Ryan Honeycutt's swing is much like his name: golden.
So, what happens when a golden swing and a crisp cut blend together in one fluid motion? Try a perfect 4-of-4 day for Honeycutt and a 3-1 record for the UNM baseball team.
Oh, and baseballs spiraling over fences.
In the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday, Honeycutt blasted Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Brett Gibson's offering, sending a three-run homer heaven-bound.
"I was just seeing the ball really well, and I put a decent swing on it," Honeycutt said. "Glory to God. It took care of itself."
Even though he didn't pitch one inning (he wasn't slated to), Honeycutt was the Lobos' closer, widening a 6-4 gap to a cushy 9-4 gap with two innings to play.
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"Honeycutt did a great job," head coach Ray Birmingham said.
But in the first leg of what was a four-game series, nobody's swing was crisp. The only thing the Lobos were splintering were egos - not wood.
Sunday at Isotopes Park the UNM baseball team dismantled Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 14-4. The sound of aluminum was steady, though. UNM blasted Corpus Christi 4-1 and 22-1 in Saturday's doubleheader. Keep in mind, however, the Lobos got smashed 13-3 in their season-opener on Friday.
That day, everything went wrong, Birmingham said.
"Justin Howard and Brian Cavazos-(Galvez) - those guys are two guys that can really hit, and they were nonexistent this weekend," Birmingham said. "So, we benched them. I'm one of those guys that when the butt meets the bench it sends a message to the brain that I better do what the heck coach told me to do. Or I'm going to be sitting here charting most of my life."
The Lobos suffered an embarrassing 13-3 loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday. Cavazos-Galvez was 1-of-3, and Howard went 0-of-2 from the dish in that game.
But then the UNM baseball team detonated explosives in Isotopes Park the next three games.
The Lobos combined for 40 runs and 45 hits. UNM even tied a nonconference record with 11 triples. The Lobos had just 25 triples all of last season.
The only blemish on Honeycutt's otherwise-sparkling performance happened when he lost a ball in the sun in the third inning, Birmingham said.
"I asked him before the game, 'Do you need sunglasses in left?' 'Nah, I got it, I got it,'" Birmingham said. "Then, all of a sudden, their big inning was because he didn't have sunglasses, and he lost the ball in the sun. So, the thing with kids is they have to learn from the old man's experiences. He came back in and said, 'Coach, I'm so sorry. I should've put the sunglasses on.' So, I called him a nice, cute name and said, 'Put the sunglasses on before I kick your ass.'"
The Islanders scored three in that inning and held a 3-2 advantage. UNM tied the game at three in the bottom of the fourth and reclaimed the lead at 6-3 in the fifth. Corpus Christi drew to within two, but three runs in the bottom fifth, five in the seventh and a trio of runs in the eighth cemented a 14-4 UNM win.
"It's not just murderers' row," Mike Brownstein said. "We have plenty of other guys on the bench that can swing. Right now, we're swinging the bats pretty hot. We all started out slow, but we all picked it up. I think we had four triples in one inning. That's amazing. What more can you ask for?"
An 0-of-4 outing on Friday didn't faze the Lobos' lead-off man. Browstein roped balls in the next three games, going a combined 4-of-10 from the plate and collecting five RBIs.
"Our hitters started out slow. Same with pitching," he said.
That's a decree to what Friday's pitching looked like for the Lobos. UNM allowed 18 hits. Ryan Escarcega couldn't get Louie Lobo out. The embattled Escarcega gave up six hits against six batters and let up five runs. His replacement fared no better, and the Lobos got their bell rung.
"We're going to get punched again," Birmingham said. "The key is when you get punched, get back up and punch them back."
The Lobos punched, and punched often the rest of the way.
Brownstein said that can be attributed to Birmingham. He said Birmingham was thorough with his statements after Friday's letdown.
"He usually says it all," Brownstein said. "He doesn't need any extra words."
Baseball at Texas Tech
Lubbock, Texas
Wednesday, 3 p.m.
