With the start of the 2017 season less than a week away for the University of New Mexico baseball team, the expectations, as well as the pressure, set by both the team and the Mountain West Conference have never been higher.
After being named the preseason favorites to win the Mountain West title by coaches around the conference, some Lobos believe that they are capable of going even further.
“You always have to have those high expectations,” junior infielder Carl Stajduhar said of the Lobos being predicted to win the Mountain West. “And you have to set your goals high, because if you don’t set your goals high, then you’re not going to ever accomplish anything great.”
This year’s team is as capable as ever to take conference, with seasoned veterans returning to the infield and newcomers coming to take some of the shine in open positions.
Stajduhar — last season’s Mountain West Tony Gwynn Player of The Year recipient after hitting .331 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI— fills third base for the Lobos, while senior Jack Zoellner (.307, 8 HR, 46 RBI) will be playing first base.
Head coach Ray Birmingham said he has been eyeing freshman Justin Watari at possibly breaking into the lineup to fill the opening at second base. Meanwhile, junior transfer Andre Gregory seems to have cemented himself as the Lobos’ shortstop.
“Middle infield is Andre Gregory, who has got all the tools in the world,” Birmingham said. “And I kind of scare him a little bit because I demand him to be perfect. He’s got to play where probably our best defenders over the last 10 years have been.”
Gregory hit .326 in 126 at-bats for Cosumnes River College in 2016, but Birmingham is hoping he can be just as capable a threat in the infield.
“He has a big arm, he’s quick, he’s got a great body,” Birmingham said. “I need (him) to make the routine play every time and I need (him) to make the great play half the time. That’s not asking much.”
Sophomore Andrew Pratt is the most likely starter at catcher for the Lobos. But both junior transfer Daniel Herrera and freshman Robby Campillo will likely get looks there, too, as the season progresses.
The outfield is all but settled for the Lobos with senior Andre Vigil, sophomore Jared Mang and junior Luis Gonzalez expected to round things out.
Despite the strength of their position players, it’s the team’s arms that the Lobos believe are their strength.
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According to Birmingham, the Lobos are still unsure who is going to start the season opener on Friday night with the pitching competition stacking up between junior Tyler Stevens (8-4, 4.11 ERA in 2016 for UNM), senior Carson Schneider (9-5, 4.68), senior Johnathon Tripp, freshman Justin Slaten, junior James Harrington (7-2, 6.04) and Gonzalez (3-1, 5.51).
But for the Lobos, that may be a good problem to have.
Birmingham had one simple response on how he felt about his pitching bullpen this season: “The pitchers look good, really good.”
With the team that the Lobos are looking to field this season, Stajduhar said the club has one goal in mind, even bigger than winning a Mountain West title: the College World Series.
“The goal every year coming in is always going to be Omaha (Nebraska),” Stajduhar said. “So that’s our main goal at this point — to go out there and compete in every game and put ourselves in the best possible position for us to get that ultimate goal.”
The Lobos’ season opener is a three-game home weekend series with Binghamton University starting Friday. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
