by Vanessa Strobbe
Daily Lobo
The UNM baseball team's bats flared red hot all weekend as the Lobos thrashed the Northern Colorado Bears in a three-game series at Isotopes Park.
"This is the one point in our season when we really opened up as far as our offense goes," head coach Rich Alday said.
The Lobos, now 12-4 on the season, extended their winning streak to seven with a total of 51 base hits in all three games.
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Junior Daniel Stovall led the pack in Friday's 9-4 victory, going a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles, four RBIs and two runs. Sophomore Ian Hollick followed, hitting 2-for-3 with an RBI and one run.
Stovall shined again Saturday, driving in six runs and batting 3-for-4 in a 21-1 pounding.
In Sunday's 19-6 victory, Stovall and junior Chris Carlson hit two-run home runs. Stovall finished 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs and four RBIs. Carlson gleamed as well, going 4-for-5 with two runs and five RBIs.
"Their pitching was all right, but we just hit the ball really hard," Carlson said. "We swung the bats really well."
The Bears struggled at the plate, getting only 10 hits Friday, seven Saturday and 12 Sunday.
Alday said the Bears' lack of offense was a result of UNM's stellar defense.
"The big thing is our defense," he said. "We pitched really well and played really good defense. Defense is our No. 1."
The only scare of the weekend came in the fifth and sixth innings on Sunday. The Lobos went scoreless in both, while the Bears rallied for four runs, closing the 9-1 gap to 9-5.
"We pitched the ball off a little bit at that point, and they just took advantage of it," Alday said. "We got to keep the ball downstairs and force more ground balls. But we didn't."
The scare was short-lived, though, as the Lobos were quick to answer back in the seventh. Max Willett knocked a single to right field, followed by Ryan Barba's single to left field. Jordan Pacheco hit a line drive to left field, driving in an RBI before the Bears had a chance to go to their bullpen.
Northern Colorado senior Evan Linn stepped to the mound, but only for four more batters before he was pulled. Lobo Jay Russell singled to center field right before Carlson hit his two-run homer. Stovall then walked, Matt Foote singled to right center field, and Linn was replaced by senior Jon Leines.
Hollick grounded to second, driving in Stovall, and Hollick was called safe on first baseman Josh Payne's error. Zach Arnett's pop fly to far center was caught but brought in pinch-runner Brandon Bingham.
The Lobos allowed only one run after the seventh and put up three more of their own.
UNM will meet New Mexico State University on Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Isotopes Park. The Lobos fell to the Aggies Feb. 21, but still hold a 2-1 advantage this season going into the game.
