ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico baseball team committed four errors and fell to Fresno State 8-1 on Saturday afternoon at Lobo Field. The Lobos (13-11, 6-5) also went just 2-for-19 with runners on base and 0-for-11 with men in scoring position to squander several scoring opportunities.
Fresno State’s (16-12, 7-4) first run came when Lobo center fielder Danny Collier lost a ball in the sun. It ended up a triple, and a groundout scored the runner to make it 1-0 in the second.
Carl Stajduhar tied the game in the fourth with a solo home run to the opposite field. It was his second homer of the season and first at home.
But the Bulldogs retook the lead without a hit in the fifth. A four-pitch walk, a hit batter, a throwing error, another four-pitch walk and a sacrifice fly made the score 2-1.
UNM then had a chance to not only tie the game, but take the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Stajduhar led off with a walk and moved to third on a single by Jack Zoellner. Dalton Bowers missed extra bases down the left-field line by being foul by about six inches, but he was hit by the next pitch to load the bases with no outs. However, Reece Weber grounded into a 1-2-3 double play and Jared Holley struck out to end the frame.
That totally changed the complexion of the game as UNM felt further behind the next half-inning.
The Bulldogs added an unearned run in the top of the seventh with the help of two errors by Bowers at short. UNM then had another chance to get back into the game in the bottom of the eighth. Cory Voss led off with a double to left, and he advanced to third with just one out, but he was stranded there. In total the Lobos left 10 men on base.
Fresno State then added five runs in the ninth to finish off the scoring, aided by three walks and two wild pitches.
Zoellner broke out of an 0-for-14 slump with a 2-for-4 performance, and Voss also went 2-for-4 to lead the Lobos’ offense.
The rubber match will be Sunday at noon. Sophomore Carson Schneider will get the start on the mound for UNM.
Notes: Bowers made three errors at short, matching his season total, and he was the first Lobo to make three miscues in one game since Holley did it at San Diego State on May 17, 2013 … Chase Beal made his collegiate debut on the mound and allowed one run and recorded one out in the ninth … Quin Rawson also made his collegiate debut as a pinch hitter in the ninth and popped up … there will be an Easter Egg hunt on the neighboring Lobo Softball field starting in the fifth inning.