10-Run Seventh Lifts Lobos to Series Win at UNLV
LAS VEGAS – New Mexico turned a tight contest into a run-rule blowout in one half-inning with 10 consecutive two-out hits in the seventh for a 14-2 seven-inning victory in Sunday’s rubber match with UNLV at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, taking the weekend series from the Rebels for the second time this season.
It’s the first time UNM has won two out of three in both the home and away series against UNLV in the same season since 2018.
The Lobos (25-21, 14-10 MW) have now won back-to-back weekend series after dropping three in a row – for the first time this season, they’re now tied for first in the MW Standings after a loss from Fresno State (27-20, 14-10 MW) in their series finale at San Diego State (14-33, 8-16 MW). With six conference games left to play, UNM now has a shot at not only its first MW Tournament appearance since 2017, but also its first conference regular-season championship since then. The best the Lobos have finished in-conference since that 2017 title was fifth last year.
Every batter in UNM’s lineup picked up a hit in succession with two outs on the board in the top of the seventh to turn a reasonably tight 4-2 game into something different entirely – Holland started the rally with a single and hit a triple at the tail end to extend the lead to 14-2. A three-run homer from Khalil Walker – his third of the season and third in his last eight games – was the only other extra base hit in that span. The 10 hits in a row are one shy of a program record of 11 consecutive hits (vs. Savannah St., 3/11/05) that has stood since for nearly two decades and tied the NCAA record set in 1977 when it occurred.
The Lobos’ big seventh was also the first time they’ve scored 10 in an inning since March 11, 2023 against Air Force and the first 10-hit inning since May 2, 2023 against New Mexico State.
With the Lobos suddenly looking to end the game early, LHP Jaren Jackson took over after a quality start from RHP David Lopez (6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K) and retired the side in order with two strikeouts to slam the door emphatically. Lopez notched a new career-high with six punchouts to earn his fourth win of the season and improve to 4-2 – he pitched 10 ⅓ innings this week after taking the mound for 4 ⅓ frames at New Mexico State on Tuesday.
UNM finished with 14 hits in the winning effort, with the Lobos cracking double-digit knocks for the 10th game in a row to match their longest streak of such games this season (Feb. 23 – March 9). They’re 7-3 in that span, hitting 20 homers, 19 doubles and six triples in the process.
Walker’s homer was the third of the day and eighth of the weekend for the Lobos, with Jake Holland (2 R, 3 RBI) and Ethan Ott (2 R, 3 RBI) both going yard and finishing with three hits each – Holland’s was his 15th no-doubter of the year and Ott’s was his third of the year but first since March 9, coincidentally also against UNLV.
Reed Spenrath finished with two hits – his seventh multi-hit game in his last nine – and drew two walks to go with a team-high three runs scored and an RBI. Will Asby drew two walks and scored two more runs to lead five other Lobos that finished with a hit each.
With his 15th stolen base of the season, Tye Wood has stolen the most bases in a single season in UNM program history since Hayden Schilling (2019) — the Lobos’ leading base stealer in 2023 (Deylan Pigford) only stole eight.
ALL-TIME SERIES
After two road wins and one loss, UNM trails the all-time series 91-103, holding a 45-29 advantage over the Rebels at home with a 44-74 record against them in Vegas. The Lobos only faced UNLV for one series last season, taking a game off the Rebels but dropping the series (13-5, 5-7, 3-8). UNM’s sweep in March was the first series win over the Rebels since 2019 — Head Coach Tod Brown is 5-7 against UNLV in his tenure at UNM. This weekend’s series win is the first time the Lobos have taken both the home and away series from UNLV since 2018.
MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS (as of 5/5)
| SCHOOL | MW | CPCT. | OVERALL | PCT. | STREAK |
| 1. Fresno St. | 14-10 | .583 | 27-20 | .574 | L5 |
| T-1. New Mexico | 14-10 | .583 | 25-21 | .543 | W1 |
| T-3. Nevada | 13-11 | .542 | 20-22 | .476 | L1 |
| T-3. Air Force | 13-11 | .542 | 21-25 | .457 | W1 |
| 5. San José St. | 14-13 | .519 | 19-27 | .413 | L1 |
| 6. UNLV | 11-16 | .407 | 25-22 | .532 | L1 |
| 7. San Diego St. | 8-16 | .333 | 14-33 | .298 | W3 |
THE HIGHLIGHTS
⚾️ Highlights from @UNMLoboBaseball‘s 14-2 win against UNLV#AtThePeak l #MWBSB l #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/VdbkyQleMy
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) May 5, 2024
ON THE WEEKEND
As a team, the Lobos batted .374 over the weekend series with a 1.115 OPS – six different Lobos that appeared in all three games batted above .300 in that span.
After a relatively quiet week last week, Jake Holland led the Lobos in RBI this weekend (7) while batting .500 with two homers, a triple and three runs scored. Reed Spenrath batted .545 on the weekend with two hits in all three games, scoring six runs and driving in four more with two homers of his own.
Ethan Ott came up big in limited AB’s, going 4-for-5 with a homer and three RBI while scoring two runs.
THE ACTION
Lopez was efficient from the onset, striking out two in a scoreless first and going on to retire six of his first seven before a leadoff double became the go-ahead run for UNLV in the third. He notched his fourth strikeout of the day in that inning but surrendered the first run after a single brought in a UNLV runner from third.
Another frame-ending punchout and Lopez has retired 6 of his first 7 💪 pic.twitter.com/9uqpLUsXtD
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) May 5, 2024
The Lobos responded with three runs on a pair of big flies in the top of the fourth, with Holland crushing his second of the weekend and team-leading 15th of the year before Spenrath singled and Ott cashed in two more runs with his third of the year.
Holland solo piece to tie things up 🤧
His 15th dinger of the year is currently residing somewhere in the Vegas metropolitan area. pic.twitter.com/8HbHusma5v
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) May 5, 2024
𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙏𝘼 𝙃𝙀𝙍𝙀 (x2)! Ott gives the Lobos a 3-1 lead with their second big fly of the inning! pic.twitter.com/RniiZG1aUk
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) May 5, 2024
After UNM ended a hitless fourth with its 40th double play of the season, the Lobos stitched another to limit the damage after three consecutive base hits – the last two on 0-2 counts – loaded the bases for UNLV in the fifth. The Rebels scored on the double play but didn’t get the tying run after Lopez struck his way out of the inning to reach four on the day.
Spenrath drew a four-pitch walk to lead off the sixth and eventually reached third on a base hit from Ott and a fielder’s choice knock from Wood, scoring on a sac lineout from Carris to put UNM up 4-2.
After Lopez notched a new career-high with his sixth punchout to close a 1-2-3 sixth, a massive 10-run seventh began after Walker was put out with a fielder’s choice play and Kinkade was picked off for the first two outs. After Asby worked a walk on a full count, Holland’s base hit kicked off a stretch of 10 consecutive hits – eight singles, a homer and a triple – that suddenly gave the Lobos the ten-run padding they needed to end the game early.
T7 | UNM 12, UNLV 2@khalilwalker05 ‘s endless heater continues! He goes yard for the third time in his last eight to bring UNM up to eight runs this frame!
Lobos have hit 8 HR this weekend 🤠 pic.twitter.com/fDGGdrAQhB
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) May 5, 2024
After Lopez walked the leadoff man to start off the bottom of the seventh, Jackson struck out two to close things out decisively with a 1-2-3 frame, ending a second-straight series win with a flourish.
UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
New Mexico returns home for its final Rio Grande Rivalry matchup with New Mexico State (23-24, 9-12 C-USA) on Tuesday at Santa Ana Star Field, looking to secure the season series split. Tuesday’s action will be broadcast via the MW Network, with live stats available via GoLobos.com/BSBStats.