Lobos Welcome Sam Houston to Santa Ana Star Field April 5-7

New Mexico Baseball returns home after a four-game road swing to host Sam Houston (17-13, 3-6 C-USA) for a three-game non conference weekend series at Santa Ana Star Field April 5-7.

The Lobos (16-12, 7-5 MW) are looking to get back in the win column after dropping three straight for the first time this season, falling in both games of a doubleheader at San Diego State on March 29 (6-8; 0-13) and on the road in midweek action at Arizona on Tuesday (1-9). 

This weekend’s opener will be the second of four consecutive matchups with 2023 NCAA Regional qualifiers for UNM after Tuesday’s matchup with the Wildcats – Sam Houston won the WAC Tournament to qualify for the Baton Rouge Regional in 2023, defeating Tulane but falling to Oregon State twice to be eliminated.

The Lobos will be hoping a return to playing at elevation will help them break out of a mini-slump after not homering in three of their last four for the first time since February. Entering last week as the Mountain West’s leaders in nearly every offensive category after a week in which they averaged 13 hits and 12.75 runs per game, the Lobos have been held to 4.75 hits and 3.0 runs per game in their last four games despite defeating the San Diego State 5-2 in the series opener for their first win over the Aztecs since 2021. They were held hitless in a seven-inning game for the first time since 1990 in the finale, avoiding being shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 2017 after Ott drove in a run on a sacrifice hit in the sixth inning on Tuesday.

Regardless, the Lobos are still batting .312 as a team with an OPS of .993 while averaging 9.23 runs and 11.6 hits per nine innings to lead the Mountain West in nearly every offensive category. Jake Holland is leading the league in homers (10), RBI (33) and batting average (.377).

On the season, UNM also ranks No. 6 in all of D-I college baseball in total double plays (30), No. 17 in team on-base percentage (.431), No. 13 in total doubles (69), No. 19 in base on balls (171), No. 27 in batting average (.311), No. 36 in runs scored (237), No. 41 in runs per game (8.5), No. 36 in total hits (297) and No. 38 in slugging (.508) – the Lobos lead the Mountain West in all of those categories.

Friday’s first pitch is set for 6 p.m. MT, with Saturday’s at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale at Noon. All three games will be streamed via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/watch, with live stats available via GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on socials for promotional/marketing and gameday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

FRIDAY, APRIL 5 – Salute to Service Day: Veterans get in free with their military ID.
SATURDAY, APRIL 6 – Bark in the Park: Furry friends welcome at Santa Ana Star Field, with a free pet bandana giveaway.
SUNDAY, APRIL 7 – Lil’ Lobos Kid’s Club Day: Kids get to run the bases postgame.

ALL-TIME SERIES
This will be the first meeting between New Mexico and Sam Houston – the two teams have never faced each other. The Lobos will be only the second Mountain West team the Bearkats have faced – they are 2-1 against Nevada all-time after taking a weekend series from the Wolf Pack in 2017. Coach Brown never squared off with SHSU during his tenure at North Dakota State either.

LAST TIME OUT
The Lobos couldn’t keep up with a 12-hit night from Arizona in road midweek action Tuesday night, avoiding being shut out in back-to-back games for the first time since 2017 but falling 9-1 to the Wildcats (14-13, 7-5 Pac-12) at Hi Corbett Field in their lone meeting this season.

UNM pitched Tuesday night’s game by committee, with seven different pitchers seeing the mound – RHP Josh Barnhouse (2.1 IP), LHP Arthur Steinkamp (0.2 IP), RHP Brett Russell (1.1 IP), LHP Justin Still (0.1 IP), RHP Wyatt Hardy (0.1 IP), RHP Will Bannister (2.0 IP) and LHP Jaren Jackson (1.0 IP) – the most in a single game for UNM this year.

Barnhouse (2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K) opened his first career start with two scoreless frames before allowing a two-run homer in the third that cued his exit from the game to preserve his arm for this weekend’s series. Even with a variety of different looks, the Lobos struggled to stop the bleeding — the Wildcats proceeded to push across five more runs on seven hits over the next three frames to take control before two scoreless frames from Bannister (2.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 3 K) calmed things down. Bannister retired all six batters he faced on just 24 pitches – he and Russell (1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K) were the only two Lobo pitchers to not be tagged for an earned run.

The Lobos finished with six hits, with Reed Spenrath leading the way with two – a double and a triple – while scoring UNM’s lone run. It’s Spenrath’s 13th multi-hit game this season and eighth in his last 13 games as well as his fifth game this season with multiple extra base hits. Konner Kinkade, Jake Holland, Akili Carris and Ethan Ott all came up with a base knock each, but the Lobos struck out eight times and were retired in order in each of the last three frames as the Wildcats’ bats picked up.

