Lobo Baseball – at Lobo Field
When: Firday – 6 p.m. (MT); Saturday – 2 p.m. (MT); Sunday – 12 p.m. (MT)
Who: Fresno State Bulldogs
GoLobos.com: Live stats, live stream, box score, postgame recap and stats
Video: All three games will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network at GoLobos.com
Radio: ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM will broadcast each game live, and Robert Portnoy will have the call all weekend
Note on parking: Due to a spirit competition in WisePies Arena, aka The Pit, there will be parking attendants in the lots. Lobo fans attending the baseball games should let the attendants know, and they will not be charged for parking.
Mountain West Standings
| Place | School | MW record | Overall record |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nevada | 7-2 | 21-4 |
| 1 | San Diego State | 4-2 | 19-6 |
| 3 | Fresno State | 6-3 | 15-11 |
| 4 | New Mexico | 5-4 | 12-10 |
| 5 | Air Force | 5-7 | 9-14 |
| 6 | UNLV | 2-7 |
12-11 |
| 7 | San José St. | 1-8 |
7-18 |
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For the first time since March 11 the University of New Mexico baseball team will not play a ranked opponent, but they will still have to face the team directly ahead of them in the Mountain West standings in Fresno State as the Lobos welcome the Bulldogs to Lobo Field this weekend.
Fresno State is 6-3 in conference play, having swept the two bottom teams in the league at home (UNLV and San José State) and getting swept on the road versus the top team (Nevada). The Bulldogs were also swept in a four-game series at Oregon State, against whom the Lobos went 2-0 in their season-opening tournament in Surprise, Ariz.
In fact, the Bulldogs have struggled mightily on the road this season. Their only road win of the season came at USC on March 17. Outside the state of California they are 0-7. UNM, meanwhile, is looking to regain its home-field advantage after getting swept at home by No. 24 Houston last weekend. It was the first time the Lobos had been swept at home since May 2011 when No. 7 TCU closed out the regular season by taking three straight from UNM at Isotopes Park.
Just like the Lobos recently, the Bulldogs are no strangers to close contests. They’ve already played 10 one-run games this season, going 3-7 in such situations. Whatever the reason for all those losses may be, one thing is for sure: don’t blame the bullpen.
Fresno State has a trio of pitchers who have all been phenomenal out of the pen this season. Right-hander Mark Reece is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 appearances. He’s holding opponents to a .145 batting average in 15.2 innings. Closer Jake Shull is another right-hander, and he is 2-3 with a 1.25 ERA and six saves in 14 appearances covering 21.2 innings. The best of the bunch, though, might be Casey Rodriguez, Fresno State’s left-handed specialist. He has appeared in 15 games and owns a 0.93 ERA. Of the 36 batters he has faced, just seven have reached safely (three hits, four walks). Opponents are hitting just .103 against him, and a potential late-inning matchup against Lobo slugger Chris DeVito (or one of the many other left-handed bats in UNM’s lineup like Danny Collier, Lane Milligan or Jack Zoellner) seems inevitable.
Against Fresno State: Amazingly, the Lobos have never lost to the Bulldogs at home in nine meetings. They’ve also won the last six overall and 11 of the last 12 dating back to 2013. UNM is 13-2 vs. Fresno State under Ray Birmingham.
Series Record: 16-10
Home: 9-0; Away: 7-8; Neutral: 0-2
• SCOUTING FRESNO STATE … The Bulldogs are red-hot, winners of five straight including a 7-2 victory over No. 21 Cal at home on Wednesday.
Offensively they’re led by preseason All-American catcher Taylor Ward, who leads the team with a .348 average and a .696 slugging percentage. He also leads the team in runs (20), RBIs (23), walks (19) and OBP (.474). Senior third baseman Manny Argomaniz adds more pop out of the cleanup spot with a .324 average and a team-leading 11 doubles.
The pitching staff owns a 3.77 ERA backed by an outstanding bullpen. Closer Jake Shull is 2-3 with a 1.25 ERA and six saves in 14 appearances covering 21.2 innings. He’s holding opponents to a .190 batting average. Fellow right-handed reliever Mark Reece is 2-0 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 relief appearances. He has struck out 16 in 15.2 innings and is holding opponents to a .145 average. The best, though, might be left-handed specialist Casey Rodriguez. He has made 15 appearances covering 9.2 innings, and he has allowed just seven of the 36 batters he has faced to reach safely (three hits, four walks). He has a 0.93 ERA and is holding opponents to a microscopic average of .103.
Jimmy Lambert (1-0, 4.50), Anthony Arias (1-0, 7.36) and Garrett Mundell (1-1, 2.73) are in line to start this weekend. Mundell and Lambert are first and second in the team in innings pitched at 33.0 and 32.0, respectively, while Arias has struck out 19 versus just four walks in his 14.2 innings of work.
• YOUNG LINEUP … The Lobos have one of the youngest lineups in the country, and it’s evidenced by the fact that 65 percent of their plate appearances have come from freshmen and sophomores, which is the fifth highest percentage in the nation. Right now UNM can expect to start just two juniors — Dalton Bowers at short and Jared Holley at second — and seven freshmen and sophomores.
• NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY … Speaking of youth, 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.
• FIVE STRAIGHT … For the first time since 1968, and just the second time in program history, the Lobos have played five straight one-run games. UNM has now played 613 one-run games in program history and owns a .507 winning percentage (311-302). UNM has never had a stretch of six straight one-run games.
• 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 190 double plays, which is the 10th most in the country during that span. This season they are 22nd in the NCAA with 25 twin killings, and 13th in double plays per game with 1.14.
• 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 the weekend he’s 12th in the NCAA with four triples, which is tops among all catchers.
• 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 82 of their 195 innings, good for an inning-starting OBP of .421.