The Lobos announced at their media day Friday that, once again, it’s the College World Series or bust. UNM fell short of the goal last season when it wasn’t awarded an at-large berth into the NCAA tournament after losing in the Mountain West.
But before UNM can march to Omaha, Nebraska, the host city for the College World Series, it will have to get through the Mountain West. The Lobos have won either the conference’s regular season title, the tournament championship or both in the past five seasons.
“We want to show the country that UNM is a premiere program, and we definitely want to make it to Omaha,” senior outfielder Ryan Padilla said. “If we could do that it would be amazing. That’s our goal every year, and hopefully if we make it there the whole city would be out there.”
To accomplish that, UNM will have to earn a sixth-straight MW title with one of the youngest squads in the conference. The Lobos have just four seniors on the team, and Padilla is the only four-year player. Most of the youth comes at the field positions, where the team could have as few as three returning starters in the lineup when it plays Michigan State in the Surprise Tournament Friday.
Even with such a young team, website d1baseball.com picked UNM as the favorite to win the conference.
“They’ve (d1baseball.com) picked us to be number one, and everyone else has a senior team and we don’t have a senior team,” head coach Ray Birmingham said. “We only have one senior that’s been here all four years, so you would classify us as a young squad.”
The pitching staff is where the veterans are for UNM. Junior lefty Toller Boardman will join senior left-hander Colton Thomson and junior right-hander Drew Bridges in the starting rotation. Thomson and Bridges combined for 23 starts for the Lobos last season, while Boardman pitched at San Jacinto College and Texas before transferring to UNM.
The Lobos’ real strength will be in the bullpen, where closer Victor Sanchez returns after a standout sophomore campaign. Sanchez posted a 4-1 record with 10 saves and a 2.33 ERA last year. Right-handed relievers Taylor Duree and Jake Cole and lefty Carson Schneider were all key contributors in the bullpen and will have prominent roles once more.
“We do have a shutdown bullpen because the end of the game is the hardest part of the game,” Birmingham said. “Victor Sanchez is a big part of that. He could possibly be the most notable pitcher we’ve had come out of here in a long time; he could possibly get the Closer of the Year Award.”
UNM’s offense will once again be a strength for the team. In 2013 the offense focused mostly on using its speed to create scoring opportunities. Birmingham said the Lobos will still have plenty of speed, but will add some more power.
Senior outfielder Aaron Siple and junior second baseman Sam Haggerty figure to be some of the main cogs in the Lobos’ offense. Freshman infielder Carl Stajduhar has the potential to be one of the best hitters on the team, Birmingham said.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
“You have to adjust to the type of kids you have,” he said. “We have some speed this year. We recruited some younger kids who have some power.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
