New Mexico isn’t satisfied with an entry among the nation’s 25 best teams.
Head coach Ray Birmingham said it doesn’t mean much this early in the year, and that New Mexico warrants talks of being a premier team each season.
“I expect it every year,” Birmingham said, after UNM was named No. 24 by Collegiate Baseball Newspaper. “We want to jump in the top 15."
Leading the way to the ranking was Chris DeVito, who was named the Mountain West Player of the Week with his performance at the plate. He hit .562 last week, which included UNM’s three game stint with Wichita State and the Lobos’ final game in Hawaii.
The Lobo catcher and DH collected four extra-base hits, plated nine and crossed home plate seven times himself.
While DeVito’s performance warranted league recognition, the head coach said the team’s success hasn’t been because of one performance, but rather a collective effort. The combination of New Mexico’s offense and starting pitching has facilitated a 6-1 start for the Lobos.
“The chemistry on this team is off the charts,” Birmingham said. “The way these guys work at the game and not let each other down, last year we didn’t have that.”
Birmingham said there is always room to improve, though he said the three game sweep, and UNM having won six of the season’s first seven games, has been a good step to begin the 2016 campaign.
“I think we’re only getting better,” Birmingham said. “We’re not as good as we can be.”
One facet in particular that Birmingham applauded was the ambiance of the season opening series. The head coach said he was impressed with the turnout in all three games.
He said people are getting excited for Lobo baseball, and added that they should be.
Though the Lobos garnered wins in each of the three contests against the visiting Shockers (3-5) Birmingham said it was not all smooth sailing, with relief pitching an area for improvement.
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“The biggest thing is that we’ve got to get the back of our bullpen right,” Birmingham said. “We were way ahead in all three games all the time until the last three innings.”
In the ninth inning alone, Wichita State accumulated eight runs across the three games. The offense and starting pitcher picked up the slack for the shaky late-game bullpen, but Birmingham said the Lobos can’t count on having such a great cushion each time someone comes to close a contest.
In addition to saving wins and losses, the Lobos are also protecting a streak of 86 consecutive wins when leading in the eighth inning or later.
“That’s unbelievable. We need to keep that streak alive,” Birmingham said.
Dallas Baptist is next on the horizon for New Mexico with Friday’s opening pitch set for 6 p.m. Birmingham said some of the keys to the series will be whether or not the Lobos can manage to bring home runners in scoring position, in addition to late-inning pitching.
Liam Cary-Eaves is the sports editor for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Liam_CE.
