TUCSON, Ariz. - Beau Sylvester had the first multi-home run game of his career, Nate Novitske and Cash Brennan each recorded multi-hit games, and the Arizona baseball team earned an 8-6 victory over New Mexico State on Wednesday night at Hi Corbett Field to open a four-game homestand.
The Wildcats (17-30, 7-17 Big 12) totaled 10 hits and drew four walks, while New Mexico State finished with nine hits and three walks.
Sylvester starred offensively, going 2-for-5 with two home runs, three RBI, and two runs scored. Novitske finished 3-for-5 with two doubles, one RBI, and one run scored, while Brennan went 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI singles. Mathis Meurant, Tony Lira, and Carson McEntire each added one hit, with all three Wildcats scoring a run and Lira driving in one.
Matthew Martinez earned the win on the mound, while Bradyn Barnes was charged with the loss for New Mexico State.
True freshman Jack Lafflam turned in the best outing of his young career in the start, tossing 4.0 scoreless innings of one-hit baseball while striking out five.
Arizona opened the scoring in the second inning after Meurant delivered a two-out double to spark the offense. Brennan followed with an RBI single back up the middle before McEntire doubled off the left field wall. Brennan later scored on a wild pitch during the next at-bat to give the Wildcats a 2-0 advantage.
In the bottom of the third, Novitske led off the frame with a double to left-center field before Lira lined an RBI single down the right field line. Two batters later, Sylvester launched a 408-foot home run over the wall in left field to extend Arizona's lead to 5-0.
Arizona added another run in the fifth inning as Brennan delivered his second RBI single of the night, scoring Caleb Danzeisen to push the lead to 6-0.
New Mexico State got on the board in the top of the sixth, trimming the Wildcats' advantage to 6-1.
Sylvester struck again in the seventh inning, blasting a 397-foot solo home run to left field for his second long ball of the night. Arizona added another run in the eighth inning to extend the lead to 8-1, its largest advantage of the evening.
The Aggies mounted a late rally with five runs in the top of the ninth, but Collin McKinney entered and recorded the final two outs to secure his first save of the season.
Arizona returns to Hi Corbett Field on Friday to open a three-game series against Houston at 6 p.m.
