LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Back in the national rankings this week, Hawai'i also is back in first place in the Western Athletic Conference.

The Rainbows continued their assault on the school home run record when Sean Montplaisir, Vinnie Catricala and Kevin Macdonald — the 2-3-4 hitters — went deep in a 12-10 victory over New Mexico State in the first game of a pivotal conference series.

"Playing in a place like this, it's anybody's ball game," said Montplaisir, referring to the 3,900-foot elevation at Presley Askew Field.

"At this altitude, especially with a little wind, you can put up as many runs as you want, really. I'm glad we could start it off with a win. It sets the tone for the rest of the trip, especially when it's a close race like this."

No. 20 Hawai'i (25-14, 8-4) took a half-game lead in the WAC over Nevada (18-20, 7-4), which is playing a nonconference series against Cal State Bakersfield this weekend.

The Rainbows will play a doubleheader against New Mexico State (32-9, 7-6) today.

Hawai'i has 39 home runs, third-most in a season in school history, and is on pace to challenge the school record of 58 set in 1983.

Montplaisir, who was a triple short of the cycle, doubled in a run with two outs in the ninth and Catricala followed with a two-run homer to give Hawai'i enough of a cushion in the back-and-forth game to survive Wade Reynoso's two-run homer in the Aggies' ninth.

NMSU leads the nation in runs (465) and has 85 homers.

"It's a grind when you play these guys," said Hawai'i coach Mike Trapasso, who played for Aggies assistant coach Gary Ward at Oklahoma State.

"I know what it's like to play an offensive team like that, and play in a hitter's park. These guys are for real. This is a top 25-caliber team. They are not getting the recognition they deserve. When you play them at home, it is an absolute battle."

Macdonald continued his recent power surge with a bases-empty homer in the eighth inning for a 9-7 lead. He had four homers and drove in seven runs when the Rainbows took three of four from Sacramento State last weekend and had an RBI-double against Arizona State on Tuesday.

Right-hander Jayson Kramer (4-3) gave up five runs, but only one in his final four innings of work, while pitching out of trouble most of the way for the victory. He walked four and hit two in six innings but got three double plays behind him.

Left fielder Montplaisir also threw out a runner trying to stretch a single into a double to open the fifth, cutting the ball off in the gap in left-center.

"I was expecting it to go to the fence, but the ground is kind of soft. I kind of died in front of me. I threw it as hard as I could," Montplaisir

"That was huge," Trapasso said.

Sam Spangler, who grew up in Albuquerque and pitched in front of friends and family, got his fourth save of the season by retiring the final two batters of the seventh inning with runners on first and second to preserve an 8-7 lead.

Spangler struck out Reynoso on a 90 mph fastball before getting Chuck Howard on a fly to center.

"Coach preaches we need to pitch inside, especially against metal bats and especially in a park like this. You have to pitch to both sides of the plate," Spangler said.

"I can't think score. I just had to get that out. We work pitch to pitch. You don't think about what you are doing in the future. You think about executing the pitch that you are throwing at the time."

NOTES: New Mexico State is expected to be without center fielder and leadoff hitter Richard Stout for the series because of a strained rib cage that kept him out of the final game of the Nevada series last week. Stout leads the WAC in runs (57) and stolen bases (19).