Kearney, Neb. - The New Mexico Highlands baseball team scored nine unanswered runs, and hit five home runs in the last three innings, to eliminate Nebraska-Kearney, 9-3, from the 2010 NCAA Division II baseball tournament Friday afternoon in Farmington, N.M.

The Lopers (36-20) end the year with the second most wins in school history. In 1981, then-Kearney State won 37 games.

The top-seed in the Central Region, Highlands (40-12) bounces back from an 11-2 loss late Thursday night to St. Cloud State and will play an opponent TBD on Saturday.

Things started off well for UNK as junior 3b Luke Valerius (Golden, Colo.) hit a two out, two-run single in the bottom of the first to give the Lopers the early lead.

However, Highlands starter Trent Evins settled down from there, allowing no runs over the next seven innings. The right hander improved to 8-1 by allowing eights hits and four walks, with seven strikeouts, in eight full innings.

Junior OF Luke Stamp (Persia, Ia.) hit a one out homer in the ninth of reliever Tyler Wichmann to score the Lopers other run.

Highlands scored its first run on a ground out in the third and then moved ahead for good by scoring two in the fourth on three hits and a wild pitch. In the seventh, the 'Pokes got two more runs when 2b David Bustillos hit a two out, two-run homer.

The homers would continue in the next two innings as Highlands led off the eighth with two solo shots, then Bustillos and RMAC Player of the Year Jason Carr went deep in the ninth.

In six games this year against the Lopers, Carr went 11 for 23 with seven homers and 14 RBI's.

For UNK, junior 1b Andrew Haake (Beatrice) went 3 for 5 with junior OF Patrick Oliver (2 for 3) have his second multi-hit game of the regional. Finally, Arizona junior Roy Metter (4-5) suffered the loss by allowing five runs in 6.2 innings.