Sophomore Tyler Stevens righted New Mexico’s ship on Saturday afternoon after Friday night’s difficult outing by the Lobo pitching staff.
Stevens threw a gem, working in eight innings of one-run ball. While his performance wasn’t flawless, the righty was able to work through some tough jams to keep UNM in the ballgame.
In the bottom of the third inning, UNLV was threatening with the bases juiced, but a two-out fly out put an end to the Rebel attack.
Again in the third inning, UNLV (21-25, 11-12 MW) threatened with runners on the corners, but freshman Dalton Bowers went to work. He caught a line out hit right at the infielder, followed by a heads up play to double the runner out at first after catching a ball to save a hit.
Stevens, the Colorado native out of Fort Collins, improved on his last outing against ASU where he allowed five earned runs in his five innings of work.
The Lobo offense only garnered one hit through the first four innings of play, but finally came through later in the contest to grant Stevens his seventh win on the year.
UNLV got on the board first with a homer over the right field wall by first baseman Nick Ames.
However, the Lobos responded with a blast of their own - a Carl Stajduhar grand slam in the top of the fifth inning as part of his 3-for-5 day at the dish. The slam scored Bowers, Jared Holley and Andre Pratt for the biggest frame of the contest.
Stajduhar moved up to the three hole on Saturday, while Chris DeVito watched the game from the bench. Though no information has emerged as to why DeVito left the game early in Friday night’s game, the Lobos were still able to even the series at 1-1.
Only one of Stajduhar’s four RBIs were credited to UNLV starter Kenny Oakley, who allowed five runs in five innings of work, only one of which was earned.
The sophomore third baseman’s home run count is now at 15 on the year as he chases the league’s homer crown.
The Lobos continue to control their destiny with a slim lead in first place over the Fresno State Bulldogs.
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UNM will look to avoid its first conference series loss with another win on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m.
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.
