New Mexico baseball gave away first place on Friday night, but San Diego State gave it right back the next day with a Lobo win and an Aztec loss that flip-flopped the order to finish the regular season.
All it took for the Lobos to win Saturday afternoon over Nevada was three home runs in the seventh inning and some great relief pitching from Johnathon Tripp to top the Wolf Pack, 13-6.
The win came at Santa Ana Star Field and, after the Aztecs lost 11-2 to Fresno State, it ensured that more games would be played at the Lobos’ home field.
Despite losing five straight games, the win in the season finale elevated the Lobos (29-25-1, 19-9-1 MW) to the regular season Mountain West title. While San Diego State (38-18, 21-10 MW) finished percentage points behind.
Saturday afternoon was a good test for the Lobos, as they slowly fought back into the most important game of the season so far.
Nevada (19-34, 13-16 MW) got on top early, scoring one run in the second inning and one in the top of the third, taking a quick 2-0 lead.
But UNM responded with a two-run inning in the bottom of the third.
Freshman infielder Justin Watari led off with a single, and pitcher/outfielder Luis Gonzalez reached base on a walk to put two men on. Jared Mang hit an RBI single to put the scoring in motion, followed by a Danny Collier sacrifice RBI to tie the game at two runs apiece.
After a scoreless fourth inning for both teams, Nevada responded with a multiple-run fifth inning. The Wolf Pack scored three runs to take a 5-2 advantage over the home squad.
But UNM quickly answered in the bottom of the frame and tallied two runs courtesy of a ground rule double off the bat of Collier, slicing the Wolf Pack lead to 5-4.
Both teams scored one run in the sixth inning to make the score 6-5 before UNM exploded on offense in the seventh inning.
The Lobos opened the bottom of the seventh inning trailing by one run but broke the game wide open by hammering Nevada for seven runs in the inning.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
It was raining home runs, with UNM cranking three of them over the fence. The first came from Matt Villalobos on a three run shot to right field, Gonzalez followed suit with a two run shot to center field and Mang hit a solo homer to left field.
Collier accounted for the other run with another RBI single to put UNM on top at 12-6.
Tripp pitched a one-two-three inning in the top half of the seventh inning and allowed just one hit in the eighth inning to keep the Wolf Pack at bay. UNM added another run in the bottom of the eighth to grab a 13-6 victory and claim the No. 1 spot in the upcoming Mountain West Tournament.
As a team, the Lobos had 13 hits and were led by Mang, who went 4-for-5 with a double, a homerun, one run scored and three RBI. Collier, Villalobos and Watari all had two hits, though Collier went perfect (2-for-2) at the plate with a double, one run scored and four RBI.
Gonzalez pitched five innings for UNM, though he gave up five runs on 11 hits. Christian Tripp, who came in relief, picked up the win to improve, throwing the final four innings. He struck out four batters and scattered five hits and one run allowed during that stretch.
The Lobos will face a familiar opponent on Thursday, May 25, as Nevada secured the No. 4 seed. The teams will meet up again at 7 p.m. at Santa Ana Star Field.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers baseball and women's basketball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz.
