Stevens: New Mexico Baseball 2015 Season Preview

New Mexico Lobos Baseball—2015 Season Preview

By Richard Stevens – Senior Writer/GoLobos.com

The catchword, the buzzword, for describing a Ray Birmingham-coached Lobo team usually is the same old word:  hitting. His Lobos do this well.

And it’s not that the New Mexico Lobos of 2015 won’t be ball mashers.  They will be.  But Birmingham’s description of the arms taking the mound this season gives reason to think that maybe Birmingham’s Lobos are looking at a special season.

The Lobos have pitching.

“We have a starting rotation that is as solid as it’s been since I’ve been here,” said the Lobo coach. “And we have a shutdown bullpen and that’s huge.”

The Lobos’ pitching has not been a weakness the past couple of seasons, but there have been a few holes – not enough consistent starters, not enough ornery stoppers coming out of the bullpen.

Birmingham thinks he has both ends of the pitching staff for 2015.

“The pitching staff is a veteran staff,” said Birmingham. “Toller Boardman is good and Drew Bridges and Colton Thomson are good. Those guys are solid.

“Carson Schneider could be better than anybody here as he grows and gets better.  As soon as he becomes sure of himself, he’ll be a go-to guy. And Victor Sanchez could possibly be the most notable  pitcher we’ve had come out of here in a long time. He’s pretty good.

“We don’t have the power arms, but we have seven or eight guys who can really pitch.”

Birmingham goes into the 2015 season looking at Boardman, Thomson, Bridges and Schneider as starters.  Sanchez is the headline closer with a laser fastball and a well-disguised breaking ball. Sanchez gets bullpen help from Taylor Duree, Jake Cole and Alex Estrella.  There is no senior in that bunch.

OK, so the Lobos should have pitching and hitting.  How about defense?

“We probably have one of the best infields we’ve ever had,” said Birmingham, who says his infield probably is the best – on paper – in the Mountain West.  Now, Jared Holley (3^rd), Sam Haggerty (2^nd), Dalton Bowers (SS) and Carl Stajduhar (1^st) have to prove it on the field.

“You need to come watch Dalton play shortstop,” said Birmingham.  “He is really, really special.”

The Lobos are coming off a 37-20-1 season in 2014.  They tied for first in the Mountain West race, but did not fare well in the MW Tournament and failed to reach the NCAA playoffs for first time in four seasons. Birmingham’s Lobos have yet to win a first-round regional, but the key in 2015 is to get back there and give it another go.

“We want to make it to regionals and we want to make it to Omaha (NCAA finals),” said Ryan Padilla. “That’s our goal. The guys before me put New Mexico on the map and it’s our job to keep that moving forward and show the rest of the country that NM is a premier program.”

The Lobos were the preseason pick to win the 2015 MW regular-season title.  Birmingham says he appreciates the respect, but “now we have to live up to it.”

There is a great chance the Lobos will walk that walk..  UNM returns six position players from 2014 who hit between .290 and .353.  UNM returns 18 letterwinners. The Lobos return six pitchers who posted ERAs of 3.81 or lower

“We have a little bit more pitching this year,” said Haggerty. 

Said Holley: “We are so confident in our hitting, but ever since coach Spence has come here, our pitching has gotten better and better every year.

“Our pitchers are hard to hit.  I would say the toughest pitching in the Mountain West.  I’m confident in our team taking this conference again.”

A key position needed to show growth and production this season is behind the plate.  “That’s probably the position we are most vulnerable at right now,” said Birmingham. “We don’t have a veteran catcher.

“The most difficult position defensively on the field is going to be a freshman (Cory Voss). We have some freshmen who need to become sophomores real quick.”

Birmingham has a solid outline for a starting lineup for the Surprise Tournament Feb. 13-16 to be held in Surprise, Ariz.  UNM opens on Friday with Michigan State.

Voss will be behind the plate with the infield formed by Haggerty, Bowers, Holley and Stajduhar. Padilla will be in left field with Danny Collier in center and Aaron Siple in right field. Andre Vigil and Luis Gonzalez  also will see time in the outfield, and Chris DeVito will DH.

Birmingham says he likes his speed in the outfield and his speed on the bases.  “Stealing bases is going to be a big deal for us,” he said.

Really, there doesn’t appear to be any major weaknesses on this 2015 roster.  The next step for the Lobos is to continue to improve as the season progresses.

“We have some younger guys who need to get their feet wet and see what college baseball is all about,” said Duree. “You can’t teach experience.”

The experience is on the way.  It starts Friday in Arizona.

Editor’s Note: Richard Stevens is a former Associate Sports Editor and Sports Columnist for The Albuquerque Tribune. You can reach him atrstevens50@comcast.net.

