The Lobos completed a late-inning comeback on Sunday afternoon, riding another offensive explosion to a 16-7 win and a sweep of Air Force on the road to open Mountain West play.
New Mexico’s (7-3, 3-0 Mountain West) bats were once again unstoppable, as the team managed 21 hits, led by sophomore 1B Jack Zoellner and junior OF Luis Gonzalez.
The two combined for nine hits, six runs and five RBI. Zoellner had a perfect 5-for-5 day at the plate, and Gonzalez went 4-for-5.
But even with the Lobos’ great hitting, a victory wouldn’t come easy as they gave up their lead to Air Force (4-6, 0-3 MW) in the bottom of the fifth inning to go down 6-4 after a good start.
Air Force stalled the Lobos’ bats in the top of the sixth inning, too, and added another run in the bottom of the frame to go up 7-4 over the Lobos.
Things would stay that way until the Lobos awakened in the top of the eighth.
Junior INF Carl Stajduhar led off the top of the frame with a home run to cut Air Force’s lead to two runs, 7-5. On the following at-bat, Zoellner also took Air Force pitching deep to cut the deficit to one.
The next three hitters loaded the bases via a Jared Mang double, a Hayden Schilling walk and a free pass to Gonzalez. A dramatic triple to left center off the bat of sophomore OF Austin Bell would bring them all in, giving the Lobos a 9-7 advantage that they wouldn’t look back from.
New Mexico continued to blow the game open, tacking on seven more runs before it was all said and done as relief pitcher Christian Tripp managed a double play with two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth to seal the victory. Tripp pitched the final two innings for the Lobos, allowing only three hits and no runs.
Up next for the Lobos is a neutral-site game against rival New Mexico State on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in El Paso, Texas. The game will be broadcasted live on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.
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.
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