After splitting a series with a nationally ranked top-10 team, the University of New Mexico baseball team will look to continue its dominance over San Diego State in a three-game series in San Diego, California.
The Lobos (24-17-1, 14-2-1 MW) have a nearly perfect record in conference, holding a comfortable lead atop the Mountain West standings. But the next closest opponent, San Diego State (29-13, 12-5 MW), is well within striking distance.
In fact, if the Aztecs secure a sweep over the Lobos, they could overtake New Mexico for the top spot. But UNM could create even more separation if it is able to take the series.
Most recently, the Lobos are coming off of a two-game weekday series in Albuquerque with No. 6 Texas Tech, in which they earned a split. UNM took game one by a score of 16-5 but blew a lead and lost the second meeting, 27-15.
The series saw a ton of hitting and high-powered offense. New Mexico tallied 33 hits over the two games, scoring a total of 31 runs against a very good Texas Tech pitching staff.
The Lobos dominated in game one, in both pitching and hitting. Starting pitcher Carson Schneider went six innings and allowed just seven hits, four runs (three earned) and struck out a career-high seven batters.
The performance resulted in Schneider securing his third win of the season.
Outfielder/pitcher Luis Gonzalez paced the team in terms of offensive production. He led the team with three hits in his five at-bats, driving in three runs and getting across the plate twice himself.
But game two was a different story, especially from the mound. New Mexico trotted out a total of eight pitchers in the game, and none seemed to have an answer for the Texas Tech bats.
The pitching staff allowed a whopping 27 hits in the game — five were home runs — and 27 runs in the game. The loss was officially placed on relief pitcher Chad Smith’s record, making him 0-1 on the season.
But even with a subpar performance on the hill, the Lobos had a chance to win, thanks to their offense. In fact, UNM held a 14-11 lead at the end of the fifth inning.
New Mexico produced 15 runs on 18 hits in the game, with third baseman Carl Stajduhar leading the way. He went a perfect 3-for-3 from the plate with seven RBI and two runs scored.
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San Diego State has already played one game to start the week against UC Riverside. The Aztecs lost the game 7-4, putting up a pedestrian seven hits, even after rallying for a two-run ninth inning.
San Diego State got a good showing out of its third baseman, David Hensley, who went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs. But no other player garnered multiple hits in the game.
The Aztecs will probably need to do much more to keep pace with the Lobos, which has stellar numbers on offense for the season. Outfield Jared Mang leads the way in batting average, hitting a solid .388 at the plate with two triples, 12 doubles, six home runs, 50 runs and 44 RBI.
San Diego State has been led by led by Tyler Adkison, who has hit .370 with one triple, nine doubles, 11 home runs, 28 runs and 38 RBI.
The Aztec pitching staff has a strong 3.39 team ERA, while its opponents average ERA has been 6.05. The Lobo statistics bear out a team ERA of 5.44, with their opponents sitting at an 8.02 average ERA — about the same run differential.
Game one is scheduled for Friday, April 28 at 7 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN Radio 101.7, The TEAM.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women's basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz
