The UNM baseball team overcame a slew of obstacles to emerge victorious in 13 innings against the Air Force Academy at Lobo Field Friday.
Bad weather, darkness and a six-run Falcon lead going into the eighth inning was not enough to defeat the Lobos.
Friday’s match up started out strong for UNM as junior right-hander James Vermilyea struck out the first five Air Force batters he faced. Defensively the Lobos made short work of everything AFA could get a piece of. Unfortunately for UNM, Falcons’ pitcher Jesper Stubbendorff started out just as strong as Vermilyea, making it difficult for the Lobos to get their bats going early.
Vermilyea pitched seven strong innings for UNM but it was senior right-hander, Matt Bullen, who got the win for his one and a half innings of work. Stubbendorff put in seven innings of work as well but it was closer Ken Hodgson, who took the loss.
Offensively, the Falcons struck first, manufacturing a run in the top of the fourth inning for a 1-0 lead. The tone continued in similar fashion for the next three innings with the Falcons scoring runs in the top of the sixth and seventh and finally capping off by driving in three runners in the top of the eighth for a 6-0 advantage.
The Lobos struggled at the plate for much of the game but in the bottom of the eighth and facing a six-run deficit, UNM started a rally that is conducive to the offensive style of the ball club.
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“We knew we hadn’t been swinging the bats too well and we knew that we were a much better offensive team than we showed early in the game,” junior first baseman Chris Alexander said. “We put a few hits together and a couple of nice little rallies and tied it up.”
The Lobos put together a four-run eighth and a two-run ninth to tie the game 6-6, forcing extra innings. Both the Falcons and the Lobos drove in runs in the 10th to keep the game deadlocked, 7-7. With the momentum swinging in UNM’s favor going into the 11th inning, the game was suspended due to darkness, tied 7-7.
“I wish we would have finished it because we had the momentum going right there,” Alexander said. “But it turned out all right.”
For Alexander, the end result was sweet considering he drove in the winning run off Falcons pitcher Ken Hodgson in the bottom of the 13th to seal the victory for the Lobos. After 13 innings, a little bit of snow, a suspension due to darkness, 16 hits for the Falcons, 11 hits for the Lobos and a combined five errors, UNM emerged victorious 9-8, only to do it all over again less than an hour later.
UNM, 8, AFA, 7
The Lobos took the second game of their three-game series from Air Force on Saturday, winning 8-7. UNM overcame a 5-2 deficit and got the winning run in the bottom of the eighth when Sean Murray’s fly ball sent Josh Mader home from third base. Outfielder Joe Salas and first baseman Chris Alexander hit home runs for the Lobos.
UNM, 6, AFA, 4
UNM completed its three-game sweep of the Falcons on Sunday with a 6-4 victory. The Lobos were led by shortstop Dusty Young who extended his 15-game hitting streak going 3-4 with a RBI and a run. Darren Doltrinari (1-1) earned the win in relief.
UNM improved to 5-1 at home and 3-0 in the MWC.
