ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — After a sweep of Fresno State last weekend, the Lobos will look to keep its lead on the rest of the pack, but it won’t be easy, heading to San Jose State for a weekend road series starting on Friday at 7 p.m. Mountain Time, and continuing Saturday at 3 p.m. and concluding at 2 p.m. on Sunday.
The Lobos are sitting at 24-10 overall and 12-3 in the Mountain West, a 2 1/2 game lead over Air Force and a three-game lead over Fresno State. UNM is coming off a 12-3 win over San Francisco in the debut of their new renovated park.
Games 35-37 • Blethen Stadium • San Jose, Calif.
Friday, April 15 • 7 p.m. (MT)
Saturday, April 16 • 3 p.m. (MT)
Sunday, April 17 • 2 p.m. (MT)
Broadcast info for San Jose:
• Live stats: www.lobostats.com or www.statbroadcast.com
• Live video streams: http://www.golobos.com/sports/2015/11/9/TheMWNetwork.aspx?master=watch (None on Saturday)
Series Record: 14-3
Home: 11-1; Away: 3-3; Neutral: 0-0
Up Next: UNM will return home to take on Texas Tech for a pair of midweek games on Tuesday and Wednesday before a conference home series with San Diego State. All five games will be broadcast on uPublic 26 in Albuquerque as well as www.golobos.com, as well as on radio at ESPN Radio 101.7 at The TEAM and online at www.1017theteam.com.
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE … San Jose State enters the weekend series in seventh place in the Mountain West at 3-12 and at 10-22 overall. The Spartans have lost their last five, and they have dropped 13 of 17.
Most recently they lost all four of a weekend series to Air Force that included a doubleheader on Saturday with San Jose State as the home team for the first game in a make-up of a postponement. SJSU lost all four games 9-3, 12-4, 13-7 and 8-7.
The Spartans this season have been led by Shane Timmons, who is batting .365 with a pair of home runs and 17 RBIs. David Campbell is right behind at .343 and Ozzy Braff has a team-leading four homers.
Among the regular starters, Matt Brown and Josh Bashed have the two best ERAs at 4.61 and 6.26 respectively, but they are a combined 1-8. Josh Goldberg is 3-1 in 15 relief appearances. He also has a team-best two saves.
Overall SJSU hits .274 while allowing opponents to hit .333, and the pitching staff has a 6.48 ERA.
LAST TIME OUT FOR UNM … The University of New Mexico baseball team (24-10) jumped out to a big lead early and took a 12-3 road win over the San Francisco Dons (10-24) Wednesday.
Jack Zoellner paced the Lobos with a game-high three RBI, finishing 2-for-6 with two runs. Chris DeVito was seemingly automatic all day, reaching base five times. He went 2-for-3 with three walks and two runs scored. Luis Gonzalez scored a team-best three runs out of the leadoff spot, going 2-for-5 with a home run and a walk.
James Harrington (6-1) improved his win total to six with another midweek victory. He held the home team to three runs while striking out three batters over 4.2 frames of work. However, the bullpen flexed their muscles Wednesday. Chris Tripp, Alex Estrella and Victor Sanchez combined to hold the Dons to no runs and two hits over the final 4.1 innings. Only four runners reached base on the Lobos after Tripp came in.
“Harrington did a nice job,” stated head coach Ray Birmingham. “For four innings he was excellent. He needs to figure out how to keep sharp command for six innings for us to be successful.”
Dual Players of the Week … After a sweep of Fresno State over the weekend, why not one more? Catcher/DH Chris DeVito and left-handed starter Carson Schneider were named the Mountain West’s Player and Pitcher of the Week, giving UNM a sweep of the awards for the first time this season.
It’s the second time DeVito has earned the honor in his career, as he got it back on February 28, and it’s the first honor for Schneider.
For DeVito, the week encapsulates what he has done on the season to this point as he is ranks among the NCAA top 10 in eight different categories, and among the NCAA top 20 in nine. DeVito, who is batting .438 with 11 home runs and 48 RBIs is the national leader in total bases with 103. His slugging percentage of .805 is good for fourth in the country. Hit 48 RBIs and his 56 hits are third nationally, and he ranks fifth in RBIs per game.
He also ranks eight in home runs with 11, and 18th in home runs per game, and his .438 average is good for seventh. DeVito, who has bounced between catcher and designated hitter, is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, and he has hit safely in 29 of his last 30. He has reached base via a walk or hit in all 32 games.
For Schneider, who has helped UNM to opening series wins in all five conference series this season, is 6-1 on the year with a 3.05 ERA. His six wins are tied for eighth nationally, and he is tied for 14th in complete games and tied for 23rd in starts. In his last three starts, Schneider has a 3-0 record and a 1.41 ERA, pitching at least into the ninth inning in all three.