ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — University of New Mexico right-hander Johnathon Tripp hadn’t pitched in a live game in nearly two years – and admitted that he couldn’t even get his hands to stop shaking when he took over in relief in the sixth inning of a 4-4 tie game against Binghamton Friday night at Santa Ana Star Field.
But the redshirt senior shook the nerves and impressed over the final four innings, giving up just one hit while striking out six, and the Lobos took advantage of key Binghamton errors to claim a season-opening 8-4 victory in front of 1,178.
“I was nervous … The last time I pitched it was my birthday of 2015 – and that was a long time ago,” Tripp said. “Getting to pitch in the first game was a blessing. I’ve never had the opportunity to pitch on opening day. (Tyler) Stevens gave us five good innings and battled his last couple. The bats came around and the defense was solid. We had a really good defensive day.”
Tripp retired the Bearcats, a team – like the Lobos – that qualified for the NCAA Regionals last season, in order in three of the four innings. The only blemish on his performance came in the eighth inning when he allowed a lead-off single to Paul Rufo – Binghamton’s No. 2 hitter. But Tripp struck out the meat of the Bearcat lineup in order to get out of the inning and pick up his first win as a Lobo.
“Johnathon Tripp came out tonight and showed people how to pitch,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said. “He showed how to really pitch instead of just throwing the ball up there. That’s what is really important.”
UNM (1-0) and Binghamton (0-1) were tied 4-4 heading into the sixth inning when a Daniel Herrera single, Luis Gonzalez double and a Justin Watari walk loaded the bases with two outs. Danny Collier, who had hit an RBI triple earlier in the game, laced a rocket right at the Binghamton shortstop for the second out.
The Bearcats appeared they were going to get out of the inning when Carl Stajduhar hit a grounder to third, but a throwing error allowed two Lobos to score and make it 6-4. Another Binghamton error on a ball hit by Jack Zoellner allowed another run to make it 7-4.
The Lobos tacked on another in the seventh on a Luis Gonzalez sacrifice fly to make it 8-4 – more than enough for Tripp.
“We played defense, we wanted to pitch and we saw that today,” Birmingham said. “I wanted us to get better when that bullpen door opened and we did that. We will end up hitting. You could see the nervousness and the jitters early in the game with guys trying to do too much.”
Collier paced UNM at the plate, going 2-for-3 with two RBI while Gonzalez was also 2-for-3 with an RBI.
Tyler Stevens got the start for the Lobos and went five innings and gave up four runs on seven hits with six strikeouts and no walks.
The Lobos and Bearcats play game two 2 p.m. Saturday at Santa Ana Star Field. Carson Schneider is expected to get the start for the Lobos while Jake Wloczewski is set to go for Binghamton.
NOTES: The combined 12 strikeouts by the Lobo pitching staff is the most since striking out 11 against Nevada on May 26, 2016, at the Mountain West Tournament. … With a pair of hits Friday, Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 11 games. … Watari and Herrera both picked up their first hits as Lobos on Friday. … The Lobos have won two consecutive season openers after dropping seven straight from 2009-15.
Pitching, defense leads Lobos to season-opening win
