Lobos tie Chippewas in series finale

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It appeared The University of New Mexico baseball team may come away with a walk-off win as with a runner on and trailing Central Michigan 6-5 in the bottom of the ninth, freshman Derek Marshall blasted a ball deep to right-center field.
 
Hayden Schilling, who opened the inning by getting hit with a pitch, started sprinting right away as it was clear the ball wasn’t going to get caught as the ball approached the ball the wall in the air.
 
But the ball hit just feet below the top of the fence, and though Schilling scored to tie it, UNM couldn’t push anything else across – and due to a time limit so the Chippewas could catch their flight – the game ended in a 6-6 tie after 10 innings.
 
It’s the second tie in two years for the Lobos (4-3-1) as they tied with San Jose State on the road last season for the same reason – a time limit was hit as UNM had to catch its flight back to Albuquerque.
 
The game was tied 3-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning when freshman Brayden Merritt came up with a runner on and one out. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound Merritt then did something a Lobo hadn’t done all season – hit a home run as he sent a line drive over the right field wall to give the Lobos a 5-3 advantage.
 
But Central Michigan (2-5-1) answered with two runs in the top of the eighth and took the lead in the top of the ninth when Griffin Lockwood-Powell led off the inning with a deep fly ball to right that bounced off the top of the wall and over for a solo home run – setting up Marshall’s heroics in the bottom of the inning.
 
Merritt finished 2-for-5 with a home run and two RBI and Hayden Schilling went 2-for-4 with a run and a double.
 
Cody Dye was solid in his start, going six innings and giving up three runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Chad Smith was solid in relief, giving up a run (the home run) on two hits with a strikeout in three innings of work (now has a 1.17 ERA).
 
Daniel Robinson had a big day for Central Michigan, going 4-for-5 with an RBI (a game-tying single in the eighth inning), two runs and a triple. Zach Kohn got the start for Central Michigan and went five innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits with five strikeouts and six walks.
 
The Lobos head into Mountain West play 6 p.m. Friday as they host Nevada at Santa Ana Star Field.