by Steven Fernandez
Daily Lobo
For two innings, the UNM baseball team hung with the Albuquerque Isotopes.
Unfortunately for the Lobos, they couldn't hold on to a 2-1 lead and fell 7-2 on Tuesday at Isotopes Park in an exhibition game.
UNM head coach Rich Alday said there were some positives to take from the loss to the Triple-A Isotopes.
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"I thought they swung the bats pretty good," he said. "We had some balls that were hit pretty firm. The thing that we liked is that our pitchers that came in that haven't pitched very much came in and did a good job. That was a key for us."
Pitcher Shane Dyer got the start for the Lobos and gave up one run on five hits and a walk in two innings. He also struck out one.
Because it was an exhibition game, Dyer was removed after two innings so other UNM pitchers could get in the game.
Dyer said it was a thrill to pitch against professional hitters.
"It's an awesome experience," he said. "It's not every day a
19-year-old gets to go out there and pitch against top-flight ball players. It was just great to get out there."
The right-handed pitcher missed a few weeks because of a shoulder injury on his throwing arm, so Dyer said he was excited to only give up one run in his first action back.
"I'm pleased with it, considering that I've been out for a month," he said. "It's the first time back out, and I hit some pitches, made some bad pitches, but it comes with
getting back out there."
The Isotopes took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning after Robert Andino hit an RBI single to score Eric Reed from second base.
The Lobos answered with two unearned runs in the top of the second inning to take their only lead of the game. Daniel Stovall scored from third after an Isotope error. Scott Gracey singled, and a second Isotope error scored Matt Hibbitts to put UNM up 2-1.
Dyer forced a groundout in the bottom of the second to get out of the inning scoreless, but the Lobo offense couldn't generate any more runs the rest of the game.
The Isotopes scored three runs on two hits in the bottom of the third to take the lead for good. They added another run in the fourth and two in the sixth to help seal the game.
UNM center fielder Matt Foote stopped the damage from getting worse in the third when he made a tough diving catch to take away a base hit from Reggie Abercrombie.
Foote said he hustles every game, but making a play like that against the Isotopes in front of 2,600 fans made it a little more special.
"As a center fielder, it's just my job to make those catches," he said. "It was pretty cool. It was against the Isotopes, and there were a lot of people out there. It makes it a little bit cooler of a play, but that's basically my job."
Baseball at San Diego State
Thursday, 7 p.m.
San Diego
