ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico baseball team had a tough time figuring out Missouri State left-hander Doug Still and couldn’t complete the sweep of the Bears as it lost Saturday’s series finale 8-0 at Santa Ana Star Field.
The Lobos (20-14-1), who beat MSU 17-8 and 9-5 in the first two games of the series, managed five hits off of Still as UNM was shutout at home for the first time since May 9, 2011, when then No. 9 TCU blanked the Lobos 9-0 – ending a stretch of 164 home games without being shutout.
“He really located it,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said of Still. “He found the holes in our swing and he just stayed right there. … But I’m glad we still took the series from a good team. We got out of it what we wanted. You take two of three from Missouri State, you should be happy. But after we took the first two – we were greedy. We wanted all three.”
The Lobos had their chances early against the Bears (22-13) and Still as UNM had the lead-off batter reach in each of the first three innings, including a runner on third with one out in the first and runners on the corners with one out in the third, but couldn’t score. UNM finished 2-for-11 with runners on base and 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Missouri State took advantage of its opportunities as five of the Bears’ first six runs of the game came with two outs. Also, the Bears scored in seven of the nine innings with their only multi-run inning coming in the third to take a 4-0 lead after scoring a run each in the first and second. It was the sixth game in a row for the Lobos that their opponent scored first.
Johnathon Tripp suffered his first loss of the season for the Lobos, going six innings and giving up five runs on six hits with two strikeouts and five walks – dropping his record to 2-1.
Danny Collier and Luis Gonzalez combined for four of the Lobos’ five hits on the day – each going 2-for-4 – while Daniel Herrera had the Lobos’ other hit with a double to lead off the third inning.
Still went the distance for the Bears, giving up five hits in the shutout while striking out one and walking one. Jeremy Eierman led MSU at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a home run, double and three RBI.
The Lobos hit the road again as they play Kansas State in a doubleheader starting at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday before returning to Mountain West play at home 6:30 p.m. Friday when they begin a three-game set against UNLV.
Lobos drop series finale against Missouri State
