs after plating five runs in the bottom of the fifth. The Aggies got their first homer of the series from Kurt Wilkerson in the fourth and Alex Borgo homered in the fifth.

The Blue Raiders extended their lead in the top of the seventh. Three straight singles loaded the bases for Brett Carroll, who delivered the first run on a fielder's choice. A single from Troy Harp plated Kevin Suba and Carroll later scored on a passed ball.

The extra runs would come in handy. The Aggies mounted one last rally in the bottom of the ninth. NMSU brought four runs in to cut the lead to one before reliever Marshall Nisbett was able to slam the door.

Reliever Travis Horschel earned the win to improve to 3-1 while Nisbett picked up his first career save. Mike Smith, who faced two batters in the second before being lifted, took the loss for NMSU to drop to 4-3.

Sims led the Blue Raiders with a 4-for-6 night that included three bombs and five RBIs. Chuck Akers, Archer, and Harp added three hits each.

Kurt Wilkinson turned in his second straight 4-for-5 night in the series to lead the Aggies.

The teams will conclude their series on Sunday afternoon in a game slated to begin at Noon.

NOTES:
Justin Sims tied a school record with three homers in a game - The Blue Raiders' 22 hit attack is the most of the year and is only six hits shy of the school record of 28 set against Lipscomb last season - The Blue Raiders' five homers are the most in one game this season - Every man in the Blue Raider order had at least one hit in the game - Travis Horschel's appearance marked his first relief appearance of the year - Marshall Nisbett's appearance was his first in conference action - the Blue Raider victory ended a five-game losing streak - Archer and Sims' back-to-back homers in the second inning was the second such occurrence this year.

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