UNM SERIES NOTES | WATCH | LISTEN |
New Mexico (11-8) vs. Grand Canyon (5-12)
Tuesday, March 21 • 6:30 p.m. (MT)
RHP James Harrington (0-0, 7.30 ERA) vs. LHP Jack Schneider (0-0, 6.75 ERA)
Wednesday, March 22 • 1 p.m. (MT)
LHP Austin Isenhart (2-1, 6.92 ERA) vs. RHP Bobby Milacki (0-1, 10.50 ERA)
Santa Ana Star Field – Albuquerque, N.M.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico baseball team returns home after a five-game road trip last week against a pair of ranked opponents when the Lobos host Grand Canyon University for a two-game set starting 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Santa Ana Star Field.
This will mark the third season in a row the Lobos and Lopes have played a two-game set against one another with UNM winning all four of those matchups (7-3 and 14-2 in Albuquerque in 2015, 10-6 and 6-5 last season in Phoenix). Prior to 2015, UNM and GCU hadn’t played each other since 2000. UNM currently owns a seven-game winning streak against the Lopes.
The Lopes have lost four in a row heading into Tuesday’s contest – all on the road. It started with losing the final game of a two-game set with UNLV on Wednesday (5-4), before losing 1-0 in 12 innings to Pepperdine on Friday, 9-1 to Long Beach State on Saturday and 7-2 Sunday at Pepperdine. However, GCU does have some key victories under its belt – including taking two of three in its season-opening series against Oklahoma State at home (a team New Mexico just lost two games to on the road this past weekend).
Listen to the series with play-by-play from Robert Portnoy on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM streamed at www.1017theteam.com and on the TuneIn Radio app.
LAST TIME OUT FOR UNM … The Lobos return home after one of the toughest non-conference road trips any team in the nation will take this season as UNM lost a trio of one-run games to No. 5 Cal State Fullerton this past weekend after dropping two to another top-25 team in No. 21 Oklahoma State.
UNM got a stellar start from Tyler Stevens in Friday’s contest against Fullerton as he retired the first 12 batters he faced and gave up just two runs (one earned) on three hits with eight strikeouts in seven innings. But the Lobos scored its only run of the game on an RBI double by Danny Collier in the sixth inning to tie the game before the Titans scored in the seventh to take the lead for good during a 2-1 UNM loss.
The Lobos on Saturday took a 4-1 lead at one point before the Titans scored four unanswered runs – three in the final three innings – to rally to beat UNM, 5-4. Johnathon Tripp was solid on the mound, going six innings and giving up two runs on six hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Luis Gonzalez, Carl Stajduhar, Andre Vigil and Andre Gregory had two hits apiece for the Lobos.
UNM got another strong start on the mound Sunday from Gonzalez, but the Lobos couldn’t figure out Fullerton starter John Gavin and lost 1-0. Gonzalez went seven innings and gave up a run on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks. He also had both of the Lobo hits in the game.
Earlier in the week, UNM fell to the Cowboys 3-0 on Tuesday as OSU held the Lobos to one hit (a Carl Stajduhar single). In the loss, James Harrington was solid on the mound for the Lobos in his first start of the season. The junior went six shutout innings and gave up just two hits in getting the no decision.
On Wednesday, UNM gave up seven two-out runs in the first two innings and lost 13-0 with Danny Collier, Jared Mang and Hayden Schilling each collecting a hit for the Lobos.
SCOUTING GRAND CANYON … The Lopes have dropped four straight heading into Tuesday’s contest with the Lobos.
As a team, GCU is hitting .271 and have been led by Austin Bull (.343, team-high 13 runs) and Ian Evans (.338, one homer, team highs with five doubles and 13 RBI). Cuba Bess, who has started nine games for the Lopes, is hitting .341 as those three are the only players hitting above .276 on the team.
GCU owns a team ERA of 5.25 this season and will be throwing a pair of first-time starters this season in Jack Schneider (Tuesday) and Bobby Milacki (Wednesday). Schneider has appeared in only one game this season for 1.1 innings and has a 6.75 ERA while Milacki has appeared in six games and has a 10.50 ERA in six innings of work.
UNM BASEBALL NOTES
- LOBO PITCHING STRONG DURING TOUGH WEEK … Though the Lobos dropped all five games last week, UNM’s pitching outside of one game was on point. Taking out UNM’s 13-0 loss on Tuesday at Oklahoma State, the Lobo pitching staff had an ERA of 2.25 in the other four losses combined with 22 strikeouts and 25 hits allowed in 32 innings of work. In those four games, opponents hit .223 against UNM.
- HITS IN BUNCHES FOR GONZO … The stellar start to the 2017 season for Luis Gonzalez has been well documented, but how he’s doing it is also impressive. The Lobo outfielder/pitcher not only has a hit in 13 of the Lobos’ 19 games for a lofty .447 average (ninth in the NCAA) – he has multiple hits in 12 of those contests. This includes two four-hit games, five three-hit games and five two-hit games. This includes three straight two-hit games against No. 5 Cal State Fullerton last weekend.
- JACK ATTACK – A HIT STREAK TO REMEMBER … UNM’s Jack Zoellner might have felt a little left out when he was sitting at 0-for-5 late in the game Saturday as the Lobos racked up 24 runs and 28 hits at Air Force. The senior hit a single in his second-to-last at-bat (he walked in his final plate appearance of the day) in that contest to keep from getting the collar – but little did anyone know it would start an impressive hit streak. Zoellner went 5-for-5 Sunday at Air Force and got a hit in his first three at-bats against New Mexico State on Tuesday for nine consecutive at-bats with a base hit before being retired in his final at-bat Tuesday night. Zoellner also walked three times during that span, meaning he reached base an eye-popping 12 straight plate appearances.
