April 11, 2007
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THE GAME: The Lobos (14-21, 3-6 MWC) look to snap a four-game losing streak as they head to the US Air Force Academy for a three-game series with the Falcons (6-26, 0-7). Orginally slated for Friday through Sunday, the teams will now play a doubleheader on Saturday starting at noon followed by a single game at noon Sunday. CSTV’s GameTracker is available on New Mexico’s website, www.GoLobos.com, providing up-to-the-minute stats, play-by-play and more.
UNM’s left-handed junior Bobby LaFromboise will sit out the weekend, sending right-handed juniors Stephen Smith and Adam Skelton to the mound on Saturday. Air Force is slated to start three right-handers in Alex Truesdale (0-5, 6.18 ERA) and Casey Allen (0-0, 11.00 ERA) on Saturday and Jake Petro (3-5, 4.95 ERA) on Sunday. The Lobos have not announced a start for Sunday yet.
LOOKING AT THE LOBOS: New Mexico (14-21 overall, 3-6 MWC) is on a four-game slide in Mountain West Conference action after being swept at San Diego State last weekend. The Lobos have struggled on the road, posting a 3-11 mark this season. They are already three-games into a season-long 10-game road trip.
Junior Matt Hibbitts and senior Daniel Stovall led the Lobos last weekend, hitting .417 (5-for-12) and .385 (5-for-13), respectively. Both players hit home runs while Stovall extended his hit streak to 18 straight games. For the season, Stovall is hitting .361 with a team-leading 32 RBI and 33 runs scored, trailing only junior Jordan Pacheco. Pacheco leads UNM with a .415 batting average and 39 runs scored while notching 30 RBI.
The Lobos had a rough time on the mound, allowing 7.56 earned runs last weekend. However, they continued to flirt with a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio, allowing just eight free passes while fanning 15. For the season the UNM staff has struck out 205 while walking just 123. They allow 6.31 earned runs per game, as do their opponents.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS: Air Force (6-26 overall, 0-7 MWC) has lost two straight and 22 of its last 24. Four of the team’s six wins have come at home but the Falcons are still searching for their first conference victory, having faced TCU five times and San Diego State twice.
Air Force has a .250 batting average compared to its opponents .331 average. The Falcons are led y Karl Bolt and Matt Alexander. Bolt leads the team with a .348 average, 24 runs, 28 RBI, three triples and seven home runs. Alexander hits .293 with 15 runs, 22 RBI, three homers and a team-leading nine doubles.
The Falcons allow 7.43 earned runs per game while their opponents average just 3.79 earned runs. Jake Petro has the team’s best ERA among starters at 4.95 and has three of the six wins. Their most-used reliever is Mike Ruvolo, who posts a 5.40 ERA. He has thrown 38.1 innings in 21 appearances from the pen.
HISTORY LESSONS: The Lobos hold a 94-40 all-time series advantage over Air Force, winning three straight and 22 of the last 24 dating back through 2003. Last year, UNM scored 73 runs against the Falcons in a three-game series at Isotopes Park/Lobo Field, which set the program’s record for most runs in a series. The record topped the 59 UNM scored April 16-18, 2004 in a three-game series against Air Force. Below are series notes:
All-time series record: 94-40, UNM
Series record in Albuquerque: 57-14, UNM
Series record in Colorado Springs: 34-23, UNM
Series record at neutral sites: 3-2, UNM
Last series win: 4/13-14/2006
Last series loss: 4/19-21/2002
Last home series win: 4/13-14/2007
Last home series loss: Never
Last road series win: 5/19-21/2005
Last road series loss: 4/19-21/2002
Last UNM series sweep: 4/13-14/2006
Last AFA series sweep: 4/19-21/2002
Last 10 games: 8-2
Alday vs. AFA: 71-18
Longest UNM win streak: 18, 2/28/03-5/20/05
Longest UNM losing streak: 4, twice
Last UNM win: 4/14/06 (26-11)
Last UNM loss: 3/30/06 (6-4)
Last UNM home win: 4/14/06 (26-11)
Last UNM home loss: 3/22/02 (8-4)
Last UNM road win: 5/20/05 (20-14)
Last UNM road loss: 5/21/05 (5-4)
Last UNM shutout win: 4/29/01 (6-0)
Last UNM shutout loss: 5/13/88 (11-0)
Highest scoring game: 42, 4/17/04 (W, 31-11)
Largest margin of victory: 23, 5/2/03 (25-2)
Largest margin of defeat: 12, 5/4/63 (17-5)
UNM in one-run games: 17-5
Most runs by UNM: 31, 4/17/04 (W, 31-11)
Most runs by AFA: 17, 5/3/63 (W, 17-5)
STOVALL’S STREAK: Senior Daniel Stovall has hit safely in his last 18 straight games, giving him the longest hit streak of his career and ties for the seventh longest active streak in the nation. He will have to keep up his .357 road batting average if he wants to crack the top-5 all-time at UNM. Fifth is currently held by Scott Candelaria, who hit in 25 straight in 2000. The longest in Lobo history is 39, set by Dusty Young in 2003.