ON DECK
After this weekend’s three-game set, the Lobos head south to face in-state rivals New Mexico State (11-6, 1-5 C-USA) for the second time this season on Tuesday in Las Cruces before a home series against the No. 1 team in the MW Standings next weekend when UNM hosts Fresno State (19-9, 9-3 MW) April 12-14.

MOUNTAIN WEST BY THE NUMBERS
– Through four conference weekend series, the Lobos have the fourth-best RPI in the MW (197) behind Air Force (117), Fresno State (138) and Nevada (179). Even after a tough finish to the weekend in San Diego, the Lobos sit in fourth place in the league standings, two games back of first-place Fresno State (19-9, 9-3) – they are 5-5 in their last 10.
– At 16-12 overall, the Lobos have the second-most wins and second-best winning percentage (.571) in the conference behind Fresno State (19-9; .679). Their .833 winning percentage in conference matchups at home (5-1) leads the league.
– In MW matchups only, UNM is batting a league-best .313 – they also lead the MW in slugging (.511) and on base percentage (.435), with a 81/72 strikeout-walk ratio (55/54) in conference play.
-Through 28 games, the Lobos lead the Mountain West in 11 statistical categories:
– Batting Average (.312)
– Slugging Percentage (.508)
– On Base Percentage (.431)
– Runs Scored (237)
– Hits (297)
– Runs Batted In (221)
– Home Runs (34)
– Walks (172)
– Double Plays (30)
– Total Bases (484)
– Saves (7)
They rank second in the league in six more:
– Doubles (69)
– Batters Struck Out Looking (68)
– Wins (16)
– Sac Flies (12)
– Stolen Bases (28)
– Assists (254)

MW AWARDS SWEEP
UNM swept the MW Weekly honors last Monday, with Jake Holland winning Player of the Week and Ryan Castillo winning Freshman & Pitcher of the Week for their respective performances over the weekend.
Holland led the Lobos with a .727 batting average and 2.000% slugging (2.750 OPS) with 14 RBI over three games last weekend, homering four times and hitting two doubles in the process. He batted .750 with runners in scoring position (6-for-8) and .667 in two-out situations (4-for-6) in that span. The senior catcher finished with multiple hits, runs and RBI in all three games, homering in each — Holland scored eight runs on the weekend, drawing three walks and only striking out once. He also started behind the dish in all three games, generating 25 putouts and three assists without any errors.
A weekend in review for the Orlando, Fla. native:
Led the Lobos with five RBI on a homer and two doubles in the series opener on Friday and homered twice in the series finale while racking up seven RBI to help the Lobos run-rule the Spartans, 17-4 in seven innings.
In a pivotal Game Two on Saturday – the first game of the doubleheader – he got on the base paths all in all five at-bats via a home run, two singles, a walk and a HBP. His seventh-inning solo shot tied the game up at 4-all and his RBI base knock in the eighth put the Lobos up 7-5 — a lead they’d hold onto through nine.
Drove in the first run for the Lobos with a sac fly in Game Two on Saturday after they fell behind 3-0 early — he hit his third homer of the weekend for 3 RBI in the next inning to cap off a five-run frame that changed the complexion of the game entirely. Added his fourth no-doubter in the penultimate frame to yield three more runs and put UNM up by 13.
Castillo – a true freshman making just his fourth appearance of the season on Saturday – was a revelation in relief in Game Two, earning his first career win while notching career-highs in innings pitched (5) and strikeouts (7) without surrendering a single earned run. He retired 13 of 15 batters he faced, allowing only two hits without any walks.
Entering the game in the third with runners on second and third and nobody out, Castillo allowed one unearned run on a sac fly and shut down the Spartans’ bats the rest of the way — he struck out the side in order in the fifth and then two more to open the sixth and reach five batters struck out in succession before a grounder made it another 1-2-3 frame. Castillo used only 65 pitches over those five frames — 38 strikes — while inducing five grounders and one flyout.

COACH BROWN BREAKS 400
UNM’s 10-8 win over Nevada on March 17 was the 400th of UNM Head Coach Tod Brown’s career (North Dakota State 2008-2021, UNM 2022-present) — he’s one of only three UNM coaches to surpass 400 wins in their careers, trailing only Rich Alday (515-313 [1990-2007]) and Ray Birmingham (414-341 [2008-2020]) – the second and third-longest tenured Lobo Baseball coaches in program history – for the most career wins. Brown has posted a 63-70 record since becoming UNM’s 12th Baseball coach in the summer of 2021 and is 404-420 (.491) in his career as a Head Coach.

