March 16, 2005
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NEXT IN LOBO BASEBALL
BYU (11-4-1) at New Mexico (10-9)
FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 18-19 — ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — ISOTOPES PARK (11,124)
SCHEDULE:
Friday, March 18 - 2 p.m. (DH)Saturday, March 19 - 1 p.m.
MEDIA COVERAGE:
RADIO: All games will be broadcast on KDEF 1150 AM and GoLobos.com with Henry Tafoya, Dan Rivera and Mike Foote calling the action.
LIVE STATS: Live stats of all games will be available at GoLobos.com. To access, go to the upcoming events box on the main page of GoLobos.com. Go to baseball, and click on the Gametracker link for the desired game.
TICKET INFORMATION: Single-game tickets are $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and $3 for youth. Tickets are available at the Isotopes Park ticket office on game day or at GoLobos.com.
SERIES INFORMATION: BYU leads the series, 62-40-1. The Lobos won the season series last year, 4-2.
PROJECTED PITCHING ROTATION:
Friday Gm. 1:BYU: #11 RH Dave Horlacher (1-1, 4.30 ERA, 23.0 IP, 22 K)vs.UNM: #28 RH Sr. Jason Fernandez (4-2, 6.94 ERA, 36.1 IP, 28 K)
Friday Gm. 2:BYU: #31 RH Brando Christiansen (1-0, 3.93 ERA, 18.1 IP, 14 K)vs.UNM: #2 LH So. Danny Ray Herrera (2-1, 3.38 ERA, 16.0 IP, 12 K)
Saturday:BYU: #32 RH Blake Torgerson (2-1, 6.33 ERA, 21.1 IP, 8 K)vs.UNM: #21 RH Jr. Darren Coltrinari (3-2, 25.0 IP, 17 K)
LOBOS OPEN MOUNTAIN WEST PLAY AGAINST BYU: The New Mexico baseball team (10-9) opens up the conference season this week (March 18-19) against a red-hot BYU club at Isotopes Park. The Lobos, winners of six of their last seven games, go head on against the Cougars (11-4-1), who have won eight straight. The series starts with a doubleheader Friday at 2 p.m. followed by a single game Saturday at 1 p.m. Thursday’s game has been pushed back to Friday due to inclement weather in the Albuquerque area. All games will be broadcast on KDEF 1150 AM and GoLobos.com, and live stats via Gametracker of every game will be at GoLobos.com.
UNM earned its third sweep of the season with a dominating performance over Savannah State last weekend at Isotopes Park. The Lobos piled up 49 runs and 61 hits in the 20-7, 16-5 and 13-3 victories.
The Lobos made history in the second inning of Friday night’s win. UNM tied an NCAA record with 11 consecutive hits in the inning, and were four shy of tying another NCAA mark as 16 straight batters reached base to lead off the inning. All in all, the Lobos scored 15 runs and 13 hits in the inning, including five doubles, two triples and a homer. The 13 hits are believed to be a UNM record; the school record for runs in an inning is 20, which was set on March 13, 1993 vs. Utah at Lobo Field.
Daniel Stovall is one of 55 players in the nation on the Wallace Watch Award list. |
The Lobos were picked to finish second in the Mountain West after tying for second place in 2004 with a 20-10 league record. The Cougars – picked fourth – went 18-12 last season and finished fourth.
HISTORY LESSON – LOBOS-COUGARS 101
BYU leads the all-time series, 62-40-1
The Lobos won the season series last year, 4-2…they swept the Cougars for the first time in school history April 1-3 at Isotopes Park.
The Lobos are 27-26 all-time vs. BYU in Albuquerque; 3-1 at Isotopes Park
Coach Alday is 32-43 vs. BYU; 21-18 in Albuquerque
In the shortest game for UNM in 2004, the Lobos shutout BYU, 1-0, in one hour and 50 minutes on April 2
Chris Carlson NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST CONFERENCE CO-PLAYER OF THE WEEK MARCH 14
Sophomore outfielder Chris Carlson was named the MWC Co-Player of the Week March 14 after leading the Lobos to their third sweep of the season, this time against Savannah State.
