tromeros@unm.edu
The baseball team demonstrated the necessary ninth-inning heroics to pull off a 14-13 win over Texas Tech on Wednesday.
Down 13-10 going into the bottom of the ninth, the Lobos (23-19) looked to be headed for a second consecutive loss against the Red Raiders after losing 9-5 on Tuesday.
Head coach Ray Birmingham said he advised his team to focus on the game, not the scoreboard.
“I told them every at-bat is important,” Birmingham said. “I said ‘Don’t worry about the score, just play the game the right way.’”
Freshman infielder Michael Baca hit a single to left field, to ignite the comeback for the Lobos.
After a fly out by junior catcher Mitchell Garver, senior second basemen Ben Woodchick hit a single to left field to put Baca in scoring position and bring the tying runner to the plate.
Sophomore third basemen DJ Peterson added another single to load the bases, followed by freshman outfielder Ryan Padilla, who hit a single to cut the lead to one.
It looked as if a grounder from junior infielder Josh Melendez might shut down the rally. Texas Tech second basemen Jamodrick McGruder threw the double-play ball wide of the first basemen, which allowed Peterson to score the tying run.
Texas Tech intentionally walked senior first baseman Trey Porras. Alex Allbritton hit a two-out walk-off single to win the game for the Lobos 14-13, capping off a wild game.
Allbritton said despite being one-for-five on the day, coming into his last at-bat, he still had confidence that he could get the game-winning hit.
“I had struggled a little bit early on in the game, and I just knew if I saw the pitch that I wanted to hit, I had a good chance to put the ball into play,” Allbritton said.
The Lobos were down six runs on two occasions against Texas Tech.
Six pitchers went to the mound for the Lobos and the first four allowed all of the Red Raiders’ 13 runs.
The last two pitchers were the most effective. Sophomore Jake McCasland and junior Hobie McClain combined to throw three shutout innings to help the Lobos get back into the game.
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The Lobos had little time to celebrate — they have a crucial three-game series against the University of Las Vegas this weekend at Isotopes Park.
UNM sits on top of the MWC standings with a 7-2 conference record, and is only percentage points ahead of Texas Christian University, which has an 11-4 conference record.
Garver said that UNLV is a solid team and that the Lobos need to come out strong this weekend.
“It’s a big one,” he said. “They’re good and they can scrap a little bit and that’s what’s threatening. I have full confidence in our starting pitching, that they will get it done and our offense will have a huge weekend.”
