Sanchez suppresses late Rebel uprising

It appears the growing pains are starting to subside.

The UNM baseball team used a late-inning rally, and closer Gera Sanchez got the final four outs to help the Lobos overcome UNLV 9-7 Sunday at Isotopes Park. The win completed a three-game sweep over the Rebels and improved the Lobos to 9-15 after they lost the first eight games of the season. Sanchez closed all three games over the weekend, getting the save each time.

Head coach Ray Birmingham said that the reliever’s extended work was impressive, if not exhausting.

“It’s Gera Sanchez’s weekend here at the University of New Mexico,” Birmingham said.

In Game 1, freshman pitcher Jake McCasland held UNLV to one run in 7.1 innings of work, and the Lobos won 3-1. Saturday was a different storyline, with the Lobos engaged in a back-and-forth battle. The Rebels roughed up Lobo pitcher Bobby Mares in the top of the second inning and led 4-0 before the Lobos rallied compliments of clutch hitting and a couple UNLV errors. UNM squeaked out a 7-6 victory in Game 2.

Since starting the season 3-15, the Lobos have won six straight games, and Sanchez will likely be a deciding cog in the Lobos’ upcoming eight-game road trip.

UNLV jumped out to an early 4-1 lead Sunday, but quickly saw its lead disappear as the Lobos rallied in the sixth inning.

The Rebels called on reliever Brady Zuniga to replace starter Tyler Iodence in the bottom of the sixth inning, and the Lobos strung together big hits and took the lead, which they held for the rest of the game.
“It took some growing pains,” Birmingham said. “They’re getting better. They’re still not there, and they’re a long ways away, but they’re getting there, and every kid on this team is capable of doing something special.”
Capable they are, as Sunday’s rally proved.

Catcher Mitchell Garver singled to right field to start the bottom of the sixth that started UNM’s rally. Back-to-back doubles from DJ Peterson and Quay Grant cut the Rebels’ lead to 4-3.

UNM then loaded the bases after Sam Wilson walked and Alex Allbritton was hit by a pitch. Kyle Stiner’s sacrifice fly plated the runner to tie the game at 4-4, before Ben Woodchick followed up with a single that gave the Lobos a 5-4 lead.

The Lobos added three runs in the seventh, UNLV came within a run 8-7 in the eighth inning, but Garver’s solo home run sealed the deal for UNM.

“We were shooting for a sweep, and I had the ball in my hand in the ninth inning, and we were up and after getting that final out. It was great,” Sanchez said. “Hopefully we keep winning and stay hot and continue to play good baseball.”