ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – In his first outing in a University of New Mexico uniform, junior lefty Toller Boardman pitched the Silver squad to a 2-1 victory in game one of the annual Cherry-Silver series.
The former University of Texas product struck out five and allowed one run on eight hits and no walks in 5.2 innings. Spanning the third through fifth innings he struck out four-of-five batters and continuously kept Cherry off balance.
“I thought all our pitchers did great,” UNM pitching coach Dan Spencer said. “They threw a lot of strikes. We pitched 13 half-innings combined and only walked one guy. We’ll take that. Boardman punched out a few guys, and we played good defense.”
Silver took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Dalton Bowers led off and lashed a double off the left-field fence. He eventually scored on a sacrifice fly to right-center by Chris DeVito.
Silver added another run in the fifth. Reece Weber led off with a single and eventually came around to score without the benefit of another hit. A sacrifice bunt, a wild pitch, and a suicide squeeze by Bowers increased Silver’s advantage to 2-0.
Cherry fought right back in the top of the sixth and cut the lead in half. Danny Collier reached on an infield single and stole second with one out. He advanced to third on a flyout and came around to score on a single to left by freshman Carl Stajduhar.
That chased Boardman, but Taylor Duree came out of the pen and struck out Cory Voss to end the threat. Duree then pitched a scoreless seventh to earn the save and give Silver a 1-0 series lead.
Colton Thomson was charged with the loss after allowing two runs on five hits and one walk in 4.2 innings. He struck out a pair. Tyler Gibson pitched the final 1.1 innings for Cherry and didn’t allow a baserunner.
Cherry actually out-hit Silver 8-to-5 as Jack Zoellner and Hayden Schilling each went 2-for-3. Demarco finished 2-for-2 to lead Silver.
The game featured honorary coaches for both teams. Ronnie Meng earned the win for Silver, while Mike Fietz (11, below) suffered the loss coaching Cherry. Fietz took the loss well, despite having to do 25 pushups at home plate after the game.
About 75 fans took advantage of the free admission to take in the game on a perfect fall afternoon. Game two of the series is set for Wednesday afternoon at 3 at Lobo Field. Admission is once again free and open to the public.
