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The New Mexico baseball team earned its first sweep of the season after a dramatic ninth inning against Fresno State.
With the score tied at three, shortstop Jared Holley led off the bottom of the ninth by reaching base on an error by Bulldog shortstop Chris Mariscal. Right-fielder Chase Harris moved Holley to second base thanks to a sacrifice bunt and then right-fielder Sam Haggerty walked.
Third-baseman DJ Peterson came up to the plate next, and after a tiny dust storm, Fresno State relief pitcher Tim Borst threw a wild pitch under catcher Austin Wynns to advance the runners to second and third. The Bulldogs then decided to intentionally walk Peterson with the count at 2-0, but Borst threw the pitchout over Wynns’ head and Holley came in to score the winning run.
The victory keeps the Lobos (20-16, 11-4 MWC) in sole possession of first place in the Mountain West Conference standings. UNM has a one-game lead on San Diego State after the Aztecs took two of three from Air Force this weekend.
“We needed it. We needed to stay into first place,” Haggerty said Sunday at Lobo Field. “This sweep was big and everybody knew it.”
UNM had a chance to win the game in the top of the ninth but couldn’t make the necessary plays. With one out and no one on, Lobo relief-pitcher Josh Walker walked Fresno State center fielder Aaron Judge. Then first-baseman Trent Garrison flied out to left field for the second out of the inning.
Wynns came up to bat next and hit a bloop-single to center field.
Judge came around the bases at break-neck speed and slid into Lobo catcher Mitch Garver right as the ball made it back to home plate.
Judge managed to jar the ball loose from Garver’s glove to tie the game at 3.
Garver came up a bit shaky after the collision with Judge and needed to catch a few practice pitches to see if he could continue, which he did.
“He hung in there and he’s going to be OK,” UNM head coach Ray Birmingham said after the game.
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Lobo pitchers A.J. Carman and Josh Walker combined for nine innings pitched, allowing 10 hits, three earned runs and six walks with three strikeouts.
Walker was hampered by a hamstring injury but earned his third victory of the season.
“I felt OK,” he said. “It wasn’t my best stuff today, but I managed with what I had.”
Fresno State pitcher Jordan Brink tossed a career-high eight innings, giving up seven hits, three earned runs, and four walks to go with four punch outs. Borst pitched 1/3 of an inning allowing the game-winning run with a lone walk.
UNM scored the first run of the game when center fielder Josh Melendez hit his first home run of the year in the bottom of the second. In the top of the fourth, Fresno State tied it at one, thanks to an RBI single by Brody Russell.
The Bulldogs (8-23, 3-10) took their first lead of the contest in the top of the eighth after left-fielder Taylor Tempel hit a one-run single to score Wynns for a 2-1 advantage.
The Lobos answered back with two runs in the bottom of the eighth to take a 3-2 lead. Then came the dramatic ninth inning, which saw UNM win on a walk-off wild-pitch on a pitchout for the final score of 4-3.
