UNM GAME NOTES | LISTEN | WATCH
New Mexico (15-9) at New Mexico State (14-11)
Tuesday, March 28 • 6 p.m. (MT)
LHP Austin Isenhart (3-1, 6.00 ERA) vs. RHP Chris Kucko (0-0, 11.12 ERA)
Presley Askew Field – Las Cruces, N.M.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico baseball team will put its four-game winning streak on the line as the Lobos travel to take on New Mexico State 6 p.m. Tuesday at Presley Askew Field.
This marks the second time the Lobos and NMSU have played this season with UNM winning the first meeting 8-2 at Southwest University Park on March 7 in El Paso, Texas. The Lobos had eight pitchers combine to hold the Aggies to two runs while Jack Zoellner paced UNM at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two RBI and two runs. Overall the Lobos are 159-84 against NMSU, including 61-47 in Las Cruces. UNM has won eight of its last 10 against the Aggies.
The Aggies head into Tuesday’s matchup having dropped three of their last four, a 6-3 loss at top-15 Arizona last Tuesday while dropping two of three at UC Santa Barbara over the weekend as NMSU wrapped up a 12-game stretch away from Askew Field (went 5-7). At home this season the Aggies are 9-3 at home, including winning nine of their last 10.
Listen to the game 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 … TThe Lobos are coming off their third Mountain West sweep of the season in taking three from UNLV this past weekend in Las Vegas to move to 9-0 in MW play – the best start for any team in Mountain West history.
UNM opened the series with a bang as they scored the third-most runs in program history with a 29-8 victory over the Rebels on Friday. Seven Lobos finished with multiple hits, led by Carl Stajduhar who went 5-for-6 with a home run, five RBI and five runs. Jared Mang finished 3-for-6 with a home run, triple and a career-high six RBI while Daniel Herrera went 3-for-5 with his first home run as a Lobo to go along with four RBI and three runs. Tyler Stevens picked up the win, going six innings and giving up four runs (three earned) on seven hits with four strikeouts and no walks.
It was a different type of game Saturday as a strong start from Johnathon Tripp along with solid bullpen work from Justin Slaten and Christian Tripp helped the Lobos defeat the Rebels, 4-2. Tripp went seven innings and surrendered two runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and two walks while Slaten and Tripp each tossed a scoreless inning to wrap up the game. Andre Gregory paced the UNM offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBI while Jack Zoellner went 2-for-4 with two runs.
The Lobos completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory Sunday, ignited by a three-run homer in the first inning by Zoellner as he finished 2-for-4. Luis Gonzalez scattered 12 hits while giving up three runs over six innings of work while James Harrington, Slaten and Tripp each worked a scoreless inning to secure the victory. Along with Zoellner, Andre Vigil went 2-for-4 with a double and two runs as UNM extended their win streak to four games.
The Lobos broke their six-game losing streak in grand fashion prior to the UNLV series on Wednesday with a 22-3 victory over Grand Canyon University at Santa Ana Star Field.
The Lobos had seven players with multiple hits, led by Stajduhar’s 5-for-6 performance that included a pair of doubles, four runs and two RBI. Zoellner had four hits and three RBI while Herrera, Danny Collier and Mang had three hits apiece with Collier swatting his third homer of the season. Austin Isenhart picked up the win (moving to 3-1 on the season), going five innings and giving up two runs on four hits with two strikeouts and three walks.
The win came a day after the Lobos totaled just four hits in a 6-1 loss to GCU – UNM’s first home loss this season. The Lobos’ lone run came on a home run by Andrew Pratt (who also homered Wednesday) that landed on top of the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center beyond the left-center field wall at Santa Ana Star Field.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE … The Aggies enter Tuesday’s contest as the No. 12 hitting team in the country at .322.
Brent Sakurai leads the Lobos with a .396 average to go along with two homers and 15 RBI. Joey Ortiz is hitting .369 for the Aggies while Austin Botello is hitting .347 with three home runs, eight doubles and 29 RBI.
In the previous game against the Lobos, Ortiz and Mason Fishback had three hits apiece while Botello drove in both of the NMSU runs.
On the mound the Aggies own a 5.08 team ERA – though each pitcher that has thrown more than nine innings this season owns an ERA at 4.61 or below.
UNM BASEBALL NOTES
- A MOUNTAIN WEST FIRST … With its win Friday, the Lobos became the first team in Mountain West history to start conference play 7-0 (the Lobos are now 9-0). The previous best start was 6-0 by UNLV in 2004. The best winning percentage in a season in Mountain West play is .870 (20-3)by TCU twice (2007 and 2011).
- TWO GAMES, 51 RUNS … The Lobos broke out of their slump in a big way Wednesday by beating Grand Canyon 22-3 and followed it up by racking up the third-most runs in Lobo history with a 29-8 win over UNLV on Friday. The two-game total of 51 runs is the second-most runs in back-to-back games in Lobo history. UNM scored 55 runs in a two-game span in 1999 (beat New Mexico State 28-18 on March 30 and Fresno State 27-26 on April 1).
LOBO PITCHING STRONG OVER LAST EIGHT GAMES … The UNM pitching staff has continued to improve as the season has gone on – particularly over their last eight. The Lobo staff has a 3.52 ERA over that stretch, including a three-game set against No. 5 Cal State Fullerton. UNM has allowed 78 hits in 69 innings of work over the previous eight games with its opponents hitting .285 and owns a better than a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (40 SO, 19 BB).
- ROOF-BOUND BLAST FOR PRATT … Sophomore Andrew Pratt has displayed his raw power at the plate in the past, but did something few (if any) have ever done in game play at Santa Ana Star Field – particularly with no wind. In Tuesday night’s contest against Grand Canyon, Pratt crushed a ball for a home run that cleared the left-center field wall at the 413-foot sign, crossed the street behind the fence and landed on the Rudy Davalos Basketball Center roof – a building that is at least 30 feet tall.
- 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.
- 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 understatement. The junior has started 144 of the Lobos’ 145 games during his career, including the last 132 – 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
132 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 33 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
33 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 137 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 14-0
- 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