The University of New Mexico baseball team completed a sweep against the University of St. Thomas, advancing to 12-0 on the season. The Lobos are one of three undefeated teams left in college baseball.
Game one of the series saw the Lobos slug their way to an 11-6 win. They found themselves down 2 runs in the second inning, but the St. Thomas defense cracked the door open with 3 errors and the Lobos kicked that door down with a 6-run explosion. They rode that 6-run second to the series-opening victory as they tacked on more and never looked back.
“We need to keep stacking up days like this and go out there like Coach Brown told us and keep competing,” Lobo Damian Garcia said.
Garcia hit his first home run of 2026 during game one.
The Lobos took game two behind an incredible performance from starting pitcher Ryan Castillo. Castillo went 7 innings, allowing just 1 run with 7 strikeouts. That one run was all the Tommies; however, it was not sealed until the bottom of the eighth when Garcia hit his second home run of the series which was soon followed by a 2-run shot from first baseman Gene Trujillo to open up the lead for the Lobos and give them a 5-1 victory.
“I felt great out there. I was throwing all four pitches for strikes and I was glad to go deep into the game. It really helps out the bullpen, especially on Saturday,” Castillo said.
Game three of the series was a dramatic pitchers' duel. Starting pitcher Diego Alvarez went 6 innings, allowing just 1-run, but the Lobo offense had to contend with St. Thomas starting pitcher Owen Marsolek, and for the first 7 innings Marsolek was dealing against the Lobo offense as he matched Alvarez while also only allowing a single run in that time. In the seventh inning, St. Thomas plated a run against relief pitcher Tommy White and took a 2-1 lead.
However, Marsolek was kept in there for the eighth inning and the wheels began to fall off when the Lobo batters saw him for a fourth time. Back-to-back singles set up left fielder Garret Rede to do some damage, and he delivered with a 2-RBI double to flip the scoreboard and give the Lobos a 3-2 lead.
The Tommies wouldn’t go quietly in the ninth though. White hit St. Thomas designated hitter Lucas Mcnellis and they sent infielder Colin Lewandowski to run for him, adecision that paid off for the Tommies when he advanced to second on a bunt and came around to score when Russel couldn't pick a ball hit to him at second to tie the game. Relief pitcher Josh Barnhouse came into the game and limited the damage to that single run, keeping the game tied.
“I like being put in these high pressure situations and giving a hundred percent every time — I go out and I just try to execute coach Lopez’s plan as best as possible,” Barnhouse said.
The game shifted to the bottom of the ninth. With one out, Lobo catcher Brodey Williams and designated hitter Luke Mansy hit back-to-back singles to put the winning run at third base. The Tommies intentionally walked pinch hitter Lenny Junior Ashby to load the bases and set up a forceout at home plate, a strategy that initially worked as they got a groundball from right fielder Antonio Gianni and cut down the runner at home on a fielder’s choice to keep the game tied.
However, with two outs, the game fell to Rede and once again he delivered by lining a ball over the head of center fielder for the walk-off base hit to give the Lobos a 4-3 win.
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“A walk-off like that carries a lot of momentum so we’ll ride on that going into tomorrow," Rede said.
Rede stayed true to his word as his second-inning home run gave the Lobos the lead in game four and they never looked back, on route to a 7-3 victory to complete the sweep and remain unbeaten.
If the Lobos want to stay unbeaten, they’ll have to win on the road against the rival the New Mexico State University Aggies in Las Cruces on Tuesday, March 3.
“I’m excited to put on our gray uniforms, hit the road and see what happens,” Head Coach Tod Brown said.
Elizabeth Bolke is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @dailylobo
Marley Herndon is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @Dailylobo
