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Jack Zoellner is meet by teammates  Danny Collier after hitting a 3-run homerun against UNLV on Saturday 4/21.
Jack Zoellner is meet by teammates Danny Collier after hitting a 3-run homerun against UNLV on Saturday 4/21.

Baseball: Lobos face big test as they host No. 7 Texas Tech

The University of New Mexico baseball team lost twice earlier in the season to Texas Tech in Lubbock, but UNM will get a chance to even things up with the Red Raiders as it hosts a two-game series on Tuesday and Wednesday at Santa Ana Star Field.

The home team met with the Red Raiders in a pair of single-game competitions, once on Feb. 28 where the Lobos lost 7-2 and another on Apr. 11, losing 12-4. The overall series record between the two schools favors Texas Tech, with TTU holding a 71-45-1 advantage.

The Lobos (23-16-1, 14-2-1 MW) are coming off of a weekend series sweep of conference-foe UNLV, winning games one and two by a combined 18 runs – both with an identical 13-4 score. The series finale saw the bullpen shine late in the game, saving the game and preserving an 11-9 win.

UNM stayed atop the conference standings with the victories and earned its fourth series sweep against Mountain West opponents this season, and second over UNLV.

In the game one victory on Friday, Lobo outfielder Jared Mang had a four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with four runs, and Tyler Stevens went seven innings on the mounts, allowing 10 hits, three runs and striking out five.

The weekend series contained a fair amount of highlights, but none were more impressive than in Saturday’s game, which saw two separate Lobos – Jack Zoellner and Mang – blast three-run home runs to break the game open. Zoellner pelted his homer in the first inning, and Mang followed suit in the second inning to propel the Lobos to a 13-4 victory.

Sunday’s victory saw a back-and-forth affair, but ultimately the Lobos’ bullpen pulled through in the latter innings, allowing only five hits and two runs after starting pitcher Luis Gonzalez exited the mound.

Texas Tech (33-10, 9-6 Big 12), the team comes into the series ranked No. 7 in BaseballAmerica.com’s and No. 8 in D1Baseball.com’s April 24 rankings, respectively. The team, however, dropped two of its four games in the prior week, with both losses coming to Oklahoma State in a three-game series and winning a pair of individual matches: one against New Mexico State and one against the Cowboys.

For the Red Raiders, its team ERA is an astounding at 3.45; they also rank in the top 35 in batting average, hitting .300 as a team and are in the top 10 in fielding percentage at .981.

Texas Tech is paced by Grant Little, who has posted a healthy .339 average at the plate. Five other Red Raiders are hitting above .300 as well, with Hunter Hargrove doing much of the damage. He has hit .329 with four home runs, 37 runs scored, 40 RBI and 18 doubles.

The Lobos’ offense has been proficient as well, showcasing stellar batting averages from Mang (.381), Zoellner (.361), Gonzalez (.352) and Beau Capanna (.336). In addition, three other Lobos are hitting above .300 on the season.

The series opener takes place on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m, and game two takes place on Wednesday at 1 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 101.7, the TEAM.

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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

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