UNM (11-10) has now lost four straight games by one run and have lost six straight overall. The Cougars won the first two games of the series by the same score of 6-5.
“It’s a shame, but I just have to keep them confident and keep them fighting,” head coach Ray Birmingham said. “They’re a good baseball team; they just played a good baseball team. We could’ve won all three, and we lost all three.”
The Lobos had trailed the Cougars all game long until the eighth inning, when UNM scored two runs to tie it at seven.
In the top of the ninth UNM junior pitcher Alex Estrella faced second baseman Josh Vidales with one on and no outs. Vidales hit a chopper back to Estrella, who then threw the ball to junior second baseman Jared Holley, who misplayed the ball and let it go over his outstretched glove into center field. Holley was charged with the Lobos’ only error of the game.
The Cougars (17-7) scored the go-ahead run on the next at-bat thanks to a sacrifice fly from first baseman Chris Iriart for an 8-7 lead.
“It’s frustrating, but we also take it as a positive because we’re facing a lot of adversity,” sophomore left fielder/catcher Lane Milligan said. “I think it’s going to help us later in the season when we’re in those tough ball games.”
UNM missed a couple of opportunities to take the lead from Houston. In both the seventh and eighth innings the Lobos had the bases loaded with no one out, but were only able to score two runs combined. Both of the Lobos’ runs with the bases loaded came in the eighth inning.
“We just need to have the clutch moments in the clutch situations,” sophomore designated hitter Chris DeVito said. “We almost have the bases loaded in every single game. It just seems that we don’t get that big knock that we need that breaks open the game.”
The top of the order for the Lobos delivered as sophomore center fielder Danny Collier, Milligan and DeVito combined for eight hits, five RBI and four runs scored. All three of them had multiple-hit games.
Freshman third baseman Carl Stajduhar, junior shortstop Dalton Bowers and Holley were the only other starters to get hits for UNM. The Lobos outhit the Cougars 12-11.
“The guys we get here all have a bad habit, so we have to clean up the bad habits. When you have a young team those bad habits show up,” Birmingham said. “You spend a year cleaning that up and getting them correct. They usually happen when it’s an emotional moment.”
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UNM sophomore pitcher Carson Schneider earned his second start of the season and went just four innings, allowing five earned runs on six hits with four strikeouts. Senior reliever Jake Cole gave up two earned runs on three hits in 3 1/3 innings.
Houston’s Taylor Cobb went five innings, permitting three runs on seven hits. Seth Romero (3-1) picked up the win for the Cougars, giving up two runs on two hits in three innings of work.
Iriart went 1-2 with a home run and two RBI. Shortstop Connor Wong went 2-3 with a two-run home run.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
