by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
It took a bizarre sixth-inning comeback, but the UNM men's baseball team clinched the season series with NMSU on Tuesday.
The Lobos trailed 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth but scored seven runs in the inning - including four on three bunts - en route to a 13-6 win over the Aggies at Isotopes Park.
UNM went 3-1 in the series against NMSU this season.
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The latest win came because of the Lobos' ability to scrap together runs, head coach Rich Alday said.
"We played the short game, and it all of a sudden develops into a big inning for us," he said. "I don't think we hit the ball very hard, we just did a lot of bunting. That's what we had to do."
The Lobos jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the second inning but struggled to generate offense in the middle innings, not scoring again until the sixth. A total of 11 batters came to the plate in that inning, three of which were hit by a pitch.
UNM's Scott Gracey was hit by NMSU's Matt Melendez with the bases loaded, sending home Ian Hollick and opening a 7-4 lead for the Lobos.
The Lobos led by as much as 13-4, and the Aggies didn't make any serious rallies.
Melendez was credited with the loss, pitching two-thirds of an inning while giving up five earned runs on two hits.
NMSU's pitchers gave up a total of 15 hits, nine walks and hit four batters.
UNM took advantage of the Aggies' sloppiness, Alday said.
"We did some good things today," he said. "We had some really key base hits - two-out base hits, two-strike base hits."
Jarrad Watkins got the win for UNM, giving up four runs - three earned - on five hits and four walks, and he struck out two.
The Aggies scored in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but Alday left Watkins in the game through the sixth. Watkins rewarded the Lobos with a one-two-three inning in the top of the sixth, before the offense blew open the game in the bottom of the inning.
Watkins said his teammates got him through the trouble he had in the middle innings.
"You got to give a lot of credit to the defense and also the offense," he said. "It makes my job a lot harder without them. They definitely saved my butt a couple times."
Although the Aggies took a 4-3 lead on Watkins, Alday had the confidence to stick with his starter, and Watkins did not dissapoint, Alday said.
"Jarrad really pitched well," He said. "He got himself in trouble, and I told him he's got to go challenge the hitters."
The UNM offense got contribution from just about everyone in Tuesday's win, as five batters recorded multiple-hit games, and only one player
struck out.
With the win, the Lobos improved to 11-15, while the Aggies dropped to 11-14. The Lobos ended their four-game losing streak and improved their all-time series advantage against NMSU to 131-70.
UNM's only loss to the Aggies this season came on March 13, when it let a 5-1 lead slip away to lose 9-6. The two teams will not meet again this season.
Bouncing back from the last outing with a big win was a nice way to end the season series, Watkins said.
"I definitely think beating the Aggies any day is good, especially to beat them like we did," he said. "That's a pretty big
accomplishment."
Baseball
vs. Utah
Friday, 6 p.m.
Isotopes Park
