LIVE STATS | WATCH | SERIES GAME NOTES
New Mexico (18-11, 11-1) at San Jose State (11-17, 5-7)
Friday, April 7 • 2 p.m. (MT)
RHP Tyler Stevens (4-2, 3.66 ERA) vs. RHP Matt Brown (2-4, 6.62 ERA)
Saturday, April 8 • 5 p.m. (MT)
RHP Johnathon Tripp (2-0, 4.50 ERA) vs. RHP Jake Swiech (1-3, 5.33 ERA)
Sunday, April 9 • 2 p.m. (MT)
LHP Luis Gonzalez (3-2, 3.86 ERA) vs. RHP Joseph Balfour (0-0, 3.94 ERA)
Municipal Stadium – San Jose, Calif.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico baseball team looks to keep its hold on top of the Mountain West when it travels to take on San Jose State for a three-game series starting 2 p.m. (MT) Friday in San Jose, California.
The Lobos swept San Jose State in a three-game series at home from March 10-12 by a combined score of 35-12 (11-1, 16-8 and 8-3 victories) to move UNM’s record against San Jose State in Albuquerque to 14-1 all-time. The Lobos hit .440 and had a .710 slugging percentage in the series. The Lobos had to rally in game two as they trailed 8-2 heading into the bottom of the fourth before scoring 14 unanswered runs to win 16-8. Since SJSU joined the Mountain West, UNM is 16-2 against the Spartans.
The Spartans are coming off a 13-8 midweek victory over Santa Clara on Tuesday after being swept by San Diego State on the road over the weekend (5-4, 7-3 and 5-1). The Spartans have lost eight of their last 10, however, are still battling for one of the four spots for the Mountain West tournament. SJSU is 5-7 in MW play, tied for fourth with UNLV and are a game behind Fresno State for the third spot.
LAST TIME OUT FOR UNM … The Lobos are coming off a game it had opportunities in, but eventually lost 7-2 to No. 19 San Diego on Wednesday in San Diego, Calif.
UNM (18-11 overall) stranded 14 runners, including leaving the bases loaded twice and leaving two runners on three times, as the Lobos couldn’t find the timely hit it needed – particularly when the game was still in the balance before a three-run eighth inning by the Toreros (20-7) gave them a five-run cushion going into the ninth.
The Lobos outhit the Toreros 11-9 in the contest with Mang, last week’s Mountain West Player of the Week, finishing 3-for-4 with a triple and an RBI while Carl Stajduhar was 3-for-5 with a double, run and RBI and Robby Campillo finished 3-for-4. The Lobos struck out 13 times, however, the second most this season for UNM.
The Lobos struggled with control on the mound and walked a season-high nine batters Wednesday night after not walking more than six in the previous 28 games this season. James Harrington picked up the loss, going 2.2 innings and giving up three runs on three hits with no strikeouts and four walks.
Last weekend the Lobos remained in first place in the Mountain West conference after taking two of three from Fresno State at home over the weekend to move to 11-1 in the conference.
UNM started the series out with a bang Friday as the Lobos scored 24 unanswered runs to turn a 3-0 first inning deficit into a 24-3 lead before the Bulldogs scored one in the ninth.
The Lobos had three players with four hits apiece with Jared Mang going 4-for-6 with four RBI and four runs, Luis Gonzalez went 4-for-5 with three RBI, three runs and three doubles and Andrew Pratt went 4-for-5 with two doubles, five RBI and two runs.
Tyler Stevens picked up the win, going seven innings and giving up three unearned runs with eight strikeouts and two walks.
UNM suffered its first loss in conference play Saturday when they dropped a 2-1 contest in 11 innings. UNM left 16 runners on base, including 14 in the first seven innings, as the Lobos missed out on several chances to keep the game from even reaching extra innings. It also spoiled a stellar start from Johnathon Tripp, who didn’t allow a hit until the fifth inning and went seven innings and gave up one run on two hits with five strikeouts.
The Lobos bounced back Sunday against Fresno State ace and preseason All-American Ricky Tyler Thomas to win the series with a 6-2 victory – despite only tallying three hits. UNM took advantage of 12 walks to come away with the win as Fresno State pitching walked in three runs and a wild pitch scored another.