MOORE MAKING A COME-BACK: Sophomore Bobby Moore’s status was unknown coming into this season as he continued to recover from Tommy John’s surgery last year. On March 20, Moore saw his first action, throwing a hitless, scoreless two-thirds. Since then, he has made three more appearances for a total of 3.1 innings and hasn’t surrendered a single run. Moore has allowed just one hit and two walks.
WILLETT WAKING UP: It took a little while for sophomore Max Willett to wake up this season but when he did, the timing couldn’t have been better. In non-conference play, Willett hit .105 (2-for-19) with no extra-base hits, two RBI and three runs scored. Since Mountain West Conference play began three weeks ago, Willett has hit .417 (5-for-12) with four doubles, two RBI and four runs scored.
START ME UP: Starting a game instead of coming out of the bullpen has been kinder this season to freshmen Shane Dyer and Jarrad Watkins. Dyer, in three starts, has thrown 10.1 innings with six strikeouts, going 1-0 with a 3.48 ERA. Watkins, in one start, threw 6.0 innings with two strikeouts, going 1-0 with a 4.50 ERA. In relief, Dyer has a 13.50 ERA and 0-1 record, pitching 2.2 innings in two appearances while Watkins is 1-1 with a 8.68 ERA over 18.2 innings in 11 appearances.
GET UP EARLY: The Lobos need to build their lead early in the game in order to win. When ahead after six, UNM is 14-2 but when the Lobos are trailing or tied after six, they are 0-19. New Mexico also needs to score more than five runs and hold its opponents to five or less. When UNM scored five or less, they are 0-14 but when they hold their competition to five and under, they are 10-2.
NEEDING A HOME AWAY FROM HOME: The Lobos are comfy playing at home in Isotopes Park. As a team, UNM hits .354 with 92 walks and 68 strikeouts at home. But on the road, the story is much different. The Lobos are hitting just .260 with 59 walks and 99 strikeouts.
MILESTONE WATCH: As a collegiate head coach, Rich Alday is 997-721-3, leaving him just three victories shy of 1,000. He already surpassed two other milestones this season. Friday, March 23 against Utah, Alday coached his 1,000th game at the University of New Mexico and earned a 9-1 win. Exactly one week later, he picked up his 500th win at UNM, beating San Diego State11-5.
REWRITING THE RECORDS: Senior Daniel Stovall doubled Tuesday night, March 20 against New Mexico State, breaking Dusty Young’s career doubles record of 69 set from 2000-03. Stovall didn’t stop there, currently boasting 74 total doubles over his four-year career.
With 482 total bases in his career, Stovall is second all-time, passing Joe Salas’s (2001-04) 458 that same game against the Aggies. The record is held by Lon Yamaguchi (1996-99), with 496.
Stovall is also just shy of the top-5 in home runs. Currently with 35 in his career, he needs just one more to tie Chris Carlson (2005-06). Salas and Yamaguchi are tied for fourth with 38. Stovall will have to have his best year yet if he wants to take over second or first, needing 15 to tie Chris Alexander’s (2000-03) 50 and 18 to match Aaron Sisk’s (1998-00) 53.
LEAGUE LEADERS: Of all the statistics kept track of by the Mountain West Conference, 10 Lobos combine to lead the league in 19 different categories. Senior Daniel Stovall is top dog the most, ranking first in five categories. Stovall’s 52 hits, 32 RBI, 14 doubles, 313 fielding chances and 295 putouts as of April 7 are the most in the MWC. Junior Jordan Pacheco holds the top spot in three statistics, batting average (.415), on base percentage (.532) and runs (39). Seniors Matt Foote and Jay Russell along with junior Matt Hibbitts place in the top spot in two categories. Foote places in steals (21) and steal attempts (24), Russell leads in walks (30) and double play groundouts (4) while Hibbitts ranks in sacrifice flies (5) and double play groundouts (4). Five Lobos, juniors Bobby LaFromboise, Drew McDonald, Jacob Norton and Stephen Smith along with freshman Scott Gracey each hold the top spot in one category. LaFromboise’s 28 strikeouts looking, McDonald’s 48 steal attempts against, Norton’s four balks, Smith’s six sac flies allowed and Gracey’s six sac bunts are all MWC highs.