Because the winners write the history books, UNM head coach Ray Birmingham won’t want to thumb through this text.
The Lobos travel to face No. 15 TCU, a team the fourth-year head coach has a 4-12 record against. Well aware of it, Birmingham said TCU has been his kryptonite.
“We’ve been runner up to the Horned Frogs the last three years, and I’m working to beat them,” Birmingham said.
As of late, the Lobos have been working to beat anyone. UNM hit the road and hit it hard.
The Lobos, on a five-game road losing skid, were beaten by nonconference powerhouses Arizona and Gonzaga. During that five-game stretch, the Lobos were outscored 48-18.
That came after a five-game winning streak in March that bumped up the Lobos’ record to 9-15, but is now just 9-20.
The Horned Frogs, meanwhile, are at opposite side of the spectrum — 20-9 overall and 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference. They’re building on a 2010 season that saw them go all the way to Omaha, Neb., where they finished runner-ups to UCLA in the NCAA College World Series.
Pitcher Mitchell Garver said TCU is similar to other opponents the Lobos already faced.
“The pitching that we’ve seen so far at Oklahoma State and Arizona State, that’s the best pitching that we’re going to see,” Garver said. “Heading into TCU, I’ll be anxious to see how we match up against those guys.”
Birmingham, who wanted the season to be “a baptism by fire,” said facing top-25 teams can build a young team’s poise, even more so when the team is a national power.
“Were playing a really hard schedule, but this is about building a program,” Birmingham said. “The only thing that is getting in our way is our youth, and it’s the only thing getting in our way of competing with these guys.”
That is to say nothing about TCU’s bullpen. The Horned Frogs allow only 2.26 ERA, tops in the MWC. To make matters worse, UNM, with its .268 average, ranks second to last in the conference in batting.
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In a nod to the future, Birmingham downplays the fact that this season hasn’t been as successful as last season.
“This year we’ve got 28 games against nationally ranked teams and we’re on the road all the time,” Birmingham said. “As soon as our freshmen become sophomores and our sophomores become juniors, heads up.”
