New Mexico maintained its 1.5 game lead in first place on Saturday but not in the way they wanted to after falling to UNLV 11-6 on Friday.
The Lobos received some help from San Diego State who beat Fresno State with some late game heroics by a final of 4-2. With just two more series left to be played after this weekend, UNM will need to get back to its winning ways as they control their own destiny for the Mountain West seeding.
UNLV (21-24, 11-11 MW) currently resides in fourth place, the last of the teams with a .500 record or better in league-play.
After being swept on the road at ASU last weekend, UNM has now dropped four of its last five, and has dropped its past two conference contests.
Redshirt senior southpaw Colton Thomson did not have his good stuff on the road against UNLV on Friday night. Head coach Ray Birmingham had to pull the lefty after allowing nine runs, all earned, in just 2.2 innings of work.
The Rebels jumped all over New Mexico’s starter and built a healthy lead 10-1 after just three innings of play.
Despite the gaping hole New Mexico found themselves in, UNM continued to pluck at the UNLV lead throughout the game.
Jared Mang put together a good game for the Lobos out in left field. The freshman out of Los Alamos, New Mexico, was put together a 3-for-5 day at the dish with two RBIs and a run score.
He got the Lobos on the board first with his two-out base knock to bring in freshman Jacob Westerman. Westerman pinch ran for slugger Chris DeVito who was just named to the district-academic squad on Thursday.
The UNM release didn’t say why the power hitter was pulled from the contest, but was pulled after walking to first base in the third.
The Lobos were able to cut the lead down 10-4 after UNM scored a run in each the top of the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings.
First baseman Jack Zoellner complimented Mang’s 3-for-5 day with one of his own. However, the junior left five runners on base the two times he couldn’t reach base.
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UNM ended up leaving a total of 13 runners on base on the night, as they dropped to 31-17 and 16-6 in Mountain West play.
Sophomore Carl Stajduhar continued his to show off his power with a solo shot in the ninth, leading the league in homeruns with 14.
The ninth inning appeared like it could be a promising one, but the Lobos couldn’t bring any more than two runs after Stajduhar’s shot and Michael Eaton’s RBI single.
The Lobos will look to force a rubber match in the three-game road trip as the two teams will face off again a 3:05 M.T.
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.
