MALIBU, Calif. — The University of New Mexico suffered a fourth straight loss, and this one was easily the cruelest of the bunch. Up 7-0 with two outs in the sixth inning, the Lobos allowed 11 runs in over the final 2.1 innings, including a game-winning grand slam with two outs in the eighth to fall at Pepperdine 11-7.
UNM was cruising until two out in the sixth inning when it all started to unravel, and it came out of nowhere. To that point, Nick Krauth was brilliant. The freshman, making his first collegiate start, faced one over the minimum, allowing just a two-out single in the second inning.
With two down he allowed a Chase Lambert single, and then he walked his only batter before Jordan Qsar homered to make it 7-3. Krauth left after hitting the next batter, and Nathaniel Garley got UNM out of the inning without further damage. Krauth left after 5.2 innings, allowing three hits and three runs, and when he left he was still seemingly in good shape as the offense staked him to a 7-0 lead.
Daniel Zakosek, who raised his batting average to .444, had a two-run single in the first and an RBI single in the third to pace the Lobo offense. The two-run single got UNM off to a 2-0 lead, and the Lobos added a third run in the third on a fielder’s choice.
Danny Collier, who went 3-for-4 before exiting after the 7th, singled in a pair to make it 5-0. Zakosek’s single in the fifth made it 6-0, and he scored the seventh run on a Dan Herrera single.
Up 7-3, the Lobos gave up a single run in the seventh on a Lambert triple, but Drew Gillespie came in for Garley and got UNM out of the seventh.
It was the eighth that turned into a horror show. A leadoff home run off Gillespie by Matthew Kanfer made it 7-5, and after a hit batter, UNM brought in Friday night starter Robert Gasser. Gasser got a pop-up for the first out of the inning, but a walk put runners on first and second, and UNM switched to Saturday starter Justin Slaten, who walked his first man to load the bases.
A two-run double down the line in left tied the score, but with the go ahead run on third, he struck out Lambert to get UNM within a run of escaping. However, he walked Quincy McAfee to load the bases, and Qsar came up again and homered for the second time in three innings, this a grand slam for an 11-7 lead.
At that point Malachi Emond entered and allowed a double before getting a strikeout to end the inning. Qsar, who homered twice, pitched the ninth and allowed just a single in closing out the win for Pepperdine.
UNM once again was without its top two hitters in the lineup in Hayden Schilling and Jared Mang, and Collier was removed after the seventh on a 3-for-4 day. Zakosek also went 3-for-4 with a career-best three RBI. Slaten was charged with the loss and dropped to 1-3. Overall UNM is now 6-10-1 and they Lobos will continue their nine-game road swing with a split doubleheader on Friday, playing Columbia at 2 p.m. and then Houston at 6:30 p.m., with Houston hosting both games. UNM and Columbia meet on Saturday to wrap the weekend.
Lobos Can’t Hold Lead, Lose 11-7 to Pepperdine in Malibu
