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Bullpen pitches 5.2 scoreless innings in 6-4 win over Gonzaga

SURPRISE, Ariz. – The University of New Mexico baseball team picked up their second victory of opening weekend with a 6-4 win over Gonzaga on Sunday night at Surprise Stadium in Surprise, Ariz. The triumph over the Zags was aided by 5.2 innings of shutout baseball pitched by the UNM bullpen.
 
A total of three arms emerged from the bullpen for the Lobos (2-1) on Sunday with Kenneth Waller, Chad Smith and Malachi Emond all pitching at least one full inning. Waller (1-0) was first out of the ‘pen and came on with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth. Earlier in the inning, the Bulldogs (0-3) had broken a 2-all tie. Both of UNM’s runs scored in the bottom of the first on a two-run home run by Derek Marshall Jr.
 
Waller would get the next two outs to get out of the inning, but another run was able to score in the process to make it a 4-2 game.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Lobos tied the game at 4-all on two-out, two-RBI triple to right field off the bat of Connor Mang. Waller then came back out for the fifth and worked around a one-out single to keep the game tied.
 
That tie was then broken by the Lobos in the bottom of the fifth thanks to a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jared Mang.
 
Waller would start the sixth, but a leadoff single brought senior right-hander Chad Smith into the game. Smith struck out the first man he faced, but then saw the bases get loaded on a fielding error and a single up the middle. With the game potentially hanging in the balance, Smith induced a ground ball back to himself on the mound where he then initiated a 1-2-3 double play to end the inning.
 
Smith would go on to pitch scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth as well before being relieved by Emond in the ninth following a leadoff walk.
 
Back in the bottom of the seventh, the Lobos took a two-run lead, 6-4, on a single through the left side by Hayden Schilling.
 
The ninth inning did not feature many dramatic moments as Emond registered a strike out-throw out to get the first two outs and then a grounder to second to end the game and earn his first save of the season.  
 
The Lobos will now prepare to end their time in Arizona with a rematch against No. 8 Oregon State on Monday afternoon. First-pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
 
Notes
As a team, the Lobos totaled 11 hits, giving them double-digit hits in consecutive games