Aggies win instant classic against Lobos

NM State delivered one of its most dramatic wins of the season April 28 at Lobo Baseball Field, erupting for six runs in the 10th inning to outlast New Mexico 16-15 in a wild extra‑inning victory. With the win, the Aggies improve to 19-24 overall and are now a perfect 3-0 against the Lobos during the 2026 campaign.

The victory marks the first time the Aggies have strung together three rivalry wins since winning six straight in the rivalry from 2017 to 2019.

The Aggies and Lobos traded blows throughout a back‑and‑forth contest that featured five lead changes and offense in nearly every inning. After striking first, NMSU found itself facing a three-run (5-2) deficit through four innings of action. The Aggies regained momentum in the sixth stanza as a three-run home run by Camden Kaufman knotted the game at five. However, UNM would move back in front with one run in the bottom half of the frame.

NM State posted a four-run seventh inning behind four hits and an error. To lead off the inning, Steve Solorzano was hit and Aidan Taclas earned a walk. Both Aggies then came in to score as Boston Vest executed a perfect squeeze bunt.

That brought home Solorzano, while an error on the same play allowed Taclas to cross home plate and Vest to advance to third. Tommy Meluskey then tallied a walk of his own before he and Vest extended the lead to 9-6 by way of a two-RBI triple from Kaufman.

New Mexico recaptured the lead with a four-run seventh of its own, leaving the score at 10-9 entering the eighth inning.

After Solorzano came through with an RBI in the eighth that ultimately helped send the game into extras, the Aggies seized control in the 10th. NMSU sent 13 batters to the plate, opening the inning with traffic before Bryce Campbell delivered a game-defining three‑run double that broke the game open. NM State added three more through patient at‑bats and aggressive baserunning to build a commanding 16-10 lead.

The Lobos mounted one final charge in the bottom of the inning, scoring five times to bring the tying run into play. However, Dylan Weekly buckled down to record the final out, stranding the potential tying run and sealing the victory.

NMSU finished with 13 hits, led by Kaufman, who drove in five runs, while Campbell recorded three RBIs. Solorzano and Meluskey each added a pair of RBIs.

NMSU took a season-high 12 walks in the win. This was led by Jonatan Clough and Meluskey, who each recorded three walks. For Clough, this was a new career high. For the second time this year, Meluskey recorded multiple stolen bases in a single game.

Kaufman’s five-RBI performance marks his fourth multi-RBI outing of the season, including his third game with four or more RBIs. He logged his first home run of the season and fourth as an Aggie.

In total, five Aggies have now combined to post nine games of five-plus RBIs, including Chris Daniels, Clough and Kaufman who have each done so multiple times this season.

The Aggies’ 16 runs serve as the most runs for a single team in the Rio Grande Rivalry since 2022, while the 31 combined runs represent the most combined runs in an Aggie-Lobo game since 1999, when the two teams combined to score 46 runs in Albuquerque.

The Aggies are now 2-0 in extra-inning games this season and are 7-2 in extra innings during the Angier era. NMSU improves to 6-4 in midweek games.