Complete box: Hawai’i 4, UNM 3 (11)
HONOLULU – Despite a game-tying two-run rally in the ninth inning Saturday night against Hawai’i, the University of New Mexico baseball team dropped a 4-3 decision to the Rainbow Warriors after UH walked it off with a run in the bottom of the 11th.
The Lobos’ rally in the ninth was aided by a passed ball and back-to-back wild pitches. Pinch hitter Danny Collier led off with a single up the middle, and Luis Gonzalez followed with the same result. The passed ball allowed both men to move into scoring position with nobody out. However, despite working deep counts, Michael Eaton popped up and Carl Stajduhar struck out.
UH then brought in its closer, Casey Ryan, but the righty’s first two pitches each found its way to the backstop, which allowed UNM to tie the game.
In the end, though, two things came back to bite the Lobos: their inability to get crucial hits in key situations, and the free passes given up by the pitching staff.
UNM went just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position, and 4-for-25 with men on base, and issued eight walks. The Lobos left 13 men on base and outhit the Rainbow Warriors 10-6, but they weren’t able to pull out the win.
The winning run in the 11th came off Victor Sanchez, who earned the save in UNM’s season-opening win last night and was fantastic in the 10th. But a double, groundout and single ended the game and handed the Lobos their first loss of the season.
Tyler Stevens started on the mound and limited UH to just three hits with five strikeouts, but he also walked a career-high five batters. UNM pitchers have struggled with the strike zone through two outings, issuing 14 free passes thus far.
Freshman Jared Mang got UNM on the board in the first with an RBI single that scored Stajduhar from second, but the Lobos had the bases loaded later in the inning and couldn’t add to their lead.
Hawai’i answered in the home half of the first on a walk, a sacrifice bunt and a bloop single. The next inning was full of missed opportunities for both teams as they combined to strand nine men on base in the first two frames.
The score remained 1-1 until the bottom of the fifth when Matt LoCoco led off the frame with a solo homer to right. The Rainbow Warriors added another in the seventh. They had their leadoff man reach six times in the game, three via a base on balls.
Gonzalez went 3-for-5 with a walk and Jared Holley and Zoellner each finished with two hits apiece. Holley was also hit by a pitch for the 30th time in his career.
The third game of this four-game set is scheduled for 4:05 p.m. MT Sunday. Senior Colton Thomson will start on the mound for the Lobos.
Notes: Freshmen relievers Christian Tripp and Austin Isenhart made their collegiate debut for UNM … Austin Bell came on as a pinch runner and scored a run in the ninth-inning rally, which was his first appearance of his career … Holley became just the second Lobo ever to reach 30 HBP in his career.