The UNM baseball team will look to shake the sting off of six straight road losses when it faces Air Force Academy this weekend for its final home stand of the year.
Brigham Young University took three games from the Lobos April 13 and 14 and last weekend it was San Diego State University’s turn, as the Aztecs also swept the Lobos in three games.
“It’s been frustrating because we had the opportunity to win maybe four of the six, and we came out with nothing,” UNM head coach Rich Alday said. “We had leads at BYU and against SDSU going into the ninth, and we couldn’t shut it down.”
UNM (18-29 overall, 8-13 in the Mountain West Conference) is in fifth place in the conference standings ahead of only Air Force (7-14 MWC). But the Lobos are only one game behind fourth-place University of Nevada at Las Vegas (9-12 MWC) and two games behind third-place University of Utah (10-11 MWC). San Diego State leads the conference with a 15-6 record and BYU follows at 14-7.
Depending on the outcome of this weekend’s games, a May 4-6 trip to UNLV and its final regular-season series at Utah May 11-13, the Lobos could find themselves in the cellar or near the top of the standings. Final standings will determine the seedings for the Mountain West Conference Tournament, May 16-19 in San Diego, Calif.
“There’s a lot of ifs involved in getting into first or second place,” Alday said. “But third or fourth is realistic; we could end up there. It doesn’t matter whether your third or fourth because those two play each other in the first round of the tournament, so the key thing is we’ve got nine ball games to get it done.”
Friday’s and Saturday’s games against the Falcons begin at 7 p.m. and a fireworks show will follow Saturday’s contest. Sunday’s game begins at 1 p.m. The games are free to UNM students who present a school identification card. “Hopefully we can win at least two of three and get some momentum for the tournament,” Alday said. “When you go away from home it’s different; we hurt ourselves at home because we didn’t get the job done early this year.”
This weekend’s games will also mark the end of several UNM seniors’ college careers, including pitchers Chris Cooper, Mike Semprevivo and outfielders Mark Okano and Aaron Stanley. Alday said that the departures, coupled with the fact that this year’s last home series will take place in the spacious confines of the Albuquerque Sports Stadium, will make this weekend a bittersweet yet exciting one.
“The Sports Stadium is just a great atmosphere for us and the fans; it’s kind of a thing where you feel comfortable coming out of the locker room out to the field,” Alday said. “We’re really excited about having the seniors step out for the last time this season. It’s basically their last series in Albuquerque, and not including the tournament, we have nine games left. So basically, their college career is over.”
The last two weeks have been busy ones in the recruiting department.
UNM recently signed three pitchers to next year’s roster to bolster their mound presence.
On April 12, UNM signed Matt Bullen, a 6-foot 3-inch right-hander out of Grand Junction, Colo. The junior-college transfer is pitching for New Mexico Junior College this year and has posted a 5-2 record with two saves, 44 strikeouts and 10 walks in 37 innings pitched. His fastball has been clocked at more than 90 miles per hour.
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Also on April 12, the Lobos announced the signing of local talent Ben Frye of Rio Rancho High School. Frye has gone 6-1 this year on the mound for the Rams to go along with a 1.98 ERA and has 50 strikeouts in 65 innings pitched. He was an all-district selection last year and his fastball has been clocked in the high 80s.
Finally, Cooper Campbell a right-handed pitcher from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College in Gulf Port, Miss., signed on April 16. He possesses a 1.52 ERA this year and has struck out 67 in 58 innings of work. As a freshman last year, Campbell pitched for the University of Mississippi and was named to the all-South Eastern Conference team.
Alday said he believed the additions would have an immediate impact on the squad next season.
“You’ve got to have definite pitching,” Alday said. “We haven’t done a good job out of the bullpen this year; it’s been inconsistent. Hopefully, these guys will come in and take care of that for us.”
