LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The No. 20 University of Hawai`i Rainbow baseball team (26-15, 9-5 WAC) split the two games of the doubleheader with the New Mexico State Aggies (33-10, 8-7) 16-6 (8) and 8-7 (10) at Presley Askew Field Saturday.

 

In the first game, UH fell 16-6 in eight innings, due to the 10-run rule. Matt Sisto (4-4) took the loss while Jared Jordan (6-1) got the win for the Aggies.

 

Kevin Macdonald provided the big offensive shot for UH, hitting the program's 28th grand slam. Jeffrey Van Doornum was 2-for-3 with a home run while Sean Montplaisir was 2-for-4 with one RBI and one run. Kolten Wong went 2-for-4 with a double with Greg Garcia adding a 2-for-4 game with a run.

 

The Aggies got it started in the bottom of the second, as Wade Reynoso dropped a two-run home run. NMSU later added a run in the third, then a big four-run inning in the fourth made it 7-0.

 

New Mexico State added another run in the sixth, looking to possibly get a shot at ending the game early due to the 10-run rule. But Hawai`i wasn't about to let that happen. In the top of the seventh, Montplaisir got UH started with an RBI-single. But the big shot came from Macdonald, a grand slam to left field, cutting it back to 8-5.

 

Van Doornum homered in the top of the eighth to get it to 8-6, but NMSU ran away with it in the bottom of the inning. The Aggies scored eight runs in the bottom of the eighth on four home runs, ending the game 16-6.

 

In the second game, Garcia hit an RBI-single in the top of the 10th, giving UH the 8-7 victory. Jared Alexander (2-1) got the win in relief, pitching 2.1 scoreless innings while Jake Wilson (2-2) got the loss for NMSU.

 

Macdonald homered for the third-straight game, going 2-for-6 with three RBI. Vinnie Catricala also hit a home run, going 2-for-6, while Ryan Morford was 2-for-4 with two RBI and his first career homer. Montplaisir added a 3-for-5 game with a double and two runs while Garcia had two RBI. Wong was able to extend his hitting streak to 15 games with a double. Nate Klein pitched great in the start, striking out six in 6.0 shutout innings.

 

The Rainbows got on the board early, scoring in the first and second innings on runs driven in by Macdonald and Garcia, putting the 'Bows up 2-0.

 

Morford hit his first home run of the season in the top of the fourth, a two-run shot that extended the Hawai`i lead to 4-0. Catricala later homered in the top of the seventh, moving UH's lead to 5-0.

 

But the Aggies made their comeback in the bottom of the eighth, scoring seven runs on seven hits against the UH bullpen, putting NMSU ahead 7-5.

 

That was when Macdonald came up with his heroics in the top of the ninth, hitting a two-run homer with two outs to tie the game and send it to extra innings.

 

After Garcia's RBI-single gave UH the lead in the top of the 10th, NMSU threatened to answer. But with runners at first and third and just one out, Alexander induced a 3-6-3 double play to fittingly allow Macdonald and Garcia to close the book on the Aggies.

 

The series concludes with a game tomorrow at 1:05 p.m. (9 a.m. HST).