by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
The UNM baseball team put on an offensive showcase Thursday en route to a doubleheader sweep of Air Force Academy.
The Lobos dominated the first game 23-11 before slugging their way to a 24-3 victory in the second game.
UNM head coach Rich Alday said he was excited to see such an explosion from his offense.
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"We swung the bats really well," Alday said. "Offensively we were pretty good."
Although just about every Lobo in the lineup had a huge day at the plate, it was third baseman Ian Hollick who stood out for his performance in Game Two. Hollick became the first Lobo since March 23, 2002, to hit for the cycle.
His performance marked the eighth time in UNM history that a player has hit a single, double, triple and home run all in the same game.
Hollick got started by launching a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, sending home Daniel Stovall. Hollick recorded a single and a triple in the Lobos' wild third inning in which UNM had 12 at-bats. In his last at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, Hollick laced a double, securing himself the cycle.
When he stepped up to the plate for the final at-bat, Hollick said he was thrilled about the opportunity to hit for the cycle, and happy he was able to record it.
"I was thinking it would be pretty cool," he said. "I'm pretty excited. It's only the eighth time, and that's pretty cool."
Alday said he was pleased with the entire offense, and that was particularly special to see Hollick get the cycle.
"It's always nice when you have someone hit for the cycle," he said. "He was very, very good. It's nice to see him get it done."
Another Lobo who had a huge day at the plate was first baseman Chris Carlson. Carlson went a combined 6-for-9, hit three home runs, and had eight RBIs in the two games. In Game One the Lobos scored 11 runs in the fourth inning, highlighted by Carlson's grand slam.
Alday said he was proud of the show Carlson put on during Thursday's doubleheader.
"He swung the bat really well today," he said. "He hit the ball extremely hard, and hopefully he'll keep that going."
Carlson said he was in a zone Thursday and was able to connect on some of the pitches.
"I just saw the ball really well, and I just tried to put the barrel on it and hit it hard," he said. "I just go out there and try and get hits and help out the team."
Carlson said the 11-run fourth inning gave the UNM offense a big boost for the rest of the day.
"I think that really set us off right there," he said. "(Mitch Brown) had been shutting us down. We just put some good AB's together and luckily I just got up in the right spot and took care of it. It just kind of set the tone."
As a team, UNM had a .476 batting average combined in the two games, on their way to scoring a total 47 runs on the day. Carlson said it was important to see the team perform well as a whole.
"It was awesome," Carlson said. "We're just coming together at the right time, for conference. It's fun to go out there when you know you have a lot of guys who can hit and score runs."
While the story of the day was the offense, UNM pitcher Jesse Perez was solid in Game Two, giving up just one run over six innings. Alday said the sweep should help build momentum for the rest of the season.
"We were able to score a bunch of runs today," Alday said. "Hopefully we'll just keep that going."
