LAS VEGAS, Nev. – Toller Boardman threw seven shutout innings as UNM won its sixth straight game by way of a 9-0 defeat of UNLV Friday night. Chris DeVito drove in three runs and Aaron Siple went 3-for-5 to lead the Lobo offense.
Boardman moved to 7-1 on the season and has pitched into at least the seventh inning in seven of his 10 starts this season. He has allowed just three runs over his last 21.0 innings spanning three starts. He has struck out 17 and walked just five over that span to lower his season ERA to 2.32. He has allowed three earned runs of fewer in all but one start this season.
UNM (22-15, 12-7) scored the only run it would need in the first. Danny Collier led off the game with an eight-pitch at bat and worked a walk. He was on second with two outs when DeVito laced a single up the middle to give the Lobos a 1-0 first-inning lead.
The Lobos broke the game open, though, in the third. Collier led off the frame with a single, and he moved to second on a single by Siple. A passed ball advanced both runners into scoring position, and Lane Milligan drove home Collier with a groundout. Three straight doubles by Cory Voss, DeVito and Carl Stajduhar made the score 5-0 and chased UNLV starter Kenny Oakley.
UNM would go on to add two runs in both the fourth and fifth innings, but by that point Boardman was on cruise control.
The junior never ran into trouble against the Rebels (15-21, 2-14) as he scattered four singles, one walk and a double across his seven innings. UNLV never had two batters reach base in the same inning as Boardman through 74 of his 115 pitches for strikes. He induced nine groundballs and just two flyouts.
Alex Estrella pitched the final two innings to secure the victory. UNM is now just two games out of first by virtue of Nevada’s 14-3 win at San Diego State.
Voss and Schilling each recorded two hits to help pace the Lobos, while Collier reached base three times out of the leadoff spot and scored three runs. Stajduhar saw his string of five straight multi-hit games end with a 1-for-5 performance, but his double was his team-leading 16th of the season.
The Lobos will go for their seventh straight win at 3:05 p.m. MT Saturday. Freshman James Harrington will start on the mound for UNM. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network, and a link is available at GoLobos.com.
Notes: The Lobos out-hit the Rebels 12-7 … four Lobos had two walks, and UNM drew nine for the game … Siple now has eight hits in his last 11 at bats … every Lobo starter reached base safely, and Dalton Bowers was the only one to not record a hit … UNM’s six-game winning streak is a season-long.