The Topeka, Kan., native hit .600 (9-for-15) last week, helping the Lobos to a 3-1 record. On the week, he hit two home runs, three doubles and a triple, while tallying nine RBI and scoring eight runs.
Carlson opened his week going 1-for-3, with a home run and two runs scored vs. New Mexico Highlands. In game one vs. Savannah State, he went 2-for-4, with another homer, a double, three RBI and two runs scored. In game two vs. the Tigers, Carlson went 3-for-4 with a triple, a double, four RBI and two runs scored, and finished the series going 3-for-5 with another double, an RBI and two runs scored.
Carlson is batting .391 for the season with four homers and 30 RBI. Over his past seven games, he his batting .556 (15-for-27) with three homers and 16 RBI. He leads the Mountain West in RBI (30), slugging (.783), runs (25) and is tied for first in doubles (nine).
GET OUT THOSE BINOCULARS – LOBOS TO WATCH
Sophomore first baseman Daniel Stovall is looking to top his sensational freshman campaign that landed him spots on the Collegiate Baseball Freshman All-America and All-Mountain West teams. He is currently one of 55 players on the Wallace Watch Award list, which is given out to college baseball’s top player. He was also named Baseball America’s preseason Mountain West Player of the Year. Stovall hit .347 with 12 homers, 14 doubles and 34 RBI last year.
Thus far, he’s living up to his preseason billing – he leads the MWC with 32 hits, is tied for the league lead in doubles and is second in RBI with 24. He’s also batting .405 with three homers.
Freshman Jordan Pacheco, who led Albuquerque’s La Cueva High School to back-to-back state championships, is making a nice transition to Division I collegiate baseball. The second baseman is second on the team with a .443 batting average and is second in the MWC in hits (31). He also ranks first in the league in triples (four), and fourth in on-base percentage (.459) and slugging (.714). Pacheco has hit safely in his last 15 games.
Ian Hollick is batting .468 this season for UNM. |
Freshman third baseman Ian Hollick is batting .468 with a homer and nine RBI after going 9-for-15 with three doubles last weekend vs. Savannah State. He went 5-for-6 in Friday’s win over Savannah State. He’s also perfect in the field with 22 assists and eight putouts.
THE ESSENTIALS: CLIFF NOTES FROM THE SAVANNAH STATE SERIES
The Lobos picked up their third sweep of the season by taking three from Savannah State last weekend (March 11-13) at Isotopes Park. UNM won game one on Friday, March 11, 20-7, game two on Saturday, March 12, 16-5, and game three on Sunday, March 13, 13-3
UNM hit .469 in the three games with 49 runs scored and 61 hits
UNM tied an NCAA record with 11 consecutive hits in the second inning of Friday’s 20-7 win…16 consecutive Lobos reached base to start the inning, four shy of tying another NCAA mark…all in all, the Lobos scored 15 runs and collected 13 hits in the inning
Chris Carlson earned MWC Player of the Week honors after going 8-for-12 with three doubles, a triple, a homer, six runs scored and eight RBI against the Tigers.
His brother, Nick, went 4-for-4 in the series with an RBI
Center fielder Matt Foote collected four hits in six at-bats with two RBI and two runs scored
Third baseman Ian Hollick went 9-for-15 with three doubles and six runs in the series, including a 5-for-6 effort in Friday night’s win.
Second baseman Jordan Pacheco was outstanding at the plate once again, going 9-for-15 with two triples, seven runs and five RBI…he was 4-for-4 with four runs in Saturday’s win.
Catcher Jeff Grady blasted a grand slam in Sunday’s victory…he had seven RBI in the series.
Outfielder Brandon Bingham collected his first hit of the season, an RBI single in Saturday’s win
Senior right-hander Karsten Gaarder struck out five batters in just two innings of relief work in Sunday’s victory.
