Four other Lobos make all-conference team
A heated regular season race brought about many standouts on the UNM roster, none bigger than Lobo third baseman Carl Stajduhar’s finish as the player of the year.
The Mountain West announced the postseason accolades on Wednesday morning, and along with Stajduhar, second baseman Jared Holley, DH Chris DeVito and pitcher Tyler Stevens were all appointed as first team all-conference players. Centerfielder Luis Gonzalez was appointed to the All-Mountain West Second Team.
The award is based on conference statistics only, and by that measure Stajduhar was the clear winner. Stajduhar took his game to a new level when in conference play after slugging his way to a triple crown.
In league play, The UNM third baseman took home the league’s best in the three major hitting categories after belting nine homeruns, collected 39 RBI’s, and posted a .421 batting average.
Stajduhar’s mantle will be more colorfully decorated as the MW Player of the Year Award and his triple crown will sit beside his conference freshman of the year award the sophomore received last season.
He is the sixth player in program history to garner the conference player of the year award and the third since 2002.
DeVito’s first team nomination came despite injuries down the stretch. His eight homers was one off the conference high, his .670 slugging percentage was bested only by Stajduhar’s .746 mark and he collected the league’s third-most RBI’s with 32. DeVito also collected 141 total bases, which was good enough for 14th in the nation.
Though Holley’s tenure with New Mexico came to a bitter end after busting his ankle in the final inning of the regular season, he led the MW in runs scored with 38 and had the best OBP with .492. His 18 doubles in the Mountain West was the best in the conference, and his 21 doubles overall cracked the top-20 in the nation.
Stevens, the Lobos’ typical Saturday starter generated a 3.46 ERA and his 45 strikeouts was the fourth best in the league. It is the first all-conference award for the sophomore righty.
Gonzalez, the only second-team member was third in the league with his 36 runs scored and 48 hits. He has the most walks with 22 and belted four homers which were also in the top-5.
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
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