ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Colton Thomson was dominant on the mound, Dalton Bowers broke out of a season-long slump and the University of New Mexico baseball team rallied from an early 3-0 hole to defeat Utah Valley 9-3 in the final game of the Lobo Invite Presented by Fuddruckers.
“It’s a matter of executing the game like we teach it,” UNM head coach Ray Birmingham said, “and it’s a matter of getting out of your own way. If you can get out of your own way, then you have a shot to beat anybody and win a lot.”
Thomson (1-1) struck out eight in 6.0 innings and allowed just three hits and three walks. He only ran into trouble in the second when he allowed three unearned runs.
“He had good stuff, but his command wasn’t impeccable and it got him into some trouble,” Birmingham said, “and our defense got him into some trouble.”
Thomson appeared to be out of trouble with no damage in the second when there was a man on first with two outs and he induced a slow chopper to third, but Carl Stajduhar misplayed it, which allowed the inning to continue. A walk loaded the bases, and Thomson’s one mistake of the afternoon turned into a three-run triple and an early 3-0 deficit for the Lobos.
“I thought I was a little wild, and I didn’t get ahead of batters,” he said. “It was an average outing. … They hit my mistake, and I’ve got to live with it. We won the game and that’s all that matters.
For someone that felt he had an average outing, Thomson certainly pitched well. Following the triple he retired 10 straight Wolverine batters, and his eight strikeouts were a season-high. Following the second, Utah Valley didn’t record another hit until the eighth inning as relievers Tyler Stevens, Alex Estrella and Hayden Schilling pitched well after Thomson exited. Stevens struck out two of the five batters he faced, Estrella recorded two outs on just three pitches, and Schilling wiggled out of a minor jam in the ninth to close out the win.
“I think we would’ve had a shutout today if not for that error,” Birmingham said. “Our guys pitched really well.”
Offensively the Lobos struggled early and didn’t manage a hit until the fourth, but once they got one they strung a few together and tied the game with a two-out rally.
Cory Voss got things started with a walk. Bowers, in the midst of a 2-for-27 slump to start the season, then laced a single to left for UNM’s first knock. Jack Zoellner drove in the Lobos’ first run with a single to right-center. Aaron Siple then walked to load the bases, and leadoff man Danny Collier stroked a double down the left-field line to tie the game.
UNM took the lead in the sixth with another clutch two-out hit and once again Bowers was a catalyst. The junior doubled to deep left with one out and advanced to third on a groundout from Zoellner. Siple then launched a 1-1 pitch over the center fielder’s head for a triple to give the Lobos a lead they would not relinquish.
“Coach B kept telling me I was really close and that it was only a matter of time before they started falling in,” said Bowers who entered the game hitting .077. “Coach B helps us stay mentally strong so we can overcome the downs in our slumps and have days like this.”
The Lobos added two in the seventh on an RBI double by Jared Holley and a run-scoring single by Voss. They added three more in the eighth off the bat of Holley again, as well as RBIs from Sam Haggerty and pinch hitter Ryan Padilla. The single by Haggerty extended his streak of games reaching base safely to 37.
Bowers finished 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Holley, who came off the bench in the seventh, was the only other Lobo with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
“Bowers changed his swing the right way today and hit the ball really well,” Birmingham said.
UNM has now won seven of its past eight and enters a huge weekend home series with San Diego State that begins on Friday. The Aztecs swept San Jose State this weekend and sit a game ahead of the Lobos early in the Mountain West schedule.
“We’re nowhere where we want to be,” Bowers said, “but we’re on a little bit of a roll right now with the walk-off last night and a big win today. We’re pretty confident, but we still have a long ways to go to be where we want to be.”
Notes: Haggerty made his 116th straight start, the seventh longest streak in UNM history … UNM turned two more double plays and finished the weekend with five in just two games … the Lobos have won 37 straight games when leading after six innings and 63 straight when leading after eight.