SEEING DOUBLE
The Lobos have excelled at getting two for one this season, ranking No. 6 in NCAA D-I in total double plays (30) and No. 13 in total doubles (69). They rank No. 7 in double plays per game (1.07) and No. 16 in doubles per game (2.46).
Jake Holland is tied for the second-most two-baggers in the MW and No. 6 in NCAA D-I in doubles per game (0.52), with Asby (10 doubles) at No. 91 in the nation.
UNM ranks No. 2 in the MW in assists (254) and No. 3 in putouts (708), with Reed Spenrath ranking No. 3 in total putouts (207) and Devon Dixon ranking No. 3 in total assists (77) – Spenrath has been a part of 29 double plays (No. 1 in the MW), while Dixon has helped stitch 24 (No. 2 in the MW) with Chase Weissenborn pitching in on 14 (T-No. 7 in the MW) in just 13 games.

DIGGING THE LONG BALL
The Lobos found a penchant for the long ball in the month of March – after homering four times in their first eight games, they’ve connected on 30 for a total of 65 RBI since March 1. UNM is 10-1 in games this season in which the Lobos hit multiple homers.
UNM is 12-4 in games in which the Lobos go yard at least once. The Lobos are slugging a MW-best .508 as a team after mashing 10 over four games last week and two more in a weekend series at San Diego State.
Nine different Lobos have hit a homer this season for a total of 34 through 27 games – 24 have been at Santa Ana Star Field.
Jake Holland leads the Lobos with 10 homers and Will Asby has seven – Reed Spenrath has five, all of which have come in the last three weeks since hitting his first of the season on March 10 against UNLV. Devon Dixon hit his first homer of the season against Arizona State in Phoenix two weeks ago and followed with his second exactly a week later against NM State at home to lead four other Lobos – Tye Wood, Kyle Smith, Gene Trujillo and Josh McAlister – that have two each on the season.

HOLLAND AND ASBY BRINGING THE POWER
Jake Holland and Will Asby have combined for 17 of UNM’s 34 homers with 21 doubles and 64 RBI between the duo so far this season – they tout the two highest slugging percentages on the team at .945 and .641, respectively. They both lead the team in multi-RBI games with seven each.
This week, Holland was ranked as the No. 29 catcher in the nation by D1Baseball.com, with Asby cracking the Top 100 at No. 94 amongst the nation’s best outfielders.
Holland won MW Player of the Week honors last week after batting for a .727 batting average and 2.000% slugging (2.750 OPS) with 14 RBI over three games last weekend, homering four times and hitting two doubles in the process. He batted .750 with runners in scoring position (6-for-8) and .667 in two-out situations (4-for-6) in that span. The senior catcher finished with multiple hits, runs and RBI in all three games, homering in each — Holland scored eight runs on the weekend, drawing three walks and only striking out once. He also started behind the dish in all three games, generating 25 putouts and three assists without any errors. He’s now up to eighth multi-hit games and six multi-RBI games so far this season with 11 doubles (T-No. 1 in MW) and nine homers (T-No. 1 in MW) despite only starting in 16 of UNM’s 24 games.
Batting .308 on the season, Will Asby leads the Lobos in multi-RBI games with seven and overall RBI with 31 (T-No. 2 in the MW, No. 115 in NCAA D-I) — he’s been rung up the fewest times of any Lobo (Min. 2.5 AB/game) with a 13-16 strikeout to walk ratio.
The grad transfer by way of University of San Francisco has already driven in more runs in 28 games with the Lobos than he did all season across 38 appearances for the Dons in 2023 (26). He has also already matched his homer output from last season with seven bombs – the third-most in the league — and has hit two of UNM’s three grand slams already this season, against UNLV on March 9 (W, 31-15) and New Mexico State on Tuesday (W, 14-4).
That 31-run game on March 9 was Asby’s third game this season with four or more RBI; he drove in career-high nine runs that night, good for the second-most in a single game in program history. The Lobos matched the program record for single-game scoring with their 31 runs that night.

