ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico baseball team is currently sitting in first place in a tight race for the Mountain West Conference Championship. The Lobos will look to win their sixth conference trophy since 2011 over the next six games. In order for the team to accomplish its goals, the current freshman class will have to make a major impact.
“Playing here as a freshman is tough,” said head coach Ray Birmingham. “There are a whole bunch of games in a short period of time. The travel alone this year has been hard on them. And the home work, weightlifting, study hall…everything. It’s really hard on freshman. On top of everything, they have to learn to compete. It’s amazing what some of these kids have done.”
Over the course of the conference season, coach Birmingham has put several freshmen on the field and relied on them to perform. In the team’s latest victory, a 6-2 win at UNLV Saturday, Birmingham used seven freshman in a crucial road game.
This is nothing new for coach Birmingham, who has routinely put young players in position to succeed. The Lobos have had a freshman All-American every year since 2011, with seven over a five year span. Current players Danny Collier, Carl Stajduhar and Tyler Stevens are among them. Needless to say, the bar is set high for first year players at New Mexico.
“It’s hard being a freshman here because they play a lot. The pro door takes players out so quickly that a lot of pressure is put on the freshmen, and they have to step up. So you see the growth. I am proud of (Andrew) Pratt, I am proud of (Jared) Mang and I am proud of (Austin) Bell and (Erick) Migueles, and (Christian) Tripp.”
During conference play, Jared Mang, Austin Bell, Andrew Pratt and Erick Migueles have all played a key role in the team’s ascension to the top spot in the conference. Over the course 18 MW games played, Bell leads the freshman class with a .355 average. Mang is hitting .302 in conference and logged a team-best seven RBI last week. Migueles is hitting .294 and slugging .478 in conference. Pratt has had to make an immediate impact in the wake of recent injuries. He came in to catch on April 29 at Arizona State and has been the team’s starting catcher ever since.
Arguably the most impressive development of any freshman has been on the mound from Christian Tripp. The 6-7 right hander holds a 2.61 ERA and a .200 opponent batting average over 10.1 innings pitched against MW teams. Last week, he made three appearances, allowing no runs and one hit.
The Lobos wrap the season up with three games this weekend against Nevada at home, before traveling to Air Force for the final three games next week. They enter this stretch as the leaders in the MW, but will need big time performances from this group in order to finish strong.
“They have to play at freshman All-American status for us to (finish successful) because of some of the injuries. Danny Collier being gone is a huge deal that impacts everything. The injury to DeVito has put a lot of stress on Pratt, who’s caught well enough defensively. But they are going to need to step up offensively too.”
The weekend series kicks off Friday at 6 p.m. at Santa Ana Star Field. Saturday’s game will begin at 6 p.m., and the series finale is scheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m. All three games will broadcast live on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.
Lobo Freshmen Making Big Impact in Title Race
