Las Cruces, N.M.- The Leatherneck Baseball team fought until the final out but ultimately came up short, falling 9-5 to New Mexico State on Sunday afternoon at Presley Askew Field.
The  offense came alive late, scoring four runs in the final two innings to keep things interesting. After being held to just one run through seven innings, WIU put together a big eighth inning. Liam Bushey would walk with the bases loaded to bring in a run and Krayton Morse delivered a clutch two-run single cutting in to the Aggie lead, making it 8-4.Â
Freshman Kenneth Perez provided a spark for the Leathernecks with a lead-off solo home run in the ninth and finished the day 2-for-4 with an RBI. Trevor Leon also turned in a strong performance at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a run scored.
On the mound, starter Jorge Romero (0-1) allowed four earned runs over 4.1 innings. He struck out three but gave up a pair of home runs. Out of the bullpen, Karsten Stotlar provided a solid 1.1 innings of relief, striking out one while allowing just one hit.
Western Illinois (0-5) will look to bounce back next week as they hit the road heading to Alabama State for a three game weekend series starting on Friday, February 28th. First pitch is scheduled for 6 PM on Friday.Â
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