WICHITA, Kan. – The University of New Mexico baseball team is probably glad to be done with the state of Kansas this year. The Lobos (24-19) dropped their fifth game of the season in the Sunflower State on Sunday by a 6-5 count to Wichita State, and four of those losses came by just one or two runs.
Carl Stajduhar went 4-for-5 to extend his hitting streak to 13 games, and Scottie Graham had a career day as he went 3-for-4 with three RBIs, but it wasn’t enough for the Lobos who were once again without a number of starters. Stajduhar is hitting .473 (26-for-55) with 12 runs and 19 RBIs during his streak, which is the second longest by a Lobo this season. The four hits were also a career high for UNM’s freshman third baseman.
Stajduhar opened the scoring with a solo home run leading off the second, his fifth of the season. Later in the frame Graham lined a two-out single to center field to drive in Jack Zoellner and give the Lobos a 2-0 lead.
The Shockers tied it in the bottom of the inning, though, when a high-bouncer made it just over Stajduhar’s head at third for a two-run single. Wichita State took the lead in the third on a two-out RBI single.
After a scoreless fourth, the Lobos took the lead in the fifth. With the bases loaded Andre Vigil walked to force in the tying run, and then Graham came through again a two-run single. The freshman came into the game with just two RBIs on the season but surpassed that total through the first half of Sunday’s contest.
However, the Shockers again responded with three runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. With two men on there was a lined shot to center field. Aaron Siple tried to make a sliding catch, but he missed it and it went all the way to the wall for a triple. The relay to third was then thrown away, which allowed the batter to score and make it 6-5 and close out the scoring.
The Lobos had numerous chances, including loading the bases in the sixth, but they couldn’t scratch out any more runs. They had 13 hits and drew seven walks but went just 3-for-14 (.214) with runners in scoring position and left 15 men on base.
Zoellner went 2-for-4 with a walk, and Reece Weber went 1-for-2 with two free passes to help Stajduhar and Graham pace the offense. Jake Cole (1-2) allowed three runs in 3.1 innings to suffer the loss in relief of starter Luis Gonzalez, who allowed three runs in 3.2 innings. Hayden Schilling recorded the final three outs to lower his season ERA to 1.41.
It was the 10th one-run loss of the year for UNM, which has seen 13 of its 19 losses come by just one or two runs. The Lobos were without Jared Holley, Danny Collier and Cory Voss in this game, although both Collier and Voss were retired as pinch hitters in the ninth. Sam Haggerty, though, started his first game since March 7 and walked once in three plate appearances before leaving the game in the bottom of the fifth.
UNM does not have any midweek games, so it will use this week to rest and hopefully heal some bruised bodies before returning to action on Friday at Lobo Field against the Nevada Wolf Pack. If the Lobos want to have a realistic chance of at least a share of the MW regular-season title for a fourth straight year, it will likely need to sweep the Wolf Pack, who are two games up on the Lobos in the loss column and will have just three league games left following their series in Albuquerque.
First pitch for the series will be Friday night at 6. All three games will be broadcast by ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM, and uPUBLICtv will produce all three as well and air them on Comcast channel 26.
Notes: Danny Collier had a 16-game streak from March 20 to April 12 … Graham entered the day just 3-for-25 (.120) … the Lobos threw just 128 pitches compared to 207 for Wichita State … the Lobos also lost at Kansas 10-9 and 10-5 on April 7 and 8, respectively.