May 22, 2007
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THE GAME: The fifth-seeded Lobos open the Mountain West Conference Championship with fourth-seeded San Diego State at 4 p.m. MT/3 p.m. PT on Wednesday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on the UNLV campus. With a win, the team would face top-seeded TCU at 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m MT on Thursday but with a loss would face elimination at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT on Wednesday against the loser of No. 3 Utah vs. No. 6 UNLV.
CSTV’s GameTracker is available on New Mexico’s website, www.GoLobos.com, providing up-to-the-minute stats, play-by-play and more. Live audio and GameTracker are available on the MWC’s website in the All-Access and Tournament Central sections accessible from the front page, www.TheMWC.com.
HISTORY LESSONS: New Mexico is 8-14 overall at the Mountain West Conference Championship. The Lobos, who were also the fifth seed last year, tied the 2004 and 2001 teams for the program’s best performance at the tournament, going 2-2. They were the top seed in 2000, the second seed in 2004, the fourth seed in 2001, 2003 and 2005 and the sixth seed in 2006.
Against San Diego State, the Lobos are 0-4 at the MWC Championship. The last meeting at the tournament was May 28, 2004, which SDSU won 24-8. New Mexico is 0-3 against BYU at the tournament, 0-1 vs. TCU, 2-3 against UNLV, 3-3 vs. Utah and 3-0 against Air Force.
LOOKING AT THE LOBOS: New Mexico, 26-28 overall and 12-12 in the Mountain West Conference, finished the regular season with a key win over MWC regular season champion TCU to build momentum heading into the tournament. The Lobos tied for third in the regular season with Utah and San Diego State but lost the season series with both teams, dropping them to the fifth seed. UNM has struggled on the road this season, going 8-16 overall and 2-4 at neutral locations. They were a little more balanced in MWC action, going 5-7 on the road but didn’t play a neutral location game.
THE BEST DEFENSE IS A GOOD OFFENSE: There is an old saying that the best defense is a good offense but fortunately for New Mexico, it has both. As a team, the Lobos hit .314 with a .972 fielding percentage. Individually, they are led at the plate by Jordan Pacheco and Daniel Stovall. Pacheco hits a MWC-leading .412 with 62 runs, 49 RBI and 42 walks while Stovall hits .364 with 51 runs, 59 RBI and 11 homers. Stovall isn’t to shabby in the field either, posting a .992 fielding percentage at first base with a conference-high 467 putouts and just four errors with 28 assists. Two outfielders, Max Willett and Derek Pilkington, have perfect fielding percentages followed closely by center fielder Matt Foote )/993).
ALDAY TO STEP DOWN AFTER 2007 SEASON: On Monday, head coach Rich Alday and the University of New Mexico announced he would be stepping down from his post at the end of the current season. Alday, 59, may accept another position within the athletics department. UNM director of athletics Paul Krebs said the search for a new coach will begin immediately.
Alday, who is completing his 18th season at UNM, is the program’s all-time winningest coach with a 513-511-3 record since 1990. He reached several career milestones in 2007, gaining his 500th win at UNM and his 1,000th collegiate victory. While at New Mexico, Alday was the 1992 and 1995 Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and captured the same honor in the Mountain West in 2000. Alday’s Lobo teams have produced 56 all-conference performers and 34 selections in the Major League Baseball draft from 1990-2006. He was also an assistant coach for the United State Olympic baseball teams in 1988 and 1996.
HOT-HITTING HOLLICK: Ian Hollick has been red-hot lately, pounding out a 21-game hit streak. The streak is his career-high, topping the 11-game streak he has to start this season. Over the last 21 games, he has been hitting .384 with 13 runs scored, 10 RBI and 10 walks. His best weekend was against UNLV, hitting .600 (6-for-10).
The streak ties Daniel Stovall for the season long this year. He is four games from tying Scott Candelaria’s 25 in 2000, which is the fifth longest at UNM. The longest season streak at New Mexico is 39, set by Dusty Young in 2003.
REWRITING THE RECORDS: Senior Daniel Stovall appears determined to set every UNM record he possibly can. In the career book, he holds the top spot in three categories, is second in one and third in two more.
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 76 total doubles over his four-year career.
He took the record for total bases from Lon Yamaguchi (1996-99, 496) in the final game at Air Force on Monday, April 16. Currently, Stovall has touched 541 total bases.
The latest record to fall at Stovall’s hand is for RBIs. He broke Chris Alexander’s (2000-03) mark of 225 with two on Saturday, May 19 at TCU. Stovall now has 226 RBI in his four-year career.
His 14 at bats in the Hawaii-Hilo series April 27-29 catapulted him to the top spot over Travis Young, who posted 895 at bats between 1994-97. Stovall now has 929 at bats with at least nine games left this season.
Stovall, currently with 42 career home runs, he sits third. Stovall will have to have his best year yet if he wants to take over second or first, needing eight to tie Chris Alexander’s 50 and 11 to match Aaron Sisk’s (1998-00) 53.
He is also making a run at the hits record, currently posting 325, leaving him second in the program’s history. Stovall is chasing Travis Young’s 340.
WALKING TO THE RECORD: Senior Jay Russell is taking all the way, walking right into the record book. With 108 walks in his career, including 40 this season, Russell needs just one more to bump out Johnny Barros (1990-03), who is tied with him at fifth. Fourth is Jim Fregosi (1983-85) with 109 and third is Gerardo Yepiz (1990-92) with 126. Former teammate Matt Young (2002-04) is second with 133 and Lon Yamaguchi (1996-99) holds the record with 152.
FAST FOOTE: Senior Matt Foote is running as fast as he can to the top of the charts. With 28 stolen bases this season, he has the most of any season in his career yet. With a total of 66 in his career, Foote sits fourth after bumping off Mark Okana (1998-2001), who had 57, and Tom Francis’s 62 set between 1978-82. He needs two to match third, which is Mark Wulfert’s 68, achieved between 1992-95.