Win, lose or draw.
Those are the options — although a tie is rare when playing college baseball — the Lobo baseball team and Fresno State played three games over the weekend and got a different result each time.
Fresno State entered the series as the Mountain West leaders, sitting atop the conference standings and occupying one of the top four spots that the Lobos are hoping to climb into before the regular season ends.
The Lobos got on the scoreboard first, but the Bulldogs protected their home field at Bob Bennett Stadium on Friday — breaking through in the bottom of the first for five runs as the Lobos were forced to use three pitchers just to get out of the inning.
UNM's opening frame featured a lead-off double by Justin Watari and a bunt single from Hayden Schilling to put runners on the corner. That led to a two-run first, but also started a trend of the Bulldogs responding to Lobo offense.
Fresno State answered with runs in all three innings that New Mexico was able to score in and threw up an additional three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning that created some more separation. Ultimately, the Bulldogs five-run first was all the run support they would need as Fresno State took the first matchup by a final score of 10-4.
New Mexico bounced back on Saturday to even up the series, though — using a home run by senior center fielder Jared Mang in the opening inning to set the tone. The early 1-0 lead held through four innings before the Lobos provided starting pitcher Justin Slaten an even bigger cushion.
In the top of the fifth, New Mexico used the long ball to its advantage again. UNM catcher Ediberto Reyes cranked a homer over the wall in right field and Jared Mang went yard again as well — sending another deep blast to left field, scoring Watari as well to make it 4-0 lead.
That was plenty for Slaten, who pitched seven strong while striking out 11 batters to put himself in line for the win. He did give up a run in the bottom of the sixth, although it was unearned.
The Lobos weren't done scoring though and got another pair of multi-run homers by Tyler Kelly in the seventh and Connor Mang in the ninth inning, respectively — making it five home runs as a team for the game en route to an 8-2 victory.
Sunday's rubber match wound up not deciding a series winner as the game ended in a tie as the duration surpassed the four-hour mark and triggered a draw due to travel plans.
The Lobos benefitted from an early throwing error and Watari scored an unearned run in the top of the first to seize an early lead and drove home a run in the second inning to make it a 2-0 advantage for UNM.
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But the Bulldogs were able to get a run back in the bottom of the frame and used a three-run fourth to overtake the Lobos and go on top 4-2.
New Mexico was able to pick up another run of the unearned variety in the top of fifth, but failed to capitalize as much as it probably would've liked. Fresno State threw a wild pitch and had a throwing error in both the fifth and the sixth, but the Lobos were also caught stealing in both innings, which limited the damage.
The Bulldogs appeared to be trending toward another win, holding a 6-4 lead entering the eighth inning, but New Mexico got exactly what it needed in the eighth inning to force the tie.
Watari capped a three-hit day with a well-hit triple to score Kelly, pulling the Lobos within a run on the scoreboard. Jeff Deimling drove home Watari later in the inning with a two-out single to even the score.
But the Lobos needed to get a hold in the bottom of the eighth for it to be meaningful.
Fresno State got a leadoff single in the home half to start things off and advanced the potential game-winning run into scoring position with a sacrifice grounder. That ended the day for UNM pitcher Drew Gillespie as Malachi Emond came on in relief to try to finish the inning.
Emond gave up a single, but the Bulldogs elected to hold the lead runner at third — which proved to be a big play. The Lobo closer was able to induce an infield fly and forced a ground ball to record the final two outs of the inning and keep Fresno State's shot at a win 90 feet away from home plate.
The game ended as a draw to ensure the Lobos would be able to make their flight home. New Mexico will return home with a 19-23-1 overall record, setting up to host Grand Canyon on Tuesday and Wednesday in non-conference action at Santa Ana Star Field.
Robert Maler is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers basketball and baseball and contributes content for various other sports as well. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Robert_Maler
