FRESNO, Calif. – The University of New Mexico baseball team earned a split in its doubleheader at Fresno State Friday, dropping the opener 4-3 before taking the nightcap 4-0 on the strength of Lane Milligan’s second-inning grand slam. Milligan finished the day a combined 3-for-6 with a walk, a triple and five RBIs.
“Lane did a great job,” UNM head coach Ray Birmingham said. “He was the difference in that ballgame. Hitters have mechanics just like pitchers do, and they come and go and you have to work at them. Lane had been struggling, but now he’s back and starting to hit the ball really well.”
The Lobos (29-24, 17-12) and Bulldogs (28-26, 17-12) remain tied for third in the Mountain West. Saturday’s contest at 2:05 p.m. MT will decide who will be third and who will be fourth for the conference tournament next week in Reno, Nev.
While Milligan was leading the offense, Tyler Stevens (4-4) and the Lobo pitching staff were limiting the Bulldogs’ offense. Stevens only faced seven batters due to a pitch count in preparation for the MW Tournament, but he retired all seven, including four via strikeout. Carson Schneider came on and allowed three hits in 2.2 innings but kept Fresno State off the board. Alex Estrella followed and struck out three while allowing just a single hit in 2.2 innings. Jake Cole finished things off by recording the final four outs. The quartet combined to limit the Bulldogs to just five hits, four of which were singles.
“Tyler, Carson, Alex and Jake were great,” said Birmingham. “We had just two walks. We were throwing strikes and getting the job done.”
Luis Gonzalez got the second started with a single through the right side, and Carl Stajduhar followed with a single to center. Jack Zoellner then recorded his first sacrifice bunt of the year to move both into scoring position. Reece Weber then saw two balls from Fresno State’s starter and two more from a reliever to walk the bases loaded. Milligan then crushed the first pitch he saw well over the wall in right for UNM’s first grand slam since May 16, 2013.
“With a new pitcher in there I was just trying to get a job done and get one run in,” Milligan said. “But he threw me a hanging changeup, and I got the barrel to it and got it out.”
That proved to be all the offense the Lobos would need as they drew even with the Bulldogs in the conference standings. The series finale will be Saturday at 2:05 p.m. MT. ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM will have the game with Robert Portnoy on the call.
Game one
The Lobos were held without a base runner until two outs in the fifth, but they quickly struck for a pair of runs with two outs to take a 2-0 lead. Zoellner singled to left-center and Weber walked. Milligan then worked a nice at bat, fouling off several pitches, before lining a single to right. An error by Fresno State’s right fielder allowed both runners to score.
However, Fresno State used a two-out rally of its own in the bottom of the inning to take a 3-2 lead, with the final two outs coming on a two-run homer.
UNM tied it in the top of the sixth on consecutive singles by Aaron Siple, Cory Voss and Gonzalez, but a solo home run in the bottom of the inning gave the Bulldogs the lead again, and neither team was able to plate any other runs the remainder of the game.
The home runs were unfortunate for the Lobos, who hammered a number of balls in the first few innings, but the wet air from rains just before the game kept them from carrying. Voss had a pair of flyouts to the warning track in center, and Sam Haggerty and Zoellner both also hit balls hard with nothing to show for it.
“We squared some balls up,” Birmingham said. “But we hit them into the big part of the park and they ran them down. I feel like we could’ve won the first game too.”
Notes: Luke Campbell had the Lobos’ last grand slam at San Diego State … Gonzalez finished the day 3-for-7 … UNM has won 82 straight games when leading after eight innings.