After a disappointing week at home, in which New Mexico was swept by UNLV, the Lobos will look to turn things around on the road this week against Boise State.
UNM (20-20, 5-9) fell to seventh place in the Mountain West over the weekend, just two spots and only one game ahead of last place Boise State (12-31, 4-11).
“Boise State is a team that’s going to jump on you if you let your guard down,” said head coach Erica Beach.
The Broncos boast two power hitters, infielder Rebekah Cervantes, who is 5th in the conference with nine homeruns and senior outfielder/first baseman Teauna Hughes, who has eight home runs with 36 RBIs and a .373 batting average on the season.
However, even with potent sluggers, Boise State’s pitching has been the team’s Achilles heel all throughout the season. Not one member of the staff possesses an ERA below 5.00 nor does a pitcher hold a winning record in the circle.
“Boise State is a good hitting team, but I think we’re better as a team and we’ll bounce back even harder. We’ll be able to handle them,” catcher/designated player Chelsea Johnson said.
Johnson is coming off a weekend in which she hit two home runs and six RBIs, outfielder Mariah Rimmer had a big weekend hitting two home runs as well, adding five RBIs. Rimmer’s five hits over the weekend helped her move into the conference lead in hits, with 57 on the year.
UNM was able to produce plenty of runs against the Lady Rebels. A total of 21 runners touched home plate this past weekend during the three-game home stand. However, UNM’s failure to finish games continues to pose a big problem.
The Lobos allowed UNLV to score five runs in the seventh inning Friday night, blowing a one run lead. The squad then followed that performance, blowing a two-run lead on Saturday after the Rebels scored three unanswered runs in the seventh inning.
It isn’t just the pitching staff having a hard time when the Lobos take the field, as UNM’s defense committed six costly errors.
“Our pitching has to show up, it has to be tough for us,” Beach said. “If they do that then we're going to have a great weekend. And we have to make sure we’re not giving up big innings, I think we’ll be fine.”
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Though the Lobos have had their share of bad luck at home, losing six straight games, things have been going their way on the road as of late, as New Mexico has won three straight. They’ll look to continue their road winning streak and win their fourth straight at Boise State on Friday at 4 p.m.
Wally Gallart is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @wallyagallart.