- BACK-TO-BACK-TO-BACK JACK … Jack Zoellner’s incredible start to 2017 saw him do something that a Lobo hasn’t done since 2013. The senior first baseman hit home runs in three consecutive games (March 5 versus Air Force, March 7 versus New Mexico State and March 10 versus San Jose State), the first time a UNM player has done that since DJ Peterson in 2013.
- SWEEP HERE, SWEEP THERE … In sweeping Air Force and San Jose State to start Mountain West play, the Lobos are off to their first 6-0 start in conference play since the MW was created during the 1999-2000 season. It’s also the first time the Lobos have swept back-to-back Mountain West series since 2014.
- RUNS & HITS GALORE … UNM’s big weekend at Air Force included a 24-16 win over that saw rarified numbers produced – even for the Lobos. The 24 runs were the most for the Lobos since defeating Coppin State 29-3 on April 18, 2010, and their 28 hits was the most since racking up 29 in that same game. The Lobos were still seven runs off their program record of 31 set against Air Force on April 17, 2004, and four hits off their program record of 32 set against Fresno State on April 1, 1999.
- NOT ONE, NOT TWO, NOT THREE, NOT FOUR, BUT … UNM junior Danny Collier did something a Lobo hasn’t done in nearly seven years as he scored five runs during Saturday’s 24-16 victory over Air Force. He’s the first Lobo to score five runs in a game since Justin Howard scored six against Coppin State on April 18, 2010.
- INNING TO REMEMBER … Freshman Beau Capanna had an inning to remember against Binghamton in his collegiate debut Feb. 19. In his first plate appearance as a Lobo in the third inning, Capanna singled, stole second base and eventually scored. As the Lobos kept putting together hits for what would be a seven-run inning, Capanna came up again and hit an RBI single – and stole another base. When the damage was done in the third inning, Capanna went 2-for-2 with two stolen bases, a run and an RBI. Not a bad debut to say the least.
- DEATH, TAXES & STAJ … To say Carl Stajduhar has been a staple in the Lobo lineup for his first two years in Albuquerque might be an understament. The junior has started 139 of the Lobos’ 140 games during his career, including the last 127 – which is tied for fifth on the Lobos’ all-time list. The lone game he didn’t start in his career? A March 8, 2015, game against San Diego State in Albuquerque – a contest he later entered as a pinch hitter.
CONSECUTIVE STARTS
181 Mitch Garver, 2010-13
144 Daniel Stovall, 2004-07
139 Antonio Fernandez, 1992-94
135 Aaron Sisk, 1998-2000
127 Carl Stajduhar, 2015-present
124 Larry Harrison, 1980-83
118 Sam Haggerty, 2013-15
117 Chase Harris, 2013-14
108 Matt Foote, 2004-07
101 Lon Yamaguchi, 1996-99
- YARD WORK BY STAJDUHAR … Carl Stajduhar’s 2016 season saw him swat 18 home runs, which tied for seventh in single-season Lobo history. The junior also has 32 in his career, tied for ninth on the UNM all-time list.
HOME RUNS (Career)
53 Aaron Sisk, 1998-00
50 Chris Alexander, 2000-03
42 Daniel Stovall, 2004-07
41 DJ Peterson, 2011-13
38 Joe Salas, 2001-04
38 Lon Yamaguchi, 1996-99
36 Chris Carlson, 2005-06
34 Jeff Grady, 2002-05
32 Carl Stajduhar, 2015-present
29 Mark Gulseth, 1992-93
- IT’S OVER AFTER EIGHT … The UNM bullpen has been outstanding at protecting leads during the last several seasons. If UNM is leading after eight innings? Forget it. The Lobos haven’t lost when leading after eight in 133 straight games, a streak that dates back to March 24, 2013.
Lobos when leading after 8 since 3/24/13
2013 25-0
2014 33-0
2015 29-0
2016 36-0
2017 10-0
- SCHNEIDER WINS – A COMMON THEME … Senior left-hander Carson Schneider is moving up the all-time win ranks after going 9-4 last season, tied for the sixth-most wins in single-season Lobo history. The Albuquerque native and Sandia High School grad is now 19-6 in his career, which is a win short of reaching the all-time top 10. His .750 winning percentage is tied for second on the all-time Lobo list as well.
WINS (Career)
27 Rob Hoover, 1976-79
26 Josh Walker, 2012-14
24 Bob McAulay, 1966-68
23 Dean Duane, 1982-85
22 Danny Ray Herrera, 2004-06
22 Jim Kremmel, 1968-71
21 Kurt Hildebrandt, 1991-93, ’95
20 Rod Adair, 1971-74
19 Dean Duane, 1982-85
19 Jim Sharpe, 1979-82
19 Ralph Sallee, 1966-68
(18 Carson Schneider, 2014-present)WINNING PCT. (Career, Min. 15 Dec.)
.773 (17-5) Luis Gonzalez, 1995-96
.750 (18-6) Carson Schneider, 2014-present
.750 (12-4) Jim Coleman, 1991-94
.743 (26-9) Josh Walker, 2012-14
.727 (24-9) Bob McAulay, 1966-68
.722 (13-5) Don Miller, 1972-75
.708 (17-7) Chris Baum, 1992-95
.704 (19-8) Ralph Sallee, 1966-68
.688 (11-5) Gary Jacobs, 1969-70
.650 (13-7) Arnie Marzullo, 1972-73
.647 (22-12) Danny Ray Herrera, 2004-06