Tim McGraw's "I Like It, I Love It" blared through the speakers at Isotopes Park every time the UNM baseball team scored a run against Northwestern.
Suffice it to say, the Wildcats' pitchers might not be able to get the song out of their heads. The Lobos roped Northwestern 13-4 on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep on the heels of UNM's two-game sweep over No. 3 Texas A&M.
Friday, UNM rallied from a 6-4 deficit, getting seven runs in the bottom of the eighth to secure an 11-6 win.
Head coach Ray Birmingham said he barbecued his players at the conclusion of Friday's game.
"What do you think?" he said. "I almost had another aneurysm."
UNM responded to Birmingham's tirade. In Game 1 of Saturday's doubleheader, the Lobos pounded 22 hits on the way to a 16-12 victory, only to follow that with another 12 hits and a 10-6 win in the second leg of the doubleheader.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Starters, relievers - on Sunday, it didn't matter who took the mound for Northwestern. The Wildcats went through seven pitchers, none pitching more than 1 2/3 innings.
Through the first 1 1/3 innings, Northwestern was up 2-0, until the Lobos got on the scoreboard in the bottom second, when Kevin Atkinson scored on a fielder's choice. UNM had an opportunity to put more runs on the board but squandered its chance to claim the lead, only to redeem itself in the bottom of the third. Wildcats' pitcher Zach Morton got into trouble in the bottom second. Morton was spelled by Matt Diedrich, who retired the side by turning in a double play.
It was the only play Diedrich would make. And for the rest of the afternoon, he was the Lobos' best friend.
Diedrich was shelled in the bottom of the third, allowing the Lobos to score the brunt of their runs. UNM reamed Diedrich for seven runs on five hits, while rounding through the order.
Max Willett singled to start off the inning, and two batters later - after Dane Hamilton got on base - Ryan Honeycutt drove in Willett with an RBI-single. Atkinson brought in Hamilton before Brian Cavazos-Galvez jackknifed a ball between the gap in center and left field, putting the Lobos up 4-2. UNM scored four more runs in the inning.
But Mike Brownstein was the one lighting up Northwestern most often.
Brownstein was 4-of-5 on Sunday, rounding out the weekend 15-of-21 with nine RBIs, four coming during Sunday's rout. He said it's been easier to hit with the talent that surrounds him.
"Our team is a lot better," he said. "The guys around me have
gotten better, so I don't have to worry. I don't have to do too much. Because if I don't get the job done, I know somebody behind me is going to do it."
It has showed.
During the week of March 16, Brownstein was awarded his second career Mountain West Conference Player of the Week title for his four-game performance against New Mexico State and Air Force. Over those four games, Brownstein was a combined 11-of-19 with six ribbies.
"How long ago was it that we did that deal, Mike - (the) night we spent in the cages?" Birmingham asked Brownstein. "Two or three weeks ago? Boy's been kicking butt. He just needed to get his confidence back."
Birmingham said he forced Brownstein to take an extra batting-cage session after the second baseman struggled in one particular game.
"It was late at night after a game he struggled a little bit," Birmingham said. "The kid's a professional baseball player. He should be playing pro ball."
But it wasn't only Brownstein's batting. He was nifty with the glove, too.
In the sixth, Brownstein made a sensational play, robbing Jim Grieco of a base hit. With the bases juiced, Grieco blasted a laser straight toward Atkinson. The ball ricocheted off Atkinson's glove, but Brownstein jumped up and nabbed the ball and threw Grieco out at first, allowing only one runner to score.
"Oh yeah," he said, as if it were such a forgettable play. "I was just in the right place at the right time. That's all it was. That's all I can say about that."
On the mound, Willy Kesler made his first appearance this season. Last year, Kesler had a 4-0 record before it was discovered in an emergency appendectomy procedure that the right hander needed Tommy John surgery to repair his elbow. Kesler rehabbed vigorously and came back about 10 months after having the procedure. Even though he didn't get anyone out on Sunday and was quickly replaced, Kesler consistently hit 86 on the radar gun, but his ball placement was expectedly erratic.
With Sunday's win, the Lobos have matched the best start in program history, which was set by the 1973 ballclub that started off 22-3.
"That was an emotional three wins," Birmingham said. "Like having a baby. This is the greatest start in the history of the program. But it's how you finish."
Baseball vs. BYU
Thursday, 6 p.m.
Isotopes Park
