A late inning comeback wasn't in the works for Lobo baseball in game one of a three-game series at San Jose State.
Instead, strong pitching from the Spartans’ bullpen stopped the Lobos from gaining control, as New Mexico (18-12, 11-2 Mountain West) fell, 2-1 on Friday night.
The loss to San Jose State (12-17, 6-7 Mountain West) is UNM’s second conference loss this season – the first coming against Fresno State – and puts the team at a two-game losing streak.
For the Spartans, the win marks their first against the Lobos this season after being swept last month in Albuquerque to start conference play.
The Lobos looked to threaten at the top of the first inning with Luis Gonzalez drawing a walk in the lead-off spot and Jared Mang being hit by a pitch with two outs. But with runners on first and second, first baseman Jack Zoellner grounded out to end the inning.
San Jose State came out firing in the bottom of the frame though, quickly putting a run on the scoreboard courtesy of a two-out RBI single to go ahead 1-0.
UNM got two base runners on in the second inning again, but the effort yielded no runs again as Andre Gregory struck out to end the top of the frame.
San Jose State had another solid offensive performance in the bottom half of the second inning. After Lobos’ starting pitcher Tyler Stevens struck out San Jose State’s first batter in the inning, a single got the motor running for the Spartans.
A throwing error and a wild pitch proved costly as the base runner advanced to third before coming home on a groundout, which increased the San Jose State lead to 2-0.
UNM fell in a bit of a slump in innings three and four as they couldn't record a hit, although in both innings a Lobo was hit by a pitch to put a runner on. The Lobos were finally able to tally a run in the fifth inning.
New Mexico’s Daniel Herrera was hit by a pitch to start the fifth, and he moved up to second base on a fielder’s choice. Gonzalez and Danny Collier showed good patience and both earned walks to load the bases for the Lobos.
Third baseman Carl Stajduhar came through in the clutch with an RBI single, but only Herrera was able to come across the plate. SJSU got the force-out at home to put out Gonzalez and struck out Zoellner swinging to record the third out and preserve its 2-1 advantage.
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After the fifth inning, the Lobos had their chances recorded four more hits in the game – two in the eighth inning and two in the ninth – but they couldn't put up more runs on the scoreboard.
Of the Lobos’ five hits in the game, Stajduhar paced the team with 2 hits (2-for-4) and the team’s lone RBI. Gonzalez, Zoellner and Hayden Schilling also tallied one hit each for the Lobos, and Herrera scored the Lobos only run.
Stevens – who got the start on the mound – pitched 6.1 innings and allowed four walks, four hits and two runs, but did strike out six batters.
Carson Schneider pitched an inning in relief for Stevens and he allowed one hit and a walk before Justin Slaten entered. Slaten allowed no hits in two-thirds of an inning on the mound.
Game two of the series, which was scheduled to be played Saturday, has been postponed due to weather. No makeup date has been announced, but the teams will try to get in Sunday’s game at 2 p.m. if the playing conditions are up to par. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
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