Gonzalez got the win for the Lobos, going seven innings and giving up two runs on six hits with five strikeouts. At the plate, Andre Vigil picked up two of UNM’s three hits while Jared Mang went 1-for-3 with a double, two RBI and two runs.
SCOUTING SAN JOSE STATE … The Spartans head into this weekend’s series hitting .266 as a team with a trio of players above the .300 mark on the seasno.
Aaron Pleschner leads the team with a .333 average to go along with a team-high 19 runs while starting all 28 games for SJSU. Kellen Strahm is hitting .312 with 17 runs while Shane Timmons has half of the team’s home runs with three while also leading the Spartans with 18 RBI to go along with a .311 average.
San Jose State will look to use its speed as it leads the Mountain West with 32 stolen bases with Strahm leading the conference with nine.
The SJSU pitching staff sports a 5.58 ERA with this weekend’s starters being Matt Brown (2-4, 6.62), Jake Swiech (1-3, 5.33) and Joseph Balfour (0-0, 3.94).
UNM BASEBALL NOTES
- MANG NAMED MOUNTAIN WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK (March 27-April 2) … The University of New Mexico baseball team collected its fifth Mountain West Player of the Week award – with a fourth player to win it – as Jared Mang on Monday was named this week’s winner by the conference. Mang hit .471 (8-for-17) during a week that saw the first-place Lobos beat in-state foe New Mexico State on the road Tuesday and take two of three at home from Fresno State over the weekend to improve their record to 11-1 in conference play. The UNM clean-up hitter finished the week with eight runs, seven RBI and with an on-base percentage of .524. The sophomore’s top game came in the Lobos’ 24-4 victory over Fresno State on Friday night as he went 4-for-6 with four RBI and four runs. He was also key in the Lobos’ 6-2 win over the Bulldogs on Sunday, going 1-for-3 with two RBI, two runs and a double while also collecting an assist from left field.
- LOBO PITCHING STRONG OVER LAST 13 GAMES … The UNM pitching staff has continued to improve as the season has gone on – particularly over their last 13. The Lobo staff has a 3.21 ERA over that stretch, including a three-game set against No. 5 Cal State Fullerton. UNM has allowed 120 hits in 115 innings of work over the previous 13 games with its opponents hitting .267 and owns a 2-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (76 SO, 38 BB).
- A MOUNTAIN WEST FIRST … With its win March 24, the Lobos became the first team in Mountain West history to start conference play 7-0 (the Lobos started conference play 10-0 before its first loss). 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).
- STEVENS CLOSING IN ON TOP 10 Ks IN LOBO HISTORY … Tyler Stevens has been punching out opposing hitters left and right this season and his total of 171 in his career has him nearing the top-10 mark in Lobo history.
STRIKEOUTS (Career)
356 Jim Kremmel, 1968-71
334 Bob McAulay, 1966-68
299 Ralph, 1966-68
251 James Vermilyea, 2001-04
222 Danny Ray Herrera, 2004-06
214 Kurt Hildebrandt, 1991-93, ’95
202 Rob Hoover, 1976-79
196 Jim Kalk, 1964-66
188 Chris Cooper, 2000-01
175 Rudy Jaramillo, 2009-12
173 Kevin Andersh, 1982-84
171 Tyler Stevens, 2015-17
- 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.
- SCHNEIDER WINS! STEVENS 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 18-6 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.
Closing in quickly for the Lobos on the career wins list is Tyler Stevens as the junior is 17-10 in his career, just two wins from the No. 10 spot and one victory behind Schneider.
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)
(17 Tyler Stevens, 2015-present)WINNING PCT. (Career, Min. 15 Dec.)
.773 (17-5) Luis Gonzalez, 1995-96
.750 (12-4) Jim Coleman, 1991-94
.750 (18-6) Carson Schneider, 2014-present
.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, 1972073
.647 (22-12) Danny Ray Herrera, 2004-06
- 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 149 of the Lobos’ 150 games during his career, including the last 137 – 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
137 Carl Stajduhar, 2015-present
135 Aaron Sisk, 1998-2000
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 140 straight games, a streak that dates back to March 24, 2013.
Lobos when leading after 8 since March 24, 2013
2013 25-0
2014 33-0
2015 29-0
2016 36-0
2017 17-0