Lobo Baseball: at Santa Ana Star Field, Albuquerque, New Mexico
When: Friday – 6 p.m. (MT); Saturday – 2 p.m. (MT); Sunday – 1 p.m. (MT)
Who: UNLV Rebels
Broadcast: ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM
Live Stream: www.livestream.com/newmexico
Live Stats: http://www.statbroadcast.com/events/statbroadcast.php?t=1&gid=unm
Mountain West Standings
| Place | School | MW record | Overall record |
| 1 | Air Force | 4-1 | 13-5 |
| 2 | New Mexico | 7-2 | 17-8 |
| 3 | Fresno State | 6-3 | 17-8 |
| 4 | Nevada | 4-4 | 11-12 |
| 5 | UNLV | 3-6 | 9-15 |
| 6 | San Diego State | 2-5 | 6-17 |
| 7 | San José State | 3-8 | 8-16 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Lobos enter the weekend series looking to win its fourth Mountain West Conference weekend set in a row.
Facing off against the Rebels, the Lobos are slated for a jam packed weekend. On Friday night, the Lobos will host recently introduced women’s basketball head coach Mike Bradbury. He’ll be in attendance and will be throwing out the honorary first pitch. On Saturday, the Lobos are hosting Social Media day, with a full slate of prizes to be won for Lobo followers. For all promotions and events this weekend, follow the baseball Twitter account, @UNMLoboBaseball.
On the field, the Lobos will be looking to carry their momentum into another series. The Lobos are winners of nine of their last 11 games, eight of which have taken place on the road. The three home games came against San Jose State two weeks ago, all of which were victories.
Against UNLV: The Lobos and Rebels last faced off during mid April of the 2015 season, where New Mexico took two out of three games against the Rebels in Las Vegas, Nevada. In Albuquerque, the Lobos have won 10 of the last 12 games against UNLV, including nine in a row.
Up Next: The Lobos will face off against New Mexico State in a neutral game on April 5 in Roswell, New Mexico.
SCOUTING UNLV … The UNLV Rebels enter the weekend with a 9-15 record. They are 3-6 in the Mountain West after series with San Jose State (2-1), Fresno State (1-2) and Nevada (0-3). The Lobos have faired better on the road (4-4) than they have at home (5-11).
Sophomore Payton Squier leads the Rebels offensively, batting .366 while starting in every game this season. He’s scored a team-best 17 runs while chipping in 10 RBI.
On the mound, D.J. Myers has carried a heavy load, with six starts and 35.2 innings pitched. He has a team-high 38 strikeouts and has held opposing batters to a .238 batting average.
ALL AMERICAN WATCH … Chris DeVito has been on a tear over the last week and has set himself up for possible national honors if he can keep it up. He is currently batting .404 on the season, ranking in the national top-50. He is one of the nation’s leading run producers at 1.36 RBI per game, ranking 12th in the NCAA. With a .717 slugging percentage, he leads his team and ranks in the national top-30.
At DeVito’s current pace, his numbers were last matched by DJ Peterson, who was a three-time All-American, two-time Mountain West Player of the Year and the program’s highest ever draft pick.
BIRMINGHAM MILESTONE … Friday night’s game against UNLV will serve as head coach Ray Birmingham’s 500th game as the leader of the Lobos. In his time guiding the Lobos to Mountain West powerhouse status, Birmingham has amassed a .580 winning percentage.
After the series on Sunday night, New Mexico’s all-time leader in collegiate coaching wins will be inducted into the New Mexico Sports Hall of Fame.
NO STING … The Lobos were dominant in their most recent two-game midweek series against the Sacramento State Hornets. In that series, the Lobos shut them out in game one, 1-0, before earning another win, 12-3. The Lobos held the Hornets scoreless in 16 of 18 innings this past week. Sacramento State’s combined batting average against New Mexico was .193 (12-for-62) with only one extra base hit.
WINNING 1-0 … The Lobos’ 1-0 win over Sacramento State on Monday was the first 1-0 win for Ray Birmingham as head coach of New Mexico and the program’s first since defeating San Diego State in the Mountain West Conference Tournament on May 23, 2007. The last regular season win by a score of 1-0 came in 2004.
STARTING WITH A W … The Lobos earned a 5-3 series opening win last Thursday at San Diego State, making them 3-0 on the season when starting a Mountain West Conference series. This is the third time in the last four seasons in which the Lobos have started 3-0 in MW series openers. The bar was set high last year, when the Lobos won on opening night in their first seven MW series’.
PITCHING THIS WEEK … Head coach Ray Birmingham has stated that in order for this team to be successful, the pitching has to be on point. Based on the last five games, the message seems to have been received. the Lobos’ ERA over the last five games, all of which have been on the road, is at 3.27. The team has 32 strikeouts during that time to just 11 walks and has held opposing batters to a .258 average.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE … At 7-2, the Lobos are the fastest team in the Mountain West to reach seven wins, and are on pace to compete for another conference championship. That is to be expected of Birmingham’s Lobos. Since Birmingham took over the program in 2008, New Mexico has been the champions or runners up in either the regular season or conference tournament. That includes five regular season or tournament titles during a four year span from 2011-2014.