Lobo Baseball – at Rip Griffin Park
When: Tuesday – 1 p.m. (MT)
Who: No. 18 Texas Tech Red Raiders
GoLobos.com: Live stats, live stream, box score, postgame recap and stats
Video: Texas Tech will stream the game live, and a link can be found at the baseball schedule page at GoLobos.com
Radio: ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM will broadcast the game live, and Robert Portnoy will have the call
Mountain West Standings
| Place | School | MW record | Overall record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | 7-2 | 20-4 |
| 1 | San Diego State | 4-2 | 19-5 |
| 3 | Fresno State | 6-3 | 14-11 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 5-4 | 11-10 |
| 5 | Air Force | 5-7 | 9-13 |
| 6 | UNLV | 2-7 |
12-11 |
| 7 | San José St. | 1-8 |
7-16 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico baseball team will play its eighth straight game against a top 30 opponent Tuesday when the Lobos face off against the Texas Tech Red Raiders. UNM hopes to snap its current six-game losing streak by toppling TTU at Rip Griffin Park in Lubbock, Texas.
Despite the slide, the Lobos are not playing all that poorly. Against No. 7 Arizona State last Wednesday they had the tying run at third base in the ninth against All-American closer Ryan Burr but couldn’t bring him in. They had the potential tying and game-winning runs in scoring position in two of their losses to No. 24 Houston last weekend as well. So they’ve had their opportunities, they just couldn’t take advantage.
Chris DeVito hit the ball extremely well last weekend, batting .583 (7-for-12) with seven RBIs and four extra-base hits. In fact, if you take out a six-game stretch dating from March 10-18 in which he went just 2-for-18, his season average jumps from .338 to .411. Danny Collier has also played well despite missing time with an ankle injury. Since seeing his average fall to .194 on March 1, he has gone 12-for-26 to raise it to a season-high .306.
Tuesday’s starter, James Harrington, has also been good in limited appearances. Despite not pitching until March 11, he has not allowed a run in three games spanning 6.1 innings. He has also struck out seven and allowed just seven baserunners during that span.
Following Texas Tech, the Lobos get a brief break from ranked teams, but the stakes get higher, because they welcome Mountain West foe Fresno State to Lobo Field this weekend. The Bulldogs passed UNM in the standings after sweeping San Jose State last weekend.
First things first, though, as UNM will need to play a complete game Tuesday afternoon to take down the Red Raiders and end their skid.
Against Texas Tech: New Mexico dropped two of three midweek games to the Red Raiders last season, losing in Lubbock and Midland, N.M., before taking the final game of the season in Albuquerque 4-3. UNM is 6-4 over the last 10 games against TTU.
Series Record: 42-66-1
Home: 23-21-1; Away: 19-44; Neutral: 0-1
• SCOUTING TEXAS TECH … The Red Raiders started Big 12 play last weekend and lost two out of three at Oklahoma. They’re hitting .283 as a team with junior third baseman Cory Raley leading the way at .388. He also leads the squad with a .518 slugging percentage. Sophomore Stephen Smith leads the team with a .468 OBP thanks to 22 walks and a .275 average. TTU finds ways to get on base, as it owns a .371 OBP thanks to 100 walks and 24 HBP.
Just like last year on their run to the College World Series, though, the true strength of the team lies in the pitching staff. The Red Raiders own a 3.16 ERA and have struck out 185 batters versus just 92 walks. Opponents are also hitting just .256 off Red Raider pitching this season. The closer role has been split between Corey Taylor, who has not allowed an earned run in 24.2 innings, and Dominic Moreno, who has struck out 43 in 29.1 innings. Taylor is holding opponents to just a .118 batting average as well, giving up just 9 hits in his 10 appearances.
• CLOSE DOESN’T COUNT … While in the midst of their current six-game losing streak, the Lobos have suffered some close defeats, including four straight one-run losses. UNM was swept at home last weekend by No. 24 Houston and each game was decided by one run. They also lost at No. 7 Arizona State last week by one run. The losing streak began with a two-run loss at No. 28 Nevada on March 14. That’s six losses by a combined 13 total runs, with five of those by just six total runs.
• NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY … The Lobos current weekend rotation looks almost nothing like how the coaching staff drew it up before the season. UNM’s starting trio of Toller Boardman, Tyler Stevens and Carson Schneider entered the 2015 season with a combined total of ONE Division I start, and that was by Boardman as a member of the Texas Longhorns back in 2013. Schneider made a UNM fresman-record 24 appearances out of the bullpen last season, but did start a game. Stevens was pitching for Rocky Mountain HS last season. This year, however, the trio have started 11 of UNM’s 21 games heading into Tuesday’s matchup with Texas Tech.
• LET’S TURN TWO … New Mexico has been one of the most prolific teams in the nation in turning double plays since 2012. Over the last three-plus seasons UNM has turned 188 double plays, which is the 10th most in the country during that span. This season they are 25th in the NCAA with 23 twin killings, and 19th in double plays per game with 1.10.
• THREE FOR ME … On Tuesday, March 10, freshman catcher Cory Voss tripled twice in UNM’s 8-5 loss to Stephen F. Austin. He was the first Lobo to record two triples in a game since Alex Allbritton did so on April 18, 2010, against Coppin State. Heading into Tuesday’s game he’s 12th in the NCAA with four triples.
• HIT ME BABY ONE MORE TIME … Despite standing just 5-foot-8 and being the shortest player in each of his three years on campus, Jared Holley has become a baseball magnet. He has been hit by 26 pitches in his career, which is good for a four-way tie for fifth in UNM history.
• FOLLOW MY LEAD … The Lobos have had their leadoff man reach in 78 of their 186 innings, good for an inning-starting OBP of .419.