INJURY BUG
The Lobos have already lost two players for the season due to injury.
Junior catcher A.J. Spitaleri, a preseason All-Mountain West selection, will miss the remainder of the season due to a shoulder injury. Spitaleri only appeared in six games, but was batting .438 with a homer and four RBI. Spitaleri hit .339 as a freshman and .361 as a sophomore.
Redshirt freshman Chad Itokazu suffered an ankle injury in practice last week and will also be unavailable for the rest of the year. Itokazu, who saw action in 12 games at right field, second base and shortstop, was batting .292 with two homers and five RBI.
DON’T LEAVE FOR THE BALLPARK WITHOUT THEM – CAN’T MISS NOTES
The Lobos claimed their 1400th win in program history with their 11-6 win March 4 vs. Northern Colorado. UNM is 1405-1284-14 (.522) all-time in its history.
The Lobos are 10-3 at home this season at Isotopes Park.
The Lobos have been dominate offensively the last seven games, in which UNM is 6-1. The Lobos have outscored their opponents, 85-45, and have 40 more hits (110-70). UNM is hitting .406 as a team with 13 homers, 18 doubles, seven triples and 79 RBI. Chris Carlson leads the way with a .556 average (15-for-27) with three homers and 16 RBI during the stretch, while Jeff Grady is batting .467 (7-for-15) with four homers and 13 RBI.
LOBOS TO TAKE ON ISOTOPES
The Albuquerque Isotopes, Triple-A affiliate of the Florida Marlins, and University of New Mexico Lobos will meet for the first time in an exhibition game on Tuesday, April 5 at Isotopes Park, with first pitch at 6:05 PM. All tickets for the event are $5 general admission seats, with all net proceeds benefiting UNM athletics scholarships. Comcast, Real Turf and Univision Radio are proud sponsors of the game.
The Isotopes also announced a plan to support the Tsunami disaster relief efforts in Asia. The club will donate an amount equal to 10% of the ticket revenue from the exhibition game to the Red Cross.
“This is an exciting opportunity for the community to see the coming together of two Albuquerque institutions on the baseball field and to help support the disaster victims in Southeast Asia,” said Isotopes General Manager John Traub. “We look forward to launching our season against the Lobos and getting prepared for the Pacific Coast League.”
The Isotopes and Lobos will play a nine-inning game with wooden bats. If the game is deadlocked after nine innings, it will be declared a tie. Tickets will go on sale March 12 and be sold at the Isotopes Park Box Office. Call the Isotopes Park Ticket Office at 924-2255 for ticket information.
“This is an excellent opportunity for our team to be able to compete against a high-caliber professional ballclub,” New Mexico head baseball coach Rich Alday said. “Our players are real excited about playing against the Isotopes in front of a big crowd. More importantly, it’s great exposure for our program and a great way to benefit the University of New Mexico Athletic Department. We’re looking forward to the game, and it should be a fun event.”
While this is the first meeting between the Lobos and Isotopes, the Lobos squared off against the Albuquerque Dukes 22 times, dating back to 1942. The Dukes owned a 19-3 advantage in the all-time series, including a 3-2 victory in the last meeting on April 8, 1986. The Lobos won 8-5 on April 11, 1978 and twice in 1942.
AROUND THE HORN –
OFFENSIVELY
New Mexico is completely dominating the Mountain West in every offensive category. The Lobos lead the league in batting average (.334), slugging (.546), on-base percentage (.400), runs (177), hits (234), RBI (160), doubles (49), triples (15), home runs (23) and total bases (382).
PITCHING
The Lobo pitching staff is fifth in the league with an 7.56 ERA and second with 134 strikeouts.
FIELDING
The Lobos are second in the conference with a .958 fielding percentage.
