It’s home sweet home for the UNM baseball team.
The Lobos (2-1), ranked No. 19 in the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper, have their home opener today, a four-series against Northern Colorado at Isotopes Park.
Northern Colorado will play its first games of the season. The Bears finished the 2009 campaign with an 18-35 record and were 7-23 away from home.
Starting for the Bears on Friday will be senior left-handed pitcher James Quisenberry. In 2009, Quisenberry posted a 2-2 record and a 10.40 earned run average.
Meanwhile, the Lobos are still high off two program-defining wins over then-No.1 Texas. UNM beat the Longhorns 6-5 on Saturday and 3-1 on Sunday.
While the Bears aren’t the Longhorns, UNM head coach Ray Birmingham said he refuses to allow his players to be ill-prepared for Northern Colorado.
“Baseball is baseball, and, if you have coached long enough, you know anybody can beat anybody,” he said. “Watch the big leagues. The Yankees could be on fire and kicking tail, and then they will go into a series with the worst team in baseball and lose.”
Still, those defining wins forced the Mountain West Conference — and the nation — to take notice of Lobo baseball.
The series win earned Lobos Mike Lachapelle and Max Willett MWC Player of the Week awards.
In Lachapelle’s UNM, as well as Division I debut, the junior-college transfer pitched seven innings, allowed one earned run, a walk and one strikeout. At one point, Lachapelle seated five straight Texas batters, all of whom started in the College World Series last year against LSU.
“It feels great coming out after my first win of my career, especially coming against a team like Texas, who is No. 1 in the nation,” Lachapelle said. “It’s just big, and it’s a really good starting point, and I just have to build on it from here on out. I can’t be too happy with it. I have to go out and keep on pitching well.”
The Texas series, however, is ancient history, Lachapelle said, and he’s moved on to focusing his attention on the Bears, in his first meaningful start at Isotopes Park.
“I have never played in Isotopes Park before — only just once before in an intra-squad scrimmage we had,” Lachapelle said. “It’s a great park, and I am excited that I will get to experience that.”
The Lobo pitching staff will look to keep momentum after shutting down the Longhorns’ No. 1 offense.
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And Lobo pitcher Austin House will try to do that against Northern Colorado in the same fashion he did against Texas. House finished off the Texas’ final six batters on Sunday to clinch the 3-1 win.
House was speechless when asked to reflect on his Sunday closing act.
“I am at such a loss for words right now,” House said. “It was weird having the jersey on for the first time and going out there and playing the best team in the nation. It was something new. It was definitely different. I have played in some big games before, but nothing like that.”
*Baseball vs. Northern Colorado
Today
Isotopes Park
3 p.m. *
