The sun was well above the Sandia Mountains while New Mexico was taking in its final practice at Santa Ana Star Field before the Mountain West Tournament.
Media representatives, conference sponsors, players and coaches were all putting in the final touches before the gun sets off for the postseason.
Head coach Ray Birmingham has put in the work to promote his program as one that he stated is in national conversations every year. He said the ballpark is starting to reflect his program.
“The state tournament was here,” Birmingham said. “This ballpark is going to be even better in the next few years; it’s going to be bigger and better and it’s going to be something everybody wants to play on, go to, and enjoy.”
Even though the new club house is still in the works, the extra bleachers have been put in place, every team in the conference has their banners stuck on the outfield wall, and the field is ready for opening pitch on Wednesday at 11 a.m.
UNM has been granted spectators for the opening day of the tournament following the 2-1 series victory over Air Force on Saturday, but the bottom five conference foes will be looking to escape the opening day unscathed.
Carl Stajduhar, New Mexico’s sophomore third baseman said the home ambiance is going to give the squad quite a leg up on the competition, along with the first round bye.
“We’re going to have a lot of fans coming out and watching us here,” Stajduhar said. “It’s going to be good, it’s going to be a huge advantage for us.”
Not having to waste an arm on the first day will play a large role in how the Lobos will approach things throughout the tournament.
One of those arms is Albuquerque’s own Carson Schneider. The junior lefty had some rough patches in his first year as a starter, most of which occurred down the final stretch of the season. However, in his final performance of the season, the southpaw was able to pitch a good game, the game which solidified UNM’s No. 2 seed placement.
“It’s nice to bounce back, have a good outing and be ready for the conference tournament,” Schneider said.
Though the starter said fatigue may have been a factor down the grueling stretch of the season, the lefty said he doesn’t foresee any issues in the do-or-die mentality of the double elimination tournament.
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Keeping it Local
Schneider is one of 12 players homegrown in the state of New Mexico with experience to play on a team they watched growing up.
Schneider said the advantage of playing at home doesn’t just stem from the crowd’s enthusiasm or being able to stay in his own bed as opposed to a hotel.
He said he is excited that his friends and family are going to be able to watch him take the hill, in-person, as opposed to watching him on television.
“It’s huge to promote baseball in the state of New Mexico,” Birmingham said. “It’s a dream I’ve had since coaching baseball in this state back in the 1970s.”
Injury Bug
The Lobos took another hit to their lineup last week as Jared Holley went down in the final inning of the final game of the regular season.
Just like last year around tournament time, New Mexico took a hit to their roster, but was still able to manage to produce runs and take runner-up consolation in the Mountain West Tournament.
Holley will certainly be missed towards the top of the lineup, but Birmingham said a lot of his younger players have been able to step up when called, a season-saver.
The head coach said on Tuesday that the seven regular playing underclassmen have been the backbone of the club and have been able to step in when his best hitters have gone down.
Junior outfielder Danny Collier, who Birmingham tabbed as the best hitter in the lineup took his last at-bat of the 2016 campaign at the end of March.
Chris DeVito, UNM’s junior DH has been in and out of the lineup towards the latter part of the season with his own injuries.
While the Lobos have been forced to overcome adversity, their head coach said jitters won’t be playing a role in the final tournament of the year.
“Lobo baseball is not about nerves. We don’t get nervous,” Bigmingham said. “We get hungry.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
