PHOENIX, Ariz. — A rough start doomed The University of New Mexico Lobos as the No. 27 Arizona State Sun Devils struck for six runs in the opening two innings, paving the way to a 9-5 win in the first game of a three-game weekend series.
Despite falling behind by as much as 9-2, the Lobos made a game of it in the ninth inning, scoring three times, and it really could have been more. Jake Westerman pinch hit, and was hit by a pitch, and he then scored on a triple by Erick Migueles, who also pinch hit, to make it 9-3. Andrew Pratt walked, but on the third ball thrown, Migueles tried to score when the ball got away and he was thrown out at home, an out and run off the board that would prove costly.
After Pratt’s walk, Dalton Bowers singled. He was forced at second by Luis Gonzalez for the second out, and he then took second on indifference. Jared Mang rolled a ball into the hole between first and second for a single and an RBI, and a poor throw also scored Gonzalez, and it was suddenly 9-5 with two out. ASU escaped further damage when Chris DeVito flew out to end the game.
Arizona State struck for two in the first and four in the second, putting the Lobos in a hole they could never climb out of. ASU (24-15) got two runs in the first on only one hit, a double. That hit put runners on second and third, and a sacrifice fly and a balk made it 2-0.
ASU pushed it to 6-0 in the second with five hits, including back-to-back-to-back on back-to-back-to-back pitches. At that point it looked like starter Carson Schneider wouldn’t survive the second, but he settled down and eventually went on a roll, retiring 12 of 14 batters, including a run of eight in a row.
The Lobos (30-14) were limited to just two hits until the ninth inning, and none through the first four innings, although that didn’t stop them from making a comeback attempt. Chris DeVito got it started in the fourth when he fly ball to left got lost in the lights, and eventually dropped for a two-base error. He went to third on a fly out and scored on a groundout by Jack Zoellner to make it 6-1.
UNM snuck it back to 6-2 in the fifth. Michael Eaton broke the no-hit bid with a leadoff double, and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly by Luis Gonzalez, who was inches short of a three-run home run.
All that work was lost when an error helped tack on two unearned runs in the seventh, and then a single tally in the eighth, making it 9-2, setting up UNM’s last ditch comeback attempt.
Schneider, who entered the game as the winningest pitcher in school history in terms of percentage, took the loss to drop to 7-2. It marked the first time in his three-year Lobo career he has ever lost two games in a season. Seth Martinez improved to 7-3 for Arizona State.
Game two of the series will take place at 7:30 Mountain Time, with the game online via the Pac-12 Network, and available locally on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.
NOTES: Duree is tied with Joe Coleman for the most appearances on the mound in UNM history with 75 … despite the loss, Schneider is still the career leader in winning percentage at .778 (14-4) … UNM dropped to 9-78 against Arizona State all-time in Tempe/Phoenix.
Rough Start Dooms UNM is 9-5 Loss to No. 27 ASU