SPENRATH BACK TO FORM
– After mashing 19 homers in his first season in Albuquerque, Reed Spenrath was productive at the plate through his first 16 games (.300/.455/.483) but with just one thing missing – a home run. He finally broke through with his first of the year and the Lobos’ 18th of the season in the weekend finale against UNLV on March 10, smacking a three-run shot more than 450 feet out of Santa Ana Star Field to put the Lobos up 5-4 late.
– He’s done so again four more times since then with two more multi-run homers against Arizona State (March 12) and Nevada (March 17) before hitting solo shots against New Mexico State (March 19) and San Diego State (March 28). UNM is 4-1 in games in which Spenrath hits a home run, and he’s averaging 1.32 hits per game since hitting his first no-doubter, with eight multi-hit games in that span.
Through seven weeks of Baseball, Spenrath has accumulated 22 RBI while hitting nine doubles and four triples, connecting on 35 hits and drawing 24 walks.
Spenrath has 11 multi-hit games and five multi-RBI games, starting all but one game at first while racking up 207 putouts and 17 assists. He’s been a part of 29 of UNM’s 30 double plays (No. 6 in NCAA D-I) this season.
– Spenrath was named to D1Baseball.com’s Top 50 first baseman rankings (No. 46) and Preseason All-MW ahead of this season. A first-team all-conference selection in his first season with the Lobos in 2023, Spenrath led the team and ranked second in the conference in 2023 with 19 home runs – the sixth-most in a single season in program history – to go with 65 RBIs. The 6’5” power hitter also led the team and ranked third in the conference with 54 runs scored, batting .321 while reaching base at a clip of .421. He finished the season with 16 multi-hit games and 18 multi-RBI games.

STREAKS SUMMARY / LOBO GRAB BAG
– UNM’s season-best streak of 10 straight games with double-digit hits came to an end on March 10 with an eight-hit outing against the Rebels. The Lobos finished with multiple doubles in each of their 12 consecutive home games from Feb. 22 to March 10, with six games of four or more two-baggers and two games with six.
– UNM didn’t hit a double in their loss to SDSU in Friday’s Game Two for the first time this season – the Lobos have finished 19 games with multiple doubles in that span and nine with three or more. They’ve have now homered in six of their last nine games, with multiple in five of those games.
– Josh McAlister (out with injury since March 3) extended his team-best on-base streak to 14 games since returning to action, with Will Asby reaching base in 10 consecutive games and Reed Spenrath doing so in nine. Four other Lobos – Chase Weissenborn (7), Konner Kinkade (4) and Luke Mansy (4) – all have active on-base streaks of at least four games.
– Holland leads UNM with seven multi-RBI games and three of five or more – Asby also has seven multi-RBI games.
– Khalil Walker’s 11-game hit streak from 2/22 to 3/15 was the longest by a Lobo this season.
– Spenrath got aboard in 17 consecutive games to start the season – 20 if you count the end of the 2023 season – for UNM’s longest streak of that variety this year. He did so despite going hitless in his first four games to start the season.

RETURN OF THE MAC
In the series finale with San Jose State, Josh McAlister made his first start at third base since exiting the Lobos’ 9-6 win over Hofstra with injury on March 3 and showed little signs of rust, going 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI. He finished a triple short of the cycle while drawing a walk, extending his team-best active on-base streak to 12 games.
Last season at Ohio State, McAlister batted .200 with 18 RBI in 36 games played – through just 15 games in 2024 at UNM, he’s batting .314 with 10 RBI. He’d started 12 of UNM’s 13 games at the hot corner until his injury.

31-RUN MADNESS
The Lobos matched a program record set in 2004 with 31 runs scored in their series-clinching win over UNLV on March 9, racking up 29 hits and getting multiple RBI from six different Lobos in the process. Will Asby drove in a team-high nine runs – the second-most in a single game in program history and the most since 2010 – and Kyle Smith added six more. UNM’s 29 hits in total are the most in a single game since 2010 and fourth-most in a single game in program history.
Asby was 2-for-2 with two doubles and 4 RBI in the first inning alone as the Lobos plated 20 runs in the first three frames. UNLV scored 15 runs in total and looked to get within striking distance late after plating eight between the fourth and sixth innings, but RHP Josh Barnhouse calmed things down in relief, allowing just one hit over 3 ⅔ innings of work while striking out four and walking two to calm things down and earn the first win of his UNM career.

