ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For the fourth consecutive game, the Lobos faced a nationally ranked team in a one-run game. For the fourth straight game, UNM was on the wrong side of the final score. After battling and battling to finally tie the game in the eighth inning, UNM committed a costly error in the ninth inning, allowing an unearned run that was the difference in an 8-7 loss to No. 24 Houston.
UNM has now lost six straight to drop to 11-10 on the year.
The Cougars swept all three games, winning the first two games by 6-5 scores with UNM mounting ninth inning rallies both games. Sunday was slightly different in how the final came about, but it was no less gut-wrenching.
Tied at 7-7 entering the ninth inning, Kyle Survance singled to open the inning, and Josh Vidales failed to bunt him to second. On a 2-2 pitch from UNM’s fourth pitcher Alex Estrella, Vidales hit a double play comebacker to the originator, but Estrella’s throw was offline and it went into center field. Survance got to third, and UNM went to Drew Bridges in his first relief appearance of the season.
Bridges allowed a sacrifice fly to Iriart, but no further damage. UNM then went 1-2-3 in the ninth, striking out twice to end the game.
The Lobos trailed the entire game as Houston opened the game with two runs in the first on three hits, a walk and a groundout. UNM’s offense was able to chip away constantly throughout the game, mostly due to the scorching-hot bat of Chris DeVito, who was 3-for-4 with 4 RBI. DeVito knocked in single runs in the first, third, fifth and seventh innings.
His solo shot in the first made it 2-1, but Houston used a pair of long balls from Chris Iriart and Connor Wong to jump out to a 5-1 lead in the top of the third.
DeVito got UNM back to 5-2 with a single to left center to bring home Danny Collier, and then his sacrifice fly to the wall in right field in the fifth again plated Collier to make it 5-3. After Wong tripled and scored in the top of the sixth to make it 6-3 Houston, UNM answered with another single tally in the sixth, a sacrifice fly by Jared Holley.
UNM then had the first of two golden chances to take the lead and command of the game. Collier started off the seventh with a walk, and he raced to third on a Lane Milligan single. DeVito drove in Collier for the third time with a single to make it 6-5, and after a walk to Carl Stajduhar loaded the bases with no outs, Houston brought in flame-throwing rookie left-hander Seth Romero.
Romero got back-to-back strikeouts of Jack Zoellner and Dalton Bowers before Aaron Siple flied to left to end the inning. Houston bumped the lead to 7-5 with a run in the eight before UNM finally tied it. Holley started it with a walk, moving to third on a pinch double by Cory Voss. Collier was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Milligan singled through the left side to make it 7-6.
DeVito struck out before Stajduhar flew out 400 to right center for a long sacrifice fly, UNM’s third of the game, and the game was finally knotted up.
The Lobos continue a stretch of eight straight games against nationally-ranked teams as the Lobos take on No. 10 Texas Tech at 1 p.m. on Tuesday. Robert Portnoy will have the call on 101.7 The Team.
NOTES: DeVito’s home run was his fifth of the season to lead the team … Carson Schneider made just his second start of the season … Lane Milligan picked up his first stolen base of the season, uncontested.