SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Facing perhaps the best pitcher in the Mountain West, the University of New Mexico baseball team wanted to get off to a fast start Friday night against San Diego State, and that’s exactly what it did.
The Lobos (16-11, 8-5) scored five times in the first three innings off SDSU (22-8, 10-3) starter Bubba Derby and held on for a 7-4 road victory to pull closer to the Aztecs in the MW standings. It was just Derby’s second loss of the season, and both have come at the hands of the Lobos who have tagged him for eight runs in 11.0 innings over two starts this season.
Danny Collier, who finished with a game-high three hits, led off the game with a single to center. He was on second with two outs when he raced home on a Cory Voss single down the left-field line to give UNM a quick 1-0 lead. The big blow came in the second, though, and it all started with two outs and the bases empty.
Jack Zoellner and Jared Holley reached on back-to-back walks, and Collier singled again to load the bases. Lane Milligan followed with a double off the left-field wall to score all three and make it 4-0.
Luis Gonzalez increased the lead in the third. He tripled to center, and when the throw back to the infield evaded both cutoff men, he quickly took home to make it 5-0. That would prove to be all the offense UNM needed.
The Aztecs tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth on UNM starter James Harrington, but Preston Ryan (3-1) hurled 2.2 shutout innings of relief to keep the Aztecs at bay. They made it closer with two runs in the bottom of the eighth, but UNM responded with a run in the top of the ninth to give some added breathing room. Reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week Jake Cole recorded the final six outs without allowing a base runner to earn his second save of the season.
Harrington allowed two runs, one earned, in 4.1 innings with three strikeouts. It was just his second career start. Lobo pitchers limited the top hitting team in the MW to just six hits and held the bottom six batters in SDSU’s lineup to a combined 2-for-20 performance.
In addition to going 3-for-5, Collier also scored two runs as eight of the nine Lobo starters recorded a hit. Holley (1-for-1, two walks) and Milligan (1-for-3, walk, HBP) also reached base three times each.
The teams meet Friday night at 7 (MT), and Toller Boardman will get the start for the Lobos. The game will be streamed on the Mountain West Network and will be available at GoLobos.com.
Notes: It was UNM’s 71st straight win when leading after eight innings … UNM moved to 26-13 against the Aztecs under head coach Ray Birmingham …the Lobos are the only team to defeat the Aztecs in MW play this season (3-1).