Clinched win proves it pays to stay

Cameron Smith found a home with the UNM baseball team.
After ping-ponging from Yavapai College in 2007 to Salt Lake Community College in 2008, Smith came to the Lobos. Suffice it to say, they’re glad he did.

Smith hit a walk-off single that clinched a 10-9 win over BYU on Saturday at Isotopes Park. The Lobos took two of three games, pushing them to 21-11 overall and 8-4 in the Mountain West Conference.

In the bottom of the ninth at Isotopes Park, with the bases loaded, Smith hit a shot sky-high, deep to center field that approached warning track. The blast plated Chris Juarez from third base, giving UNM a rousing victory.

“All the pitcher had left was his fastball, and that’s what he gave me,” Smith said. “It was a little down, actually. I was just trying to hit something that I could elevate, so that the runner could score. But my swing hasn’t felt very good lately, and that last at-bat felt very good. I feel as though I am battling through bats sometimes. So, I feel like I’m swinging as good as I can, but hopefully this is a good sign of things to come.”

Up 9-8 in the ninth inning, the Lobos allowed BYU’s Jonathan Cluff an RBI-triple that scored Alex Hancock from second base, knotting that game at nine. Lobo pitcher Gera Sanchez relieved Bobby Mares and limited the damage, not allowing the Cougars another run.

Then, in the bottom half of the inning, John Michael Twichell, Rafael Neda and Juarez singled, setting up Smith.
UNM head baseball coach Ray Birmingham said the Lobos’ propensity for late-game rallies is why fans shouldn’t leave games early.

“This is the way it has been all year,” he said. “You know, you have got to hold the lead in the ninth, but we won. But you never know what is going to happen. These guys wait until the seventh and ninth, and they make it like ‘Days of our lives.’ But they compete with the bats and they are confident with them.”
The Cougars, now 14-16 overall, were more difficult than the Lobos could have envisioned.

After building a 5-1 lead through three innings, starting pitcher Willy Kesler gave up five runs off of six BYU hits. The inning briefly gave the Cougars the lead, but it didn’t last long.

Neda hit his second home run of the day, tying the game 6-6, in the bottom of the sixth.
Neda and third baseman Jacob Nelson combined for six RBIs on Saturday.

“Getting those two home runs in one game definitely gets my confidence back,” Neda said. “I still feel that I am not there yet, and I need to work a lot more. This game and series — I have felt that I have gotten my bat back. I feel like I have more confidence behind the plate and at the plate.”