SEASON-OPENING NOTES / EARLY RETURNS
– UNM looks to improve its standing in the Mountain West for a third consecutive season – the Lobos finished sixth (10-20 MW) in Brown’s first season as head coach in 2022 and narrowly missed out on the conference tournament with a fifth-place finish (13-17 MW) in 2023.
– The Lobos’ offense in 2023 was one of their most productive in recent memory – UNM’s .328 team batting average was the third-best in the NCAA and best in the Mountain West, as well as the Lobos’ best since 2013.
– UNM’s 26-25 record in 2023 was the most wins since 2017 and first winning season since then (not counting UNM’s 14-4 record in the canceled COVID season of 2020).
– Reed Spenrath was named to the Mountain West Baseball Preseason All-Conference Team, with the Lobos picked fifth in the preseason poll as voted on by the league’s coaches. Spenrath was named to D1Baseball.com’s Top 50 First Baseman rankings ahead of the season, coming in at No. 46 in the nation. He was named one of three captains for this year’s Lobos squad along with fellow seniors Chase Weissenborn and Brett Russell.

BROWN’S PROGRAM-BUILDING RESUME
– In his first five seasons as head coach at North Dakota State, Brown’s teams improved their winning percentage in each season, going from 15-30 (.333) in his first season in 2008 to 40-20 (.667) in 2012 and finishing each of the next nine seasons above .400. The Bison reached the Summit League tournament eight times in that span, advancing to NCAA Regionals in 2014 and 2021.
– Brown coached the Bison to 40-win seasons in 2012 and 2021.
– In Brown’s second season at UNM, the Lobos improved to 26-25 from 21-33 the year prior, with the highest team batting average since 2013 (.328) and lowest team ERA since 2016 (5.95).
– In 16 years as a D-I Head Coach, Brown has finished the season above .400 13 times and above .500 five times – the only three seasons in which he’s finished below .400 were his first two years in Fargo (2008, 2009) and his first season in Albuquerque (2022).

YOUR 2024 LOBOS ROSTER
– UNM’s 2024 roster includes 16 returning players with 24 newcomers – the Lobos return seven position players who started at least 10 games in 2023 and losing six.
– Of the Lobos’ newcomers, 8 are freshmen and 16 are transfers – 12 from junior colleges and four from four-year institutions.
– 29 players are upperclassmen – 13 seniors and 16 juniors – the most upperclassmen Brown has had on a roster in Albuquerque.

THE REMAINING SCHEDULE
– UNM’s 54-game 2024 schedule, including 30 Mountain West Conference games, features five different teams that reached NCAA Regionals last spring – Oregon State, Texas Tech, Arizona, San Jose State and Sam Houston State – with 27 games against nine opponents that ranked in the Top 150 in the nation in last season’s final RPI rankings.
– UNM will play 30 games at Santa Ana Star Field in Albuquerque and 24 games on the road throughout the regular season.
– The first of four Rio Grande Rivalry matchups with New Mexico State ended with a 14-4 run-rule win – They’ll face the Aggies twice more in Las Cruces (April 9, April 30) before concluding the four-game season series at home on May 7.
– Up next, another four-game homestand includes UNM’s only MW series with Fresno State April 12-14 before a matchup with D-II CSU-Pueblo on April 16. The Lobos then travel to Air Force – another MW opponent they’ll only face in one series – for a three-game series April 19-21 before heading down to Lubbock, Texas for their second and final meeting with Texas Tech April 23. Rematches with San Diego State at home (April 26-28), UNLV on the road (May 3-5), Nevada at home (May 10-12) and San Jose State on the road (May 16-18) comprise the remainder of UNM’s regular season, with Senior Day set for May 12.
– Should the Lobos finish among the Top Four in the Mountain West standings, they’ll earn a berth to the MWC Championships May 23-25, hosted this year by San Diego State. The winner earns the conference’s automatic berth to an NCAA Regional.

2023 BY THE NUMBERS
– UNM’s .328 batting average in 2023 was its highest since 2013 – The Lobos led the Mountain West in that category and ranked third nationally.
– The Lobos hit 87 home runs – their most since 2003. That total led the Mountain West and is the third most in program history.
– UNM slugged .559 on the season, the sixth highest in program history and highest since 2003, leading the Mountain West.
– The Lobos finished the season with a .974 fielding percentage – the second highest in program history (2017) – that also led the Mountain West.
– Improving from a a 9.06 ERA as a team in Brown’s first season to a 5.95, UNM only allowed 3.20 walks per nine innings, its lowest average since 2014 and the best in the Mountain West. The Lobos’ 1.59 WHIP was its lowest since 2015.
– UNM scored 441 runs (most since 2017, led MW) and racked up 617 hits (most since 2017, led MW) to go with 24 triples (most since 2015, led MW) and 411 RBI (most since 2017, led MW).
– Lobo batters reached base at a .406 clip, UNM’s best average since 2017 (Led MW).
– UNM turned 48 double plays in 51 games, the most in the MW and 33rd-most in the nation. The Lobos’ .94 double plays per game ranked No. 9 in the nation.