A monster eighth inning was the difference Sunday in the Lobos' 11-6 win over Utah.
Down 5-6 after seven innings of play, UNM's rally started with a slow-rolling single up the third base line by freshman infielder Jay Russell, who was bunted to second on the next at-bat by freshman Tim Grady.
Then the fun began. Joe Salas slapped a hard shot through the infield for a double that scored Russell. Salas got all the way to third on the throw home.
With Salas at third and second baseman Ryan Barba up to bat, Utah pitcher Clay Westmoreland was called for a balk by the home-base umpire, and Salas was granted home plate and the go-ahead run. Utah coach Tim Esmay was so incensed by the call that he was thrown out moments later for cussing out the umpire.
"He didn't pause," said Salas of Westmoreland's balk. "You have to stop for a full second into the windup. He just bounced. But Mountain West umpires are sticklers like that. They're going to call anything close."
Apparently, the umpires had some assistance in knowing what to look for.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
"When I went up there, I told them that he was going through his set and that I thought it was a balk," UNM head coach Rich Alday said. "I asked them to stay on that."
Utah switched pitchers, but the snowball turned to an avalanche as the UNM bats sprung to life. Barba and Matt Young singled to put two on for Garrick Haymore, who hit a double into center to net another run. Junior shortstop Josh Mader and senior Sean Murray each added their own RBI soon after, and when the inning finally ended for the Utes, they were down 11-6 and the game was essentially over.
Salas came in as pitcher to close the ninth and ended the inning easily.
Down most of the game's first half, UNM was able to put together a big sixth inning earlier that closed its gap from 5-1 to a 5-5. Jesse Kibler, Matt Foote and Barba each came through with RBI in the inning to knot the game.
Utah shortstop Ryan Khoury smashed the only homer of the game in the seventh to retake the lead, but it ultimately didn't matter.
Murray finished the game 2-5 with two RBI. Junior pitcher Cooper Eddy started the game for the Lobos and went just more than five innings, giving up eight hits and three earned runs.
The game capped a three-game series to open Mountain West play for UNM. The team is now 2-1 in conference after winning the opener and narrowly losing Saturday's second game 6-5.
The Lobos head to Las Cruces to take on the NMSU Aggies on Wednesday and will return to Isotopes Park on Friday for a three-game series against the San Diego State Aztecs.
