New Mexico continued its tear against Mountain West competition at home with a 5-4 victory against Nevada on Friday night.
The Lobos, now 16-6 at home, have put together an 11-2 record at Santa Ana Star Field in league play. This could potentially bode well for UNM as the MW tournament is right around the corner, and will take place in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
UNM (33-18, 18-7 MW) is still clinging to a 0.5 game first place lead in the conference, with Fresno State right on the Lobos’ tails. The Bulldogs (34-17, 20-8 MW) have two more wins than New Mexico, but the Lobos have one less loss, giving them the slight edge.
While the Bulldogs have just two more conference games left, the Lobos have the most to lose, with five remaining on the schedule. After Boise State’s 9-1 victory over UNLV on Friday night, the race continues to heat up.
UNM’s Friday night started off well with first baseman Jack Zoellner’s two-RBI double in the bottom of the first inning to get the Lobos on the scoreboard.
Nevada would respond with a two-RBI single in the top of the third frame with Miles Mastrobuoni’s one-out hit to tie the game up.
UNM would again take the lead scoring in the fourth inning on an RBI double from catcher Andrew Pratt. However, the lead was short-lived while Nevada reached the board in an unorthodox way.
On a 3-0 count, rightfielder Trenton brooks grounded out to UNM second baseman Jared Holley who proceeded to turn a double play. However, Mastrobuoni thought he could score on the play, but Zoellner’s heads up play prevented Nevada from taking the lead. Trenton was credited with an RBI, but also guilty of grounding into a triple play.
The tie didn’t last long. In the bottom of the frame, sophomore third baseman Carl StajduharRBI ripped off an RBI double down the left field line to put UNM back on top 4-3.
Nevada would turn around an RBI double of its own when Just Hazard tied the game up again in the late stages with a double down the right field line.
The sixth inning was the last time redshirt senior lefty Colton Thomson would trot to the mound, ending his day with four earned runs, on 10 hits, on 88 pitches.
It was freshman Christian Tripp who’s 2.1 innings of one-hit ball that would grant him his second win of the season.
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However, the bizarre game at Santa Ana Field was not just haunted by an eerie RBI triple play. Four Lobos were plunked. Oddly enough, Reese Weber getting hit by a pitch was for the game winning RBI.
UNM will take on Nevada again on Saturday night with opening pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
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.
