Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Junior Cole Loncar launched a grand slam and sophomore Jacob Huckabay hit a three-run home run, but the University of Texas-Pan American Broncs baseball team fell to the New Mexico State University Aggies 13-12 on Saturday at Presley Askew Field.
 
Huckabay's home run, his first of the season, cleared the wall just to the left of straightaway center, which is 400 feet from the plate, to give the Broncs (18-29-1, 3-19-1 WAC) a 3-2 lead in the second.
 
Loncar's home run, a no-doubt shot well beyond the left field wall, which is 345 feet from home plate, extended the Broncs' lead to 12-5 in the fifth. It was his first grand slam.
 
Huckabay went 2-for-4 with a walk, a career-high four RBI and a career-high tying two runs scored. Loncar finished 3-for-5 with a double, a career-high tying four RBI and two runs scored.
 
Freshman Robert Quinonez kept the score 12-5 during the middle of the game. After giving up five runs on eight singles over the first 3.2 innings, Quinonez retired 10 in a row, picking up three of his four strikeouts in that time. During the fifth, Quinonez consistently threw his fastball at 90-91 miles per hour.
 
In the seventh, however, the Aggies (11-34-1, 7-15-1 WAC) took advantage of three walks and five hits, including a three-run home run by Joseph Koerper against freshman Johnny Gonzalez (2-2), to score eight runs and take a 13-12 lead.
 
That made a winner of Lincoln Herendeen (1-2), who pitched a scoreless seventh.
 
Matt Loeffler pitched two scoreless innings for his first save.
 
The Broncs scored plenty of runs early. With the game tied at 3 in the third, the Broncs loaded the bases with one out against Robert Kraft. Sophomore Victor Garcia Jr. singled, and then senior Jesus Garcia hit a grounder to second, but the throw got away as a run scored and the bases remained loaded. Huckabay and freshman Edinburg alum Michael Harrison followed with walks to force-in runs and make it 7-3.
 
Then, with the score 7-5 in the fourth, junior Correy Davis hit a two-out RBI-single to extend the lead.
 
The Aggies scored five runs over the first three innings, on a two-run single by Brent Hermanussen in the first, an RBI-single by Koerper in the second, and RBI-singles by Jay Sheeley and Kyle Graf in the third.

The Broncs and Aggies complete this three-game series on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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