The University of New Mexico baseball team will visit Fresno State over the weekend in a three-game series in the hopes of keeping atop the Mountain West standings.
In the Lobos’ last six games, four wins will help them clinch the title of Mountain West regular season champs. But four San Diego State losses—that team is now in second place—can also help UNM.
New Mexico (28-20-1, 18-4-1 MW) enters the series at 2-2 in the month of May, losing two home games: one to New Mexico State, the other to Air Force during a series opener. Still, UNM is looking good in its last two outings against the Falcons, winning game two 17-10 and game three 11-6.
In the Lobos first win over Air Force in its most recent series, Jack Zoellner managed to go 5-for-5 with two home runs, four runs and four RBI. But Carl Stajduhar had a showing, too, hitting three homers in that game. As for pitching, Johnathon Tripp—who started—picked up the win, going 6.2 innings; he allowed nine runs on 10 hits but struck out three on the way to a 17-10 Lobos’ victory.
In the series closer against Air Force—UNM’s most recent game—the Lobos played exceptional once again. Luis Gonzalez paced the Lobos at the plate, going 3-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. Gonzalez was also exceptional on the mound—he got the start, pitching seven innings; he allowed 11 hits and six runs, but struck out six in the win.
But the weekend series against Fresno State (26-22, 13-11 MW), looks promising for the Lobos, being that they won two games in a three game series against the Bulldogs earlier in the season, with their only loss being decided by one run.
The Bulldogs enter the series at 4-1 in May, with a series win over UNLV along with wins over UC Riverside and Sacramento State, respectively. Their home record, though, isn't comparable to that of the Lobos, as the Bulldogs have won 16 and lost 11 at Bob Bennett Stadium.
However, Fresno State is third in the conference rankings, and a series win can help them earn a spot in the Mountain West tournament, which hosts four teams.
Hitting is still proving to be a big factor—if not the biggest—in the Lobos’ game plan. UNM is No. 7 in the nation in batting average at .320. The team is led by Jared Mang who's batting .383 at the plate with two triples, 15 doubles, eight home runs, 56 RBI and 56 runs.
But Fresno State’s bats aren't no slouch either, as they rank No. 17 in batting average, hitting .310 as a team. The Bulldogs are led by Aaron Arruda, who's hitting .384 with 55 RBI and 13 home runs.
Friday's series opener will see Tyler Stevens (6-4, 4.42 ERA) and Fresno State’s Ricky Tyler Thomas (5-3, 3.93 ERA) pitch for their respective teams. Game one will have a start time of 7:05 p.m. on Friday, May 15. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers baseball and women's basketball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
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