New Mexico Lobos Baseball 2015 Roster 

No.	Name	Pos.	B/T	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	Exp.	Hometown (Prev School)
2	Jake Nelson	LHP	L/L	5-11	150	Fr.	HS	Eaton, Colo. (Eaton HS)
3	Hayden Schilling	RHP/INF	L/R	5-10	170	Fr.	HS	Santee, Calif. (West Hills HS)
5	Sam Haggerty	INF	S/R	6-0	180	Jr.	2L	Denver, Colo. (Mullen HS)
6	Colton Thomson	LHP	L/L	6-0	190	Sr.	1L	Gilbert, Ariz. (Scottsdale CC)
7	Lane Milligan	C	L/R	6-2	190	So.	1L	Englewood, Colo. (Cherry Creek HS)
8	Dominic De Marco	INF	L/R	6-1	170	Fr.	HS	Silver City, N.M. (Silver City HS)
9	Reece Weber	OF	S/R	5-11	195	RFr.	RS	Aurora, Colo. (Grandview HS)
10	Scottie Graham	C	L/R	5-10	170	Fr.	HS	Seattle, Wash. (O’Dea HS)
11	Chris DeVito	1B	L/R	6-2	220	So.	1L	Northridge, Calif. (Chatsworth HS)
12	Dalton Bowers	INF	R/R	5-9	170	Jr.	TR	Albuquerque, N.M. (New Mexico Junior College) (Volcano Vista HS)
14	Tyler Stevens	RHP	R/R	6-0	205	Fr.	HS	Ft. Collins, Colo. (Rocky Mountain HS)
15	Cory Voss	C	R/R	5-10	195	Fr.		Pueblo, Colo. (Pueblo South HS)
16	Matt Villalobos	RHP	R/R	6-0	190	Jr.	2L	Rio Rancho, N.M. (Cleveland HS)
17	Victor Sanchez	RHP	R/R	6-2	205	RJr.	2L	Albuquerque, N.M. (Volcano Vista HS)
18	Chase Beal	RHP	R/R	6-6	215	Fr.		Queen Creek, Ariz. (Queen Creek HS)
19	Toller Boardman	LHP	L/L	6-3	215	Jr.	TR	Ballaire, Texas (San Jacinto JC) (Bellaire HS)
20	Drew Bridges	RHP	R/R	6-5	215	Jr.	2L	Fruita, Colo. (Monument HS)
21	Aaron Siple	OF	L/L	6-0	165	Sr.	1L	Gilbert, Ariz. (Gateway CC) (Corona del Sol HS)
23	Jared Holley	INF	R/R	5-8	175	Jr.	2L	Chatsworth, Calif. (Chatsworth HS)
24	James Harrington	RHP	R/R	6-1	155	Fr.	HS	Gilbert, Ariz. (Mesquite HS)
25	Andre Vigil	OF	R/R	5-11	190	So.	1L	Albuquerque, N.M. (Volcano Vista HS)
26	Alex Estrella	LHP	L/L	5-11	165	Jr.	2L	Las Vegas, Nev. (Sierra Vista HS)
27	Luis Gonzalez	OF	L/L	6-0	185	Fr.	HS	Tucson, Ariz. (Catalina Foothills HS)
28	Jack Zoellner	1B	L/R	6-2	205	So.	1L	Gilbert, Ariz. (Gilbert HS)
30	Carl Stajduhar	C/INF	R/R	6-1	210	Fr.	HS	Ft. Collins, Colo. (Rocky Mountain HS)
31	Carson Schneider	LHP	L/L	6-3	185	So.	1L	Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia HS)
32	Preston Ryan	RHP	R/R	6-0	190	So.	1L	Tempe, Ariz. (McClintock HS)
33	Conner Rusch	RHP	R/R	6-2	195	So.	1L	Kirkland, Wash. (Juanita HS)
34	Ryan Padilla	OF	L/L	6-4	220	Sr.	3L	Albuquerque, N.M. (La Cueva HS)
35	Matt Smallwood	RHP	R/R	6-3	205	Fr.	HS	Santa Fe, N.M. (St. Michael’s HS)
38	Tyler Dronen	LHP	L/L	6-7	185	Fr.	HS	Highlands Ranch, Colo. (Rock Canyon HS)
42	Taylor Duree	RHP	R/R	6-2	170	Jr.	2L	Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia HS)
43	Danny Collier	OF	L/R	6-1	180	So.	1L	Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia HS)
44	Quinn Rawson	1B	L/R	6-4	235	Fr.	HS	Puyallup, Wash. (Puyallup HS)
45	Mike Gould	RHP	R/R	6-7	230	Jr.	1L	Bonney Lake, Wash. (Tacoma CC) (Bonney Lake HS)
50	Jake Cole	RHP	R/R	6-4	240	Sr.	1L	Tucson, Ariz. (Pima CC) (Sahuaro HS)