A solid outing from starting pitcher Luis Gonzalez and three hits was all the Lobos needed to capture a weekend series win over Fresno State on Sunday afternoon.
Gonzalez, with MLB scouts in attendance, put on quite the performance on the mound. He pitched seven innings, allowing six hits and two runs, while also striking out five.
“I love it,” Gonzalez said about going head-to-head with Fresno State’s starting pitcher, Ricky Thomas, who allowed two hits and three runs in six innings on the mound. “I love the competition. Anytime you can get a good pitcher out there, it just brings out the best in all of us.”
UNM (18-10, 11-1 MW) jumped out of the gate on offense in the first inning. A poised Gonzalez was walked in the leadoff spot for the Lobos, and eventually reached second base on a Hayden Schilling ground out. With two outs, Jared Mang got the team its first hit on an RBI double to left-center, scoring Gonzalez.
In the third inning, however, Fresno State’s (15-12, 6-6 MW) bats came alive. The Bulldogs’ leadoff hitter flied out, but the next batter was given a free pass by Gonzalez. He would later make it to second on a sac fly, then reach home on a Jake Stone single, tying the score at 1.
UNM threatened again in the fourth after Zoellner was walked to lead off the inning, and he eventually reached third base on a wild pitch and a groundout via Beau Capanna. But Zoellner was thrown out at home after Andre Gregory hit the ball to Fresno State’s second baseman.
The sixth inning saw the Lobos score two runs, though none of them came courtesy of a hit. Instead, a throwing error and a walk with the bases loaded scored Carl Stajduhar and Mang, respectively, to put UNM up 3-1.
Fresno State produced a quick turnaround and scored a run in the top of the seventh inning. UNM countered in the bottom of the frame, scoring three runs on two walks and a wild pitch to take a commanding 6-2 lead.
Cody Dye came in as relief for Gonzalez to start the eighth inning, but left the game after a first-pitch strike when he injured himself as he delivered the ball.
That didn’t matter, though, as Schneider filled in for the injured Dye, and retired the side in the ninth inning to give the Lobos their 11th conference win of the season and second over the Bulldogs.
Of the Lobos’ three hits, Vigil accounted for two of them, going 2-for-4 at the plate. Mang followed with one hit on three at-bats, though he contributed two RBI and two runs, respectively.
And even though Vigil paced the Lobos on offense, he also made two catches at the wall, preventing what would have been home runs off Fresno bats.
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“It was a little difficult,” Vigil said about getting a read on the fly balls he eventually caught near the outfield wall.
Up next for UNM is a non-conference matchup at San Diego on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
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.
