ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Desperate for a clutch hit to back up its stellar pitching, the University of New Mexico baseball team finally got one from an unlikely source. Dalton Bowers’ two-strike, two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth snapped a 1-1 tie and spurred the Lobos to a series-clinching 5-1 win over Fresno State Sunday afternoon at Lobo Field.
“I was just trying to put the ball in play and use my abilities,” said Bowers, who is hitting just .222 on the season. “I was able to put it in play, and we scored two.”
UNM (14-11, 7-5) had 14 straight hitless at bats with runners in scoring position heading into the game, but got several key hits, including Bowers’ game-changing single, as all five Lobo runs came with two down. Lane Milligan had an RBI single in the third to tie the game, Jack Zoellner knocked in Bowers with a double after his go-ahead single, and Cory Voss later had an RBI triple, his fifth of the season, with two outs in the seventh.
“That was the first time he bought in all year with two strikes,” UNM head coach Ray Birmingham said of Bowers’ single. “He punched that ball up the middle. He didn’t roll it over.”
The offense backed a spectacular day on the mound for Lobo pitchers. Starter Carson Schneider tossed a career-high 5.0 innings, tied his career best with four strikeouts and allowed just three hits and the lone Bulldog (16-13, 7-5) run, which came after a first-inning balk moved a runner to third ahead of a sacrifice fly. Preston Ryan got two outs in the sixth before giving way to Jake Cole.
“Great pitching,” Birmingham said. “Schneider. Ryan. Cole. Great, great pitching.”
Cole (1-0) entered in a jam in the sixth with the bases loaded, but he got a lazy fly ball to left to escape.
“I just wanted to come in and minimize damage,” he said. “I wanted to get the batter if I could, but if not then keep it to where they only get one run instead of two. It was a lefty up … and I got a fastball a little up but he flew out to left. I was just trying to keep us in the ballgame.”
It did more than that because the very next half-inning the Lobos took the lead for good.
Chris DeVito got the inning started with a laser double down the left-field line and Voss followed with a walk. Carl Stajduhar moved them both up a base with a sacrifice bunt, and Fresno State brought in its left-handed specialist Casey Rodriguez to face Luis Gonzalez.
UNM countered with Andre Vigil as a pinch hitter, but the Bulldogs left Rodriguez on the bump. It looked like a smart move after Vigil struck out looking and Bowers quickly fell behind 0-2, but after taking one outside, he singled up the middle to score both runners. It was just the fourth hit Rodriguez has allowed all season, but it wouldn’t be the last. Zoellner, a lefty, followed with his second double of the game to score Bowers, and Jared Holley recorded the third straight hit of the inning with an infield single to shortstop, but Zoellner never stopped at third and was easily thrown out at home.
Danny Collier, another lefty, led off the seventh with a single to left, the fourth of the game off Rodriguez and the second by a lefty. Collier eventually scored on Voss’ triple to close out the scoring.
Cole, meanwhile, was masterful on the mound. He didn’t allow a single hit and struck out three against just one walk in 3.1 innings.
“I just try and get the job done and keep us in a place to get the win,” he said. “I was just focusing on pitch-to-pitch. Get that job done and then move to the next one.”
Birmingham was very impressed by the work of UNM’s only senior in the bullpen.
“Jake Cole is a professional,” he said. “The thing I point out to the team is he’s not a drama queen. He just comes here to do his job every day. He works at his job every day. He gets in the game and he does his job.”
UNM pounded out 12 hits on the day with two each by Collier, Voss, Zoellner and Holley. It was Voss’ fourth straight multi-hit game, and he now leads the team with a .372 average.
The win marks UNM’s third win in four tries in Mountain West series this season, and it moves the Lobos to 44-14-2 in MW series under Birmingham. (Two series only had two games due to weather and the teams split, hence the two ties.)
On Tuesday the Lobos host Texas Tech in a rematch of last Tuesday’s 7-6 UNM win in Lubbock, Texas. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network on GoLobos.com, and it will also be broadcast by ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.
Notes: It was the first two-double game of Zoellner’s career … Voss also walked twice and finished 2-for-2 … the Lobos improved to 11-1 all-time in Albuquerque vs. the Bulldogs.