by Matthew Kappus
Daily Lobo
Rich Alday can add another number to his list of
accomplishments.
The UNM baseball team's head coach earned his 500th win in an 11-5 victory over San Diego State on Friday.
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In his 17 years with the Lobos, Alday has an overall record of
501-501-3.
He was hired in 1990 after the Lobos finished last in the Mountain West Conference the previous year. In his first season with the team, Alday guided it to its greatest one-season turnaround in the program's 100-year history. The Lobos finished 25-31, winning 15 more games than the year before.
Alday has three MWC Coach of the Year Honors. He led the Lobos to the conference championship
in 2000.
However, Alday is not one to brag about his career.
Friday's win was just another step in building confidence for the team, he said.
"It was a win we wanted to get," Alday said. "The biggest thing is that we keep these guys upbeat. We are trying to do as much as we can about that."
Alday's 2007 season has been full of milestones. A week before his 500th Lobo victory,
Alday got his 1,000th career win
versus Utah.
However, it has also been a season of close calls and missed opportunities for the Lobos.
In Tuesday's game against Utah, the Lobos allowed most of Utah's runs after there were two outs in each inning. They lost 11-9.
Now sitting on a record of 14-18 and 3-3 in conference, Alday said it's too late in the season to make major changes.
UNM is too good to not have a winning record, he said.
Stephen Smith, who pitched seven innings for a win Saturday, said the team is happy about Alday's milestone, but its focus is turning the season around.
"We shouldn't be below .500 with the team that we have,"
Smith said.
After two wins against a solid San Diego State (18-14) , the Lobos tied for second place in conference standings with UNLV.
They are three games behind the defending conference champions, Texas Christian, for
first place.
Smith said the weekend can help the Lobos play with more confidence for the rest of the
season.
"The way we played this
weekend, we should play every time," Smith said.
Now that the landmark victory is behind them, the Lobos can focus on the rest of the season,
Alday said.
"Our goal is to win the tournament and go to a regional," he said. "We just need to do well in the tournament, get the
automatic berth."
