Early season struggles left the UNM baseball team in shambles and it chances of defending its Mountain West Conference championship in question.
However, the Lobos have stepped up their play of late and are in the thick of the conference race.
UNM (18-23, 8-7 in the Mountain West Conference) has played inconsistently for much of the season, but have turned things around recently with a high-powered offense, a rejuvenated defense and some strong pitching performances.
The Lobos start out 0-6, then went 10-13 over their next 23 games. Now the team has won eight of its last 12 games and is in second place in the Mountain West - two games behind conference co-leaders Brigham Young University and San Diego State University.
"One reason we are playing better is we have gotten some good starting pitching," head coach Rich Alday said. "We have also been playing much better defense of late, and offensively, we have been manufacturing runs."
Earlier in the season, Alday said his team was lacking leadership and none of the players were stepping up their play. He also said the newcomers were not playing up to their potential. Now Alday is singing the praises of his young team.
"The upperclassmen are not putting as much pressure on themselves, and because of that, they are stepping up and performing well," he said. "The underclassmen have gotten used to Division-I baseball and are contributing the way we were expecting earlier in the season."
Although the Lobos' pitching is still a little shaky with a 6.76 earned run average, senior pitcher Chris Cooper has provided a big lift with some outstanding performances. The southpaw did not pitch well early on, giving up too many walks in recording a 2-4 mark.
However, he has pitched much better in his last two outings, both complete-game wins. In those wins, he has given up only three runs in 16 innings pitched with 17 strikeouts and an earned run average of 1.69. Cooper, the ace of the staff, leads the team in wins with four and in innings pitched, strikeouts and games started.
"He was putting too much pressure on himself, thinking he had to carry the burden of the staff," Alday said. "Now he is just relaxed and has pitched real well his last couple of outings."
Junior pitcher Jeff Perez has come in from the bullpen and helped preserve wins. Perez has racked up three saves in three chances against conference opponents.
Although the pitching is getting better, Alday said the rest of the staff needs to be more consistent, especially the bullpen. He said he is still looking for a reliable number three and four starter to go behind Cooper and senior David Young.
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The pitching has improved thanks in large part to the defense's ability to make routine and spectacular plays. The Lobos have made only three errors in their last seven games and lead the conference in fielding percentage. For much of the season, the defense averaged nearly two errors a game.
The offense, which ran hot and cold early on, is hot again. Halfway through the conference schedule, the Lobos lead the conference in many offensive categories. The Lobos are first in batting, hits, runs scored and doubles. The Lobos have displayed some pop in their bat, hitting nine home runs in the last four games.
"We are doing a lot of things successfully on offense," Alday said. "We are hitting home runs and playing the short game, putting a string of hits together. We have also gotten some key base hits and have kept the pressure on the defense."
Alday has attributed most of the offensive explosion to sophomore second baseman Troy Cairns, junior outfielder Donny Sevieri and freshman outfielder Joe Salas. Cairns leads the conference in hits and doubles and is batting at a.351 average. He was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week for his performance against the Air Force Academy March 30-April 1 and is on a seven-game hitting streak.
Sevieri leads the team in batting with a .352 clip, and in home runs with eight. He has hit four home runs in the last four games.
Salas has raised his average from .267 to .298 by hitting .474 in his last five games, with four home runs and 10 RBI's.
The next two weeks will have a lot to say about the Lobos' chances of defending its title as they play the top two teams in the conference on the road. UNM will meet BYU for a three-game series April 12-14 and San Diego State April 20-22. The Lobos are 1-2 against BYU this season and 2-1 versus SDSU.
"Any time you play teams that are in front of you, they are big games," Alday said. "It is always difficult playing teams on their home turf, but hopefully we can get a couple of wins and stay in the thick of things."
Diamond Notes
Hayley Punter of the UNM softball team and Sevieri were both named Mountain West Conference Players of the Week.
Punter struck out 12 batters while allowing three hits and one unearned run in seven innings of work in UNM's 2-1 win over Colorado State University Saturday.
Sevieri batted .500 in three games against the University of Nevada at Las Vegas last weekend. He hit three home runs and had 10 RBIs in the weekend series.
