LUBBOCK, Texas – The University of New Mexico baseball team snapped its six-game losing streak with a 7-6 win at No. 18 Texas Tech Tuesday afternoon. UNM jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the second and held on the rest of the way to secure the win. It was the Lobos’ fifth straight one-run game, but for the first time in that stretch, they were able to come out on top.
In a game that featured lots of base runners, neither side recorded a perfect 1-2-3 inning until Preston Ryan (2-1) set down the Red Raiders in order in the bottom of the seventh. Ryan allowed just one run in 2.1 innings of relief to earn the victory. He was part of a parade of Lobo pitchers that were excellent at limiting damage. Seven Lobo hurlers held Texas Tech to just single runs in the first, third, fourth, fifth, eighth and ninth innings.
After Texas Tech opened the scoring with a leadoff home run in the first, the Lobos answered with four in the top of the second. Cory Voss got the inning started with a leadoff double just inside the third-base bag. He scored on a single to right-center by Carl Stajduhar. With one out Dalton Bowers singled him to third to put men on the corners.
Reece Weber, making his first career start, placed a perfect bunt on a safety squeeze for a single to score Stajduhar. An error loaded the bases, and UNM then got its third run on a fielder’s choice RBI off the bat of Danny Collier. The Lobos got their final run on another error by the Red Raiders, and they led 4-1. UNM wouldn’t trail the rest of the way.
It was 4-2 when UNM tacked on two more in the fourth. Holley singled with one out and advanced to second on a groundout by Collier. Milligan barely beat out an infield single to put men on the corners. A wild pitch allowed Holley to score and move Milligan into scoring position. Chris DeVito singled sharply through the right side to drive Milligan in and make the score 6-2.
After the Red Raiders cut the lead in half, Collier and DeVito increased the lead to 7-4 with triples in the sixth.
The Red Raiders made it interesting in the ninth as their first two men reached on a walk. A sacrifice bunt moved both men into scoring position, including the potential tying run at second base. The next batter, though, grounded to Bowers at short, and both runners broke. Bowers threw to third in time to record the out and give UNM some breathing room. Hayden Schilling got the last man to pop out to Stajduhar at third to end the game and earn his first career save.
The Lobos started four freshmen and nine of their 10 starters were in their first or second year of Division I baseball. That included UNM’s starter, James Harrington. Harrington allowed two runs, one earned, in three innings before departing after reaching his pitch limit.
Collier, DeVito, Voss and Stajduhar each finished with two hits apiece to lead the attack. Every Lobo starter recorded at least one hit except for Jack Zoellner.
UNM returns to Mountain West action this weekend when it hosts Fresno State at Lobo Field. Game one is Friday night at 6, and all three games will not only be streamed on the Mountain West Network at GoLobos.com, but they will also be broadcast by ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.
Notes: Bowers recorded eight assists in the field … the losing streak was the longest for New Mexico since dropping the final seven regular-season games in the 2011 season … UNM won its 68th straight game when leading after eight innings.