Through seven games this season the Lobo relievers have only given up nine earned runs in 29 1/3 innings for an ERA of 2.79. The only game in which the bullpen struggled for UNM was in a 9-3 loss against Michigan State in the season-opener.
“It’s an awesome feeling knowing that if I can go just six innings that we have guys in the seventh, eighth and ninth who are all closers,” junior starting pitcher Toller Boardman said. “If I give them a one-run lead I feel confident.”
The driving force of the bullpen thus far has been freshman reliever Luis Gonzalez, who has yet to give up an earned run. He’s recorded six strikeouts in 8 1/3 innings — the highest in both categories among the relief pitchers.
Relievers Jake Cole (senior) and Tyler Stevens (freshman) have also been strong points, combining for seven shutout innings and just five strikeouts. Redshirt junior closer Victor Sanchez hasn’t had the lights-out season that many expected, but he’s been effective in his three innings of work.
“We have a lot of really good upperclassmen pitchers and a lot of really good young pitchers, too,” freshman catcher Cory Voss said. “They’ve come into the zone and got the job done.”
UNM’s bullpen has needed to be stout because the team’s offense has started out slow. The Lobos are batting just .245 as a team and only have two starters (sophomore Chris DeVito and senior Aaron Siple) who are batting .300 or higher.
Junior shortstop Dalton Bowers and sophomore left fielder Danny Collier have the lowest batting averages for the regular starters at .087 and .185, respectively.
“We’re not very good offensively right now, but when you have a whole bunch of new guys — no matter what you train them to do — their mental side when they first start the season is to regress to when you were comfortable,” head coach Ray Birmingham said. “They’ve been taking their high school swings.”
The Lobos’ next chance to improve their offense will be against San Francisco and Utah Valley this weekend in the Lobo Invite. UNM plays San Francisco on Friday, Utah State on Saturday and will face both teams in a double-header on Sunday.
Utah Valley ended a six-game losing streak to start the season with an 8-3 win over Long Beach State last week. Catcher Seth Rhineer is the only Wolverine batting .300 or higher on a team that is hitting .202 collectively. However, Utah Valley’s pitching has been strong with a team ERA of 3.88.
San Francisco’s year began with a 0-8 mark that includes three losses at then-No. 12 Texas Tech. No starting pitcher for the Dons has an ERA below four.
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“San Francisco and Utah Valley are solid teams this year,” Birmingham said. “They’ve been very, very good in past years. They’re well-coached and are outstanding teams.”
Thomas Romero-Salas is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
