About two weeks ago, it appeared to be a sure bet that Lobo baseball would be hosting the 2017 Baseball Championship for the Mountain West conference.
But five straight losses have knocked UNM from the perch atop the conference standings after it fell 17-9 at home to Nevada on Friday night. That, coupled with a win by San Diego State on Friday, vaulted the Aztecs to the top position—which puts them in line to host the postseason tournament instead.
New Mexico, which is now percentage points behind San Diego State, can still reclaim the No. 1 seed. But it must win on Saturday and hope for a loss by the Aztecs in order to do so.
The Lobos (28-25-1, 18-9-1 MW) fell behind quickly on Friday night as UNM senior starting pitcher Carson Schneider got tagged in the early going and never seemed to settle into the game. A poor defensive effort behind him that included committing errors, allowing infield hits and aggressive base running by Nevada didn’t help matters either.
Schneider issued a walk, a single and hit a batter, which loaded the bases for the Wolf Pack in the top of the first inning. An infield hit brought the first run home for Nevada, but Schneider struck out the next batter to record the second out and had a chance to get out of trouble.
The senior couldn’t pitch his way out of the bases-loaded jam though, and Nevada cashed in big. A double by outfielder Cole Krzmarzick cleared the bags and the Wolf Pack went on top 4-0.
Nevada picked up another pair of runs in the second inning to go up 6-0, while New Mexico went down in order in the bottom of the frame.
Krzmarzick doubled again in the top of the third, but Schneider induced a ground ball and recorded a strikeout to end the threat. He also finally got some run support in the bottom half of the third.
Carl Stajduhar, who had just been moved back to his usual third base position earlier in the inning, uncorked a three-run homerun with two outs to cut the deficit in half and make the score 6-3 after the third inning.
Stajduhar started the game at first base for the injured Jack Zoellner, whom the team lost earlier this month after suffering a broken bone on his hand.
But Nevada continued to shell Schneider as the Lobos played spotty defense. Nevada first baseman Jordan Pearce singled and promptly stole second base to get in scoring position. An error by UNM in the next at-bat put runners on the corners and Nevada executed a double-steal to plate another run.
After another single, Cody Dye came on in relief, inheriting a messy situation. Dye issued a walk, allowed a double and hit a batter as two more runs scored, though they were charged to Schneider’s ledger as the Lobos trailed 9-3 entering the bottom half of the fourth.
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Dye was lifted in the fifth inning for Chad Smith with one on and one out, but the move did not work out well as he only faced three batters. He started by throwing a wild pitch before issuing a walk. Then Nevada took Smith yard for a three-run shot before he issued another free pass.
Birmingham yanked Smith in favor of Austin Isenhart. He got the Lobos out of the inning, but the damage was already done as UNM fell behind 12-3.
New Mexico’s Luis Gonzalez gave the Lobos a glimmer of hope. Justin Watari drew a lead-off walk in the fifth inning, and Gonzalez sent a two-run shot to right field to pull his team within 12-5.
Isenhart sat down Nevada in order in the top of the sixth and the Lobos showed signs of life as the bats came alive and the team came roaring back in the bottom half of the frame.
Hayden Schilling stroked a lead-off double down the right field line and was singled home in the subsequent at-bat. The Lobos got another single and benefitted from a wild pitch to put runners on second and third with nobody out.
Watari had an RBI groundout to make the score 12-7, which chased Nevada’s starting pitcher out of the game. UNM managed to score two more runs off a another wild pitch and a base hit later in the inning.
Though the Lobos made a three-run game again at 12-9, they missed a golden opportunity to draw closer, leaving the bases loaded to end the sixth inning. And was also as close as the home team would get, falling short in its comeback bid.
Nevada picked up a run early in the seventh inning after a triple ended the night for Isenhart. Christian Tripp came to the mound and had the team in good shape after he issued a strikeout and the Lobos throw out the lead runner at home.
But a throwing error and wild pitch brought home an unearned run, making the score 14-9 in favor of the Wolf Pack heading into the seventh-inning stretch.
New Mexico wasted a good scoring chance in the bottom of the seventh. It was unable to bring home any runs after getting base runners on second and third with one out.
The Wolf Pack slammed the door on the Lobos in the eighth inning, stringing together four straight hits and scoring three runs to stretch the lead to 17-9.
That score held up as the final margin as the Lobos continue to unravel down the stretch. Schneider (4-1) was on the hook for the loss—his first of the season, while Mark Nowaczewski (6-5) picked up the win for Nevada.
“We’ve hit a tough time since Jack got hurt,” New Mexico head coach Ray Birmingham said in a release. “The last two weekends haven’t gone well, but we got to keep fighting, keep plugging away and get this right.”
The final regular season game for the Lobos, which is also Senior Day, will take place on Sunday, May 20 at 1 p.m. It can be heard on ESPN radio, 101.7 the TEAM.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers football and men’s and women’s tennis. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @robert_maler.
