When the Hawai'i baseball team was swept in a doubleheader at Fresno State two weeks ago, it was heart-breaking because both games were lost in the bottom of the ninth inning. But yesterday's sweep from New Mexico State was embarrassing.

The Aggies dug their way out of the Western Athletic Conference cellar at the expense of the Rainbows with 8-6 and 9-4 wins at Presley Askew Field in Las Cruces, N.M. They played a twinbill by mutual agreement because of anticipated inclement weather today.

After a 21-6 series-opening win Friday, the Rainbows (28-19 overall, 9-9 WAC) went a span of nine consecutive scoreless innings between the two games yesterday. The Aggies (21-25, 6-12) rallied from a 6-3 deficit before tying the game in the sixth and scoring the go-ahead runs on consecutive homers in the eighth in the opener. They then jumped on UH early and often in the second game behind the strong pitching performance by Anthony Arrieta.

"When you're in a shootout, you gotta shoot," UH coach Mike Trapasso said. "And we didn't shoot in the shootout and it was a shame. It was embarrassing to lose the way we did in the second game. They just beat (us)."

Unlike Friday, when there was no gust, UH amassed 19 singles among their 22 hits. With the wind yesterday, UH hit three homers — a two-run shot by Kevin Macdonald in the first and solo shots by Landon Hernandez in the second and by Kris Sanchez in the fourth — in the first game off starter Noah Garza. But third baseman Kyle McFadden (2-1) moved to the mound and tossed 3 2/3 scoreless innings of one-hit ball to settle the game for the Aggies' comeback, highlighted by back-to-back home runs by Joseph Scaperotta and Adam Harvey off Jayson Kramer (3-3) to start the eighth inning and break a 6-all game.

McFadden was backed by two double plays, including one when UH had the bases loaded with one out in the sixth. Hawai'i also lost a run when Justin Frash was picked off second base a batter before Sanchez's homer.

In the second game, the Aggies scored in four consecutive innings in building a 5-0 lead after five innings, four of them off starter Ian Harrington (6-6), who went just 3 1/3 innings after his complete-game win against Louisiana Tech last weekend.

The Rainbows finally scored in the sixth to pull to 5-1, only to watch the Aggies tag on four in the seventh on a two-run double by Marcos Rosales and two-run single by Marcus Quade off Tyler Davis to make it 9-1 and negate Sanchez's three-run double in th eighth.

Arrieta (3-3) pitched eight innings, allowing four runs, seven hits and three walks, while striking out five. Frankie Duran added a scoreless ninth.

Trapasso was ejected in the second game after a close play at third that loaded the bases for NMSU and aided in its four-run seventh. Although he didn't agree with some of the calls yesterday, he said that wasn't why UH lost.

"We lost because we didn't have any fight, any heart," Trapasso said. "That all falls on me because I'm supposed to find a way to get us to fight."

Hawai'i needed to sweep NMSU to stay within striking distance of first-place Fresno State (11-4) to compete for the regular-season title. What helps UH, as well as the rest of the conference, is that the tournament champion is awarded the automatic regional berth. The top six teams qualify for the WAC tournament.

The Rainbows have six more WAC games left, including a home series against Fresno State.

"We're playing for the tournament now," Trapasso said. "We have two, three weeks to get better."