It took a while for New Mexico’s bats to wake up, but when they finally did, runs came pouring in as the Lobos defeated Wichita State 8-4 on Saturday.
Saturday afternoon’s game moved at quite a different pace than Friday night’s 17-7 win over the visiting Shockers.
Another solid outing from New Mexico’s starting pitching was again overshadowed by a dominant performance by UNM’s offense.
“My changeup I had a lot more command of this week than I did last week,” starting pitcher Tyler Stevens said. “Just letting the best defense go to work behind me. It’s a pitcher’s dream.”
Both pitchers were dueling early as neither team was able to put any runs through in the first four innings.
The game had a small ball feel to it through that first portion of the game as both offenses were just trying to move over what few runners they had to work with.
Then came the bottom of the fifth.
Chris DeVito sent a screamer to the outfield wall to begin a rally that would eventually see six UNM players cross home plate without the Shockers (2-4) recording a single out in the inning.
Up to that point Shockers pitcher Willie Schwanke only gave up one hit in the first four innings of work before being pulled at the tail end of the Lobos’ hit parade.
Head coach Ray Birmingham said the Lobos were able to get going after the lineup saw what Schwanke had to offer, stating that he was pleased with his offense’s ability to make adjustments.
“We backed off the dish a little bit,” Birmingham said. “We started hitting earlier in the count. They weren’t hitting early enough in the count.”
Stevens continued to have a solid outing, going 6.1 innings while allowing six hits and two earned runs. Birmingham said he was pleased with Stevens’ performance, which resulted in his first win of the year.
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However, the head coach expressed his disappointment with the bullpen, something that Birmingham said has been a concern for him in the first five games of the year.
“I was really happy with the starting pitching since we’ve started,” Birmingham said. “We’ve got to figure out the back of the game. The back of the game is always shaky and thank God the Lobos score a lot of runs.”
Fernando Fernandez cruised through his first two innings of play, but then ran into trouble in the ninth inning.
The junior lefty was able to work out of a late jam leaving two runners stranded, but not before the Shockers plated two runs in the game’s final inning.
“The back of the game has to be game over, and it hasn’t the last two nights,” Birmingham said. “We’ve got to find someone who makes hitters feel uncomfortable in the back of the game.”
The Lobos will look to sweep Wichita in the final game of the series, Sunday at 1 p.m. Stevens said he knows the team will have to go to work and said UNM can’t take its foot off of the gas pedal after two dominating wins.
The sophomore right hander said it will be a solid payback after New Mexico was swept last season in Kansas just a season ago.
“When you can go out and sweep a good team like Wichita, it’s always a good thing,” Stevens said. “It was a bitter series last year, so we do want to return the favor.”
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
