The University of New Mexico baseball team was swept by the Nevada Wolf Pack over the weekend in Reno, Nevada, as they lost all three games.
On Friday in the series opener, the Wolf Pack (20-13, 14-4 MW) dismantled the Lobos (12-21-1, 6-12 MW) in a 15-2 victory. Nevada held UNM to just four hits while striking out nine Lobos during the game.
In the process, sophomore pitcher Justin Slaten gave up seven hits and six runs in his 4.1 innings on the mound.
The second matchup of the series on Saturday saw the Wolf Pack defeat the Lobos again, though that game was much closer than the first — with Nevada edging UNM by a score of 5-2.
Nevada scored two runs over the first two innings, before New Mexico was able to tie things up at two runs apiece in the top of the seventh on an RBI single from sophomore Justin Watari to score the first run.
That was followed up by a sacrifice fly from freshman Brayden Merritt, in which freshman Connor Mang was able to tag up and score from third.
But the Wolf Pack added three more runs in the bottom half of the seventh to take home the victory 5-2 win after both teams were held scoreless in the final two innings.
On Sunday, the Wolf Pack dominated UNM from wire-to-wire — much like game one of the series, capping a sweep of the Lobos with a 14-1 blowout win.
The Wolf Pack put six runs on the scoreboard over the first two innings of game three and the lead swelled to 13-0 before UNM was finally able to plate a run.
That run came at the top of the sixth inning, when junior Jeff Deimling got on base on a two out single before being driven home on a triple from Watari. But the lone run was the only one the Lobos were able to score in the game.
Sophomore pitcher Drew Gillespie, who got the start on the mound for UNM, did not have the best of days. Though he struck out three Nevada hitters and didn’t issue a walk in the game, Gillespie gave up seven runs on eight hits in just three innings.
The Lobos cycled through four pitchers in the series finale. Freshman Robert Gasser, who came in as relief for Gillespie, had a rough go of things as well — giving up six runs on seven hits and issuing two walks.
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Things settled down a little after Nathaniel Garley came on in relief. He threw 2.2 innings of scoreless baseball and struck out three. The Wolf Pack was able to add an unearned run in the bottom of the eighth with Christian Tripp toeing the rubber.
Over the series, Watari was the only UNM player to hit safely in all three games. He went 1-for-4 in game one, 2-for-4 including an RBI in game two, and finished with a 2-for-3 performance and RBI in game three.
UNM has been on a downhill trend, dropping nine straight games and finding itself near the basement of the conference standings, alongside San Jose State.
The Lobos will play Texas Tech in a stand-alone game at Santa Ana Star Field April 17 at 1 p.m. before hosting UNLV in a three-game series next weekend.
Matthew Narvaiz is a senior sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s and women’s basketball, and baseball. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
