SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The University of New Mexico baseball team (15-7, 7-1 MW) sealed a series win and maintained first place in the Mountain West Conference with a road win Friday against the San Diego State Aztecs (4-16, 1-5 MW), 4-2.
For the second night in a row, New Mexico was led by a stellar performance from its starting pitcher. Carson Schneider (4-1) earned the victory on a complete game effort. He limited the Aztecs to nine hits and no walks over nine innings with two earned runs. He struck out five Aztecs and did not allow an extra base hit until the ninth.
“Back-to-back nights of outstanding pitching,” exclaimed head coach Ray Birmingham. “That Sandia High School kid Schneider was awesome. Coach Jacome has them rolling.”
Offensively, Jared Mang scored one run and finished 2-for-4 with a walk, a double and a triple. Jared Holley had two RBI on 1-for-4 at the plate, while Luis Gonzalez had another strong night, going 2-for-5 with a run scored.
The Lobos did not score until the seventh inning, but Schneider did his part by keeping the opposition scoreless until the sixth. The Aztecs had no more than one hit in each of the first five frames, and only put a runner in scoring position three times.
The Aztecs broke through with one run in the sixth. The Aztecs crossed the plate on a pair of singles and used two outs to get the runner home. Down 1-0, the Lobos responded immediately. Erick Migueles reached base on a walk and was pinch ran by Austin Bell. Andre Vigil moved him over to third on a double to left field. With two outs on the board, Holley plated both runners on a liner down the right field line. The Lobos took the lead on the team’s first hit of the game with a runner in scoring position.
San Diego State nearly put together a two out rally in bottom of the seventh, but could not score. In the following side, Mang hit a one-out triple to right field. Reece Weber pinch hit on the next at bat and did his job, earning a RBI on a single to left field.
Gonzalez looked to continue padding New Mexico’s lead in the ninth with a leadoff single through the right side. The Lobos moved him over to third, where he would score on a Jack Zoellner RBI single through the left side. The Lobos ended the inning with a runner on third, but their three-run lead would be enough.
Meanwhile, Schneider finished the game strong. When the Aztecs put the tying run on second base in the seventh, Schneider retired four straight batters to hold San Diego State scoreless in the seventh and eighth. San Diego State’s Dean Nevarez led off the ninth with a home run over left field. Schneider remained unfazed, shutting down the final three batters with two strikeouts to finish the complete game.
The Lobos will look to close the series and sweep the Aztecs on Saturday at 1 p.m. PST/2 p.m. MST.
NOTES: Freshman Jared Mang hit his first collegiate triple…Schneider’s complete game is his second of the season, with the first coming on March 11 at Nevada…The win seals the third road series win against San Diego State in the last four series there…The Lobos were 0-for-6 at the plate tonight with runners in scoring position before Holley’s go ahead double in the seventh. From that point on, they went 3-for-6 with runners in scoring position…Three of the Lobos’ four runs came with two outs on the board.
Schneider Complete Game Lifts Lobos over Aztecs
