by Kelly Brocklehurst
Daily Lobo
The Lobos' hot bats turned cold during the eighth inning against UNLV on Saturday.
UNM lost the game 14-9 after the Rebels began their rally in the seventh inning, scoring three runs and cutting the score to 7-6.
The game was delayed briefly in the seventh inning because of snow and again for nearly an hour in the eighth inning as the weather grew worse.
When the game resumed, UNLV scored two runs when right fielder Chris Dabbs committed an error. With two runners on base, Zeke Parraz singled to right field, bringing in another run for the Rebels.
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The Lobos started the game strong with five runs in the first inning. The first run came when freshman shortstop Jordan Pacheco hit a solo home run to right field.
Pacheco had a second solo shot in the eighth inning, but it was not enough to give the Lobos the boost they needed.
"Today I felt pretty good to play, but we still lost," Pacheco said.
Dabbs and catcher Jeff Grady had back-to-back doubles in the first inning, bringing in three RBIs for the Lobos. Garrick Haymore scored when second baseman Jay Russell grounded out to the shortstop.
Russell walked in the fifth inning and went on to steal second base. He scored on Ian Hollick's single to left field. Hollick advanced to second when Dabbs singled, and UNM scored again when Matt Foote singled to right field, bringing Hollick home.
The Lobos could not recover from the 11 runs UNLV scored in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. In the ninth inning, the Lobos scored only one run. The game ended when Pacheco grounded out to second base.
Junior pitcher Darren Coltrinari allowed UNLV to score three runs in the first inning, but he went on to pitch five scoreless innings. Senior Karsten Gaarder replaced him after the seventh inning.
Gaarder faced two batters, and he walked both before the game was delayed. When the game resumed, senior pitcher Petr Pacas replaced Gaarder. Pacas gave up a double that gave UNLV two RBIs and junior right-hander Jesse Perez relieved him.
The Lobos lost the series to UNLV after losing Friday's game 12-6. The Lobos gained an early lead Friday when with two outs on the board, Grady hit a grand slam off the top of the scoreboard in left-center field in the third inning. Before that, Chris Carlson and Foote each singled, bringing in two RBIs. UNLV went on to win the game after scoring two runs in the fifth inning and seven runs in the sixth inning.
The Lobos won the series opener against the Rebels, 10-8. UNM scored five runs in the eighth inning, including Carlson's three-shot blast to right field. UNM's overall record stands at 12-14 - 2-4 in the Mountain West Conference.
