ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico baseball team (33-20, 18-9 MW) dropped game three of its weekend series Sunday at home, falling to the Nevada Wolf Pack (30-21, 18-9 MW), 13-9.
Dalton Bowers had a big day in the ninth spot in the lineup, going 2-for-5 with a game-high three RBI on a home run in the second inning. Luis Gonzalez finished 2-for-4 with a walk, two RBI and a run, while Jared Holley, Carl Stajduhar and Andrew Pratt each finished 2-for-4.
Prior to the game, the Lobos celebrated senior day by honoring eight Lobos for their hard work at the University of New Mexico. Among the honored were Bowers, Drew Bridges, Taylor Duree, Michael Eaton, Alex Estrella, Holley, Victor Sanchez and Colton Thomson.
For the second day in a row, the Wolf Pack jumped out to a quick 5-0 lead. Nevada posted a run in the first frame and put a four spot on the board in the second. The Lobos did not waste time climbing back in it, scoring five runs for the best frame of the day in the bottom of the second. Stajduhar led off the side with a single and the bases would load up on walks of Andre Vigil and Jared Mang. The Lobos brought their first run across on a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher Pratt.
With two outs on the board in the second inning, Bowers hit his fourth home run of the week on a bomb over left field. The homer plated three runs and brought the Lobos within a run. A four-pitch walk of Gonzalez kept the rally going, and a Holley double to left centerfield tied the game at 5-5.
The Lobos took their lone lead of the game in the third inning, scoring once to take a 6-5 lead. Jack Zoellner hit a one-out double to right field and was plated on a single from Vigil. The lead was short lived, as the Wolf Pack scored five runs on their best frame in the fourth.
New Mexico fought back in the middle innings, scoring a run in both the fourth and fifth innings. Chris DeVito gave the Lobos instant offense with two outs in the fourth inning on a solo home run past left field. It was his 14th home run of the season. The fifth-inning run also came on two outs, starting with a Pratt single up the middle. He moved to second on a single from Bowers and scored on Gonzalez’s single straight to centerfield.
The Lobos were in striking distance at 10-8 entering the sixth inning, but the Wolf Pack scored one in both the sixth and seventh innings to build another four-run lead. In the bottom of the seventh, Austin Bell led off with a single to left field. After two outs, he would score the team’s ninth run on a RBI single from Luis Gonzalez. The Lobos would find themselves in a bases loaded situation with two outs and the tying run on first base. However, a near DeVito single up the middle was fielded well by the shortstop for an inning-ending ground out.
After the Lobos stranded a runner on second in the eighth, Nevada posted an insurance run in the ninth. New Mexico could not reach base to start a rally in the ninth, ending the high-offense affair.
The Lobos will finish off the regular season with a three-game series at Air Force, beginning Thursday at 3 p.m. MST.
NOTES: With UNLV’s win over Fresno State Sunday, the Lobos and Wolf Pack are both still in the hunt for a share of the Mountain West Conference regular season championship if they can sweep their next opponents…If the Lobos can earn a tie for first, they will be the No. 1 seed in the MW Tournament with tiebreakers in hand…The Lobos batted .529 Sunday with two outs on the board, but stranded 10 runners on base.
Lobos Drop Game Three to Nevada
