Kats hold on to snap streak

Friday, April 17

Las Cruces, N.M.

7:00 PM

15-23, 5-11

NM State

16-20, 7-9

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Sam Houston	3	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	10	1
NM State	0	1	3	0	0	2	0	1	0	7	8	1

Kats hold on to snap streak

4/18/2026 12:09:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Sam Houston Bearkats used an early 8-run surge to propel themselves to an 8-7 win over NM State in the series opener on Friday night at Presley Askew Field.

The Bearkats (15-23, 5-11 CUSA) had to hold on for the win to snap an 11-game losing streak as the Aggies (16-20, 7-9 CUSA) scored seven unanswered runs and left the tying run in scoring position in the ninth.

Staff ace Ryan Peterson did not have his best stuff, but battled his way through 6.0 innings to even his record at 4-4 on the year with the win. He struck out six and walked only one, but complicated things with a season-high four hit batters.

He handed it off to Zak Johnson in the seventh and the senior righty went the rest of the way, logging the final 3.0 innings for his fourth save of the year.

Aggie starter Colton Sneddon was the losing pitcher, allowing six runs in just an inning of work before being removed during the Kats' 5-run second inning.

Ryan Franden homered in his second at-bat of the night and Wes Baker had a double and three RBI to lead the offense, while Jeric Curtis delivered a 3-hit game and scored twice. In all the Kats had 10 hits in the game, including four for extra bases.

Sam Houston came out on fire in the opening two frames, jumping out to an 8-0 lead against starter Colton Sneddon and the Aggies' first reliever, Jaden Davis. Seven of the first eight hitters reached in the first frame with Caleb Cotton, Nathan Fink and Baker picking up RBIs to build an early 3-0 lead.

Then Franden connected on a 2-run homer to open the scoring in the second and the Kats added three more on an RBI double by Cade Corcoran and a 2-run single from Baker.

NMSU got a run back in the bottom of the second and the Kats had something working again in the third after Curtis got into scoring position with a 2-out single and a steal of second base; however, the Kats could not get him in and that would be the last base runner Sam Houston would have until Baker led off the eighth inning with a double.

The Aggies got strong relief work from Davis and then Bradyn Burns, allowing the Aggie offense to work their way back. They did just that when Jonathan Clough took advantage of a pair of hit batters from Peterson with a 3-run homer over the center field fence that cut the lead in half at 8-4 in the third.

Peterson was able to put up a pair of zeros in the fourth and fifth but ran into trouble again in the sixth when NM State got two more home on an RBI single by Tommy Meluskey and a sacrifice bunt by Brandon Clizbe, making it an 8-6 game.

Sam Houston could not take advantage of Baker's leadoff double in the eighth and NM State continued to climb back in the eighth when Aidan Lombardi got a run home with a ground ball. But Johnson was able to ring up Cole Rogers on strikes with the tying run on third base to end the eighth and then worked around a 1-out single in the ninth to get the Kats to the finish line.

UP NEXT
Sam Houston will look to clinch the series over the Aggies on Saturday in Game 2 from Askew Field. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. CT with the game to air on ESPN+.

All Bearkat Baseball games can be followed via live stats on Statbroadcast. Fans are also encouraged to follow @BearkatsBSB on X and Instragram for updates.