Nevada baseball got on the scoreboard first, but never really seemed to be able to catch up to the stuff Lobo starting pitcher Drew Gillespie's was dealing.
The Wolf Pack broke through with two runs in the top of the first inning, benefitting from a lead-off double and a single to put runners on the corners. Nevada duplicated that effort in reverse to take the 2-0 lead, but Gillespie sat down the next two batters to end the threat.
New Mexico went down in order in the home half of the inning prior to Gillespie trotting back out to notch another pair of Ks in the second. UNM appeared to have a good scoring opportunity in the bottom of the second after Hayden Schilling belted out a single, stole second base and advanced to third on a single later in the inning — but Nevada second baseman Conor Allard gloved a ball hit right to him to end things and Schilling found himself stranded 90 feet away from home.
Nevada was able to pick up another pair of runs in the top of the third, capitalizing on another duo of extra base hits, doubling twice en route to the 4-0 lead.
But New Mexico continued to get quality work from its junior right-hander. Gillespie surrendered just one more hit the rest of the way and caught fire as his strikeout count continue to soar.
He silenced the Wolf Pack bats, punching out two more batters in the top of the fourth — and the offense of UNM rewarded him with some support. Jared Mang led off the bottom of the frame with a double and his younger brother, Conner, was hit by a pitch in the ensuing at-bat. The elder Mang eventually scored the first run on a fielder's choice, but the Lobos left two more on base, both of whom were in scoring position.
Gillespie went back to work in the fifth inning, recording strikeout number seven and eight to keep the score where it was and the Lobos responded again — roughing up Wolf Pack starter Ryan Anderson and pumping out four extra-baggers to eventually take the lead.
Adam Adkins cranked a lead-off double to left center and Tyler Kelly worked his way to a full count before sending his first career home run over the wall to make it a 4-3 game. The Mang brothers struck again, with Jared doubling to left and Connor doing the same to right center to tie things up. Connor Mang snagged third base thanks to a throwing error — which proved to be a big play — as he scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly ball to give the Lobos their first lead of the game at 5-4.
UNM had a chance to pour on more, but Schilling got caught in a rundown and was tagged out to end the inning.
Gillespie made sure it didn't matter.
The righty struck out the side in the top of the sixth to run his strikeout total to 11 and started a "strike 'em out, throw 'em out" scenario to end the seventh inning — which also brought an end to his night. He left the game with the Lobos still holding a 5-4 advantage and setting a career-high 12 strikeouts.
Malachi Emond came on in relief in the eighth after UNM added an insurance run in the top of the frame and picked up where his teammate left off.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Emond struck out the first two batters he faced and five overall as he struck out the side himself in the bottom of the ninth to record the save — his seventh of the season.
The 6-4 win resulted in both teams moving to a 16-17 record for the season, though the Lobos held a one-game advantage in conference play with a 7-9 record in the Mountain West.
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
