Horned Frogs burst pitchers bubbles

Looks are not deceiving.

The UNM baseball team was literally horned by TCU Sunday at Isotopes Park, and after the game it looked it.

The No. 8 Horned Frogs got to UNM’s pitching staff and smashed the Lobos around the yard, earning a 26-4 win.

UNM used as many pitchers — nine — in the game as TCU had home runs. TCU finished the game with 34 hits.

“You get beat, you get beat,” said UNM head baseball coach Ray Birmingham. “… That is what they are capable of… They have done that to everybody in the country.”

The Frogs’ series win over the Lobos nearly signals the end of the debate of which team will win the Mountain West Conference regular-season title. UNM would need the Horned Frogs to lose four games to Air Force, and the Lobos would need to win all three games at Utah.
One day after pitcher Willy Kesler only allowed four hits in a beautiful 3-2 win for the Lobos, UNM’s pitching staff and bullpen vanished.

Starting pitcher Kenny Toves and relief pitchers Richard Olson and Mike Lachapelle surrendered 15 hits and 16 runs in the first three innings of Sunday’s rubber match.

Lachapelle gave up eight runs on eight hits.

“In the first three innings, it was 16-1 and we had guys who hadn’t hit yet,” Birmingham said. “They flat-out smoked the baseball today, and I have never in my life had nine home runs hit off my pitching until today.”

Schultz was the biggest Lobo killer of all.

After being held hitless for two days, Schultz made the most of his plate appearances. He was 4-for-4, homered twice and had seven RBIs.
UNM catcher Rafael Neda said it was just one of those days.

“We wanted it to end, and it just never did,” he said.

TCU starting pitcher Steven Maxwell showed his humanity — at times.

In five innings of work, Maxwell allowed three runs off of six hits against a Lobo team that ranks fifth nationally with a .356 batting average.

TCU improved to 8-1 at Isotopes Park and has taken five of six from UNM in the last two years.

Birmingham said the loss was a huge disappointment, given the magnitude of the game.

“It’s just too bad, because there was a lot of build up to this game, and that is what breaks my heart,” Birmingham said. “I promise you this: The pitching will get better.”

*Baseball vs. Delaware State
Friday
1 p.m.
Isotopes Park*