PLAYER NOTES –
A GLANCE AT THE LOBO STARTING PITCHERS
The Lobos will send senior right-hander Jason Fernandez, sophomore left-hander Danny Ray Herrera, and junior right-hander Darren Coltrinari to the mound this weekend:
GM. 1 – Thursday – 6 p.m. – #28 RH Sr. Jason Fernandez (3-2, 6.94 ERA)
2-0 lifetime with a 2.81 ERA vs. BYU, with both wins coming last year
Preseason All-Mountain West
Tied for first in Mountain West with 36.1 innings pitched
Led Lobos last season in wins (seven) and innings pitched (94.0)
Led the Mountain West in 2004 with 69.2 innings pitched in conference play
No. 1 conference starter last season, going 6-3 in league play
Opening Day starter for UNM at Arizona, taking the loss after allowingfive runs in five innings
Picked up first win of the season Feb. 12 vs. New Mexico State,surrendering 13 hits and four runs with two strikeouts in six innings of action
Second win of the year vs. Texas State (Feb. 18), firing seven innings and only surrendering three runs on six hits
Although he struck out a UNM-high 10 batters vs. Nebraska Feb. 25, he still picked up the loss by giving up nine hits and eight runs in 6.2 innings of action
Struck out nine in 6.2 innings in win over Northern Colorado March 4
Earned his second straight win by firing five innings against SavannahState March 11
GM. 2 – Friday – 6 p.m. – #2 LH So. Danny Ray Herrera (2-1, 3.38 ERA)
Talented lefty who keeps hitters off-balance with an array of off-speed pitches
Was an all-star last summer for the Graham Roughnecks of the Texas Collegiate League
Started 14 games as a freshman, going 4-7 with a 5.33 ERA, although four of his seven losses were in one-run games
Did not see action until Feb. 19 vs. Texas State due to a sore arm; has made two relief appearances
Struck out six in his first start of the season, a victory over Northern Colorado March 5
Fanned five in five innings in win over Savannah State March 12
1-1 with a 5.40 ERA lifetime vs. BYU
GM. 3 – Saturday – 1 p.m. – #21 RH Jr. Darren Coltrinari (3-2, 9.36 ERA)
Regained his old form with a strong summer season for the Alexandria Beetles in the Northwoods League in 2004 after making only five starts last season
Earned the victory vs. New Mexico State Feb. 13 after going five inningsand striking out five
Has won his last two games with wins over Northern Colorado (3/6) and Savannah State (3/13)
0-0 record with a 7.88 ERA lifetime vs. BYU
THE GRADY BUNCH
After helping UNM sweep past Northern Colorado March 4-6 at Isotopes Park, catcher Jeff Grady was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week. It marks the first time Grady has earned the honor. Grady was also named to the College Baseball Foundation weekly honor roll for his performance against UNC. Grady is batting .467 (7-for-15) with four homers and 13 RBI his last seven games.
In the first game against UNC, Grady went 3-for-4 with two homers, two runs and three RBI. In the third inning, Grady nailed a fastball over the center field fence for his first dinger of the season. In the fifth, he topped his first shot, belting a towering blast off the top of the scoreboard in left field (approximately 450 ft.). He also hit a run-scoring single in the sixth.
He followed that effort with a 1-for-3 performance in game two. He hit a three-run homer over the left-field wall in the second inning, giving the Lobos a 4-0 lead. For the week, Grady collected four hits, three homers, three runs and six RBI in just seven at-bats.
Jeff’s brother, Tim, is a sophomore on this year’s team. He’s batting .231 with a homer and five RBI in 13 at-bats.
BARBA MOVING TO SHORTSTOP
Junior Ryan Barba, a starter at second base the past two seasons, will move over to the left side of the infield and play at shortstop this season. A natural shortstop out of high school, Barba is an excellent fielder with great hands, and started six games at short last season.
Barba bats ninth in the Lobo lineup, but is more of a catalyst that sparks the top of the order. He is currently hitting .306 with a homer, 13 RBI and 14 runs.
LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON
After nearly redshirting in his first season, Matt Foote worked his way in the lineup late last season, becoming the starting third baseman with a solid glove and timely hitting. This year, Foote is making the transition to center field after the departure of All-MWC outfielder Matt Young. Foote, whose father played at UNM from 1976-80 and is currently a radio analyst for Lobo baseball, led the team in conference games in 2004 with a .429 batting average.
This year, Foote is batting .274 with 14 RBI to start the season. He had a career day at the plate against Texas State Feb. 18, going yard for the first time in his career while driving in a career-best five runs.
YOU’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
Sophomore DH and left fielder Chris Carlson, a powerful masher at the plate, has successfully made his way from Kansas State University to the No. 3 hitter in the Lobos’ lineup in less than a year.
A native of Topeka, Kan., Carlson played one year at KSU in 2004, batting .255 with three homers, 32 RBI and 15 doubles. Over the summer, Carlson transferred to the University of New Mexico, and is now one of UNM’s top sluggers in the box.
Carlson has stepped right into the Lobo lineup and made an impact. He leads the Mountain West in slugging (.783), RBI (30), runs (25) and is tied in doubles (nine). He’s also batting .391 with four homers and owns an on-base percentage of .464.
Carlson was named the MWC Co-Player of the Week March 14 after batting .600 (9-for-15) for the week, helping the Lobos to a 3-1 record. On the week, he hit two home runs, three doubles and a triple, while tallying nine RBI and scoring eight runs. Against Texas State Feb. 18, Carlson went 3-for-5 with six RBI, including a three-run homer.
Chris’ brother, Nick, is a freshman infielder on this year’s team. Nick is has collected four hits in his five at-bats this season.
Garrick Haymore is second in the MWC with 20 runs scored. |
Hay…MORE PRODUCTION IN LEFT FIELD
Senior left fielder Garrick Haymore is making the most of his time in left field this season. Haymore is second in the MWC with 20 runs and also ranks in the top five with eight doubles. He belted a career-high three doubles and went 4-for-6 at the plate vs. Western Carolina Feb. 27.
MARK McGWIRE USELESS STAT OF THE WEEK
“When I broke in, they didn’t keep track of things the way they do now. These days they have a stat for how many times a guy goes for a cup of coffee.” – Mark McGwire
Alphabet soup. The Lobos are 174-191-2 all-time vs. schools who are primarily associated with just letters (TCU, UNLV, UTEP, etc.). They host BYU this week.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
BYU, picked fourth in the Mountain West Conference, is playing the best baseball of any team in the conference with a 11-4-1record. The Cougars have won eight straight and have impressive records over UC Irvine, San Jose State, Oklahoma State and Oral Roberts. They swept New Mexico State last weekend in Las Cruces.
SERIES NOTES:
BYU leads, 62-40-1Streak: BYU - Two gamesCoach Alday vs. BYU: 32-43; Home: 21-18Last series win: 4/1-3, 2004Last series loss: 5/6-8, 2004Last home series win: 4/1-3, 2004Last home series loss: 4/11-13, 2002Last road series win: 5/11-13, 2000Last road series loss: 5/6-8, 2004Last UNM series sweep: 4/1-3, 2004Last time swept: 4/13-14, 2001Longest UNM win streak: 4 (three times)Longest UNM losing streak: 13 (1987-90)Last UNM win: 5/6/04 (9-6)Last UNM loss: 5/8/04 (7-4)Last UNM home win: 4/3/04 (10-8)Last UNM home loss: 5/21/03 (7-6)Last UNM road win: 5/6/04 (9-6)Last UNM road loss: 5/8/04 (7-4)Last UNM shutout win: 4/2/04 (1-0)Last UNM shutout loss: 3/1/01 (21-0)Highest scoring game: 34 (L, 3/4/95, 24-11)Largest margin of victory: 12 (3/1/96, 14-2)Largest margin of defeat: 21 (3/1/01, 21-0)Most runs by UNM: 19 (W, 3/13/04, 19-14)Most runs by BYU: 22 (twice)UNM in one-run games: 14-14
HEAD COACH: Vance Law. Overall record: 166-135-5 (Sixth year). Record at BYU: Same.