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| NEW MEXICO LOBOS 6-3 (0-0 MW) |
SAN JOSE STATE SPARTANS 6-2 (0-0 MW) |
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Friday, March 1 – 6 p.m. | Saturday, March 2 – 2 p.m. | Sunday, March 3 – Noon |
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LEADING OFF
The University of New Mexico baseball team is back in action at home this coming weekend as they are set to open up Mountain West play against San Jose State. The three-game series is scheduled to begin on Friday, March 1 and conclude on Sunday, March 3. Both New Mexico and San Jose State were picked at the bottom of the league’s preseason predicted order of finish, but both are off to great starts to their 2019 campaigns.
The Lobos enter the weekend series with a 6-3 overall record and have won four-straight games after securing a come-from-behind win at Arizona on Wednesday. The Spartans, on the other hand, are coming into the series 6-2 overall and are riding a modest two-game winning streak after claiming the final game of their series against UC Riverside and their mid-week contest with Saint Mary’s,
This will be the 30th meeting all-time between the Lobos and the Spartans with the Lobos holding a 19-9-1 series record. In games played in Albuquerque, the site of this weekend series, the Lobos are 14-1 all-time.
Scouting San Jose State
San Jose State is off to a 6-2 start to their season and are coming off of a 7-3 win in mid-week action against Saint Mary’s this past Tuesday. The Spartans have also claimed series wins over UC Riverside this past weekend and Santa Clara to open the 2019 season.
Prior to the start of the season, the Spartans were picked seventh out of seven teams in the Mountain West preseason predicted order of finish. Last season, the Spartans finished third in the league at 16-14 and were 27-30 overall. It was the most wins in conference play since 2008 and the most wins overall since 2011. One of the reasons for the turnaround season was head coach Brad Sanfilippo. Last year, Sanfilippo led the Spartans under an interim tag, but the success led to Sanfilippo getting the job outright.
Through the two weeks of the season, the Spartans are hitting .314 (87-for-277) as a team with 57 runs scored, 12 doubles, three triples and no home runs. Seven of their lineup regulars are hitting over .300 with Kellen Strahm leading the team at .485 (16-for-33). He also leads the team in runs scored with 11. James Shimashita is the team-leader in RBIs with 11.
On the mound, San Jose State has a staff ERA of 4.25. In 72.0 innings pitched, the arms for the Spartans have collectively struck out 74 batters. The weekend starting rotations for the Spartans has featured Ben Polack, Andrew Mitchell and Tevin Codola. All three have started two games and are collectively 1-1 with 34 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
In their most-recent game, the UNM Lobo baseball team entered the top of the ninth inning trailing by two and were down to their final strike on several occasions. Despite that, the Lobos caught a couple of breaks and engineered a come-from-behind victory against Arizona on the road. It was the first win for the Lobos against the Wildcats since 2006 and snapped what was a 14-game
losing streak to Arizona.
The late-inning heroics were handled by Jared Mang. Batting with the bases loaded, two outs and the Lobos trailing by a run 4-3, Mang skyied a fly ball into deep foul territory down the left field line. On the play, the Wildcats’ left fielder ranged over to the fence line, reached over and had the ball in his glove, but was unable to secure the catch, giving Mang new life at the plate. On the next pitch, Mang smacked a two-RBI single into centerfield to give the Lobos a 5-4 lead. Malachi Emond came on in the bottom half and nailed down the victory.
Home-Opener Weather or Not
Winter weather made an unwelcome appearance this past week and weekend causing the schedule of the Lobos’ home-opening series vs. Niagara to shift several times. Eventually, the scheduled formate of a four-game series over three days was condensed down to a four-game slate over two days as the teams played doubleheaders both on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.
After dropping the first game 5-3, the Lobos bounced back to win the next three games and take the series over the Purple Eagles. In those four games, the Lobos scored 28 runs and hit .278 as a team. Pitching was rather dominant on the weekend as the Lobo arms had a 3.18 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 34.0 innings pitched.
Opening Weekend In Surprise
For the second-straight season, the UNM Baseball team opened their season out in Surprise, Ariz. with four games as part of the annual College Baseball Classic. This year’s classic featured three quality opponents for the Lobos with Oregon State and Minnesota being preseason nationally-ranked and Gonzaga tabbed as the preseason favorite in their league. All three teams were coming off of
NCAA Regional Tournament appearances a year ago with Oregon State claiming the National Championship.
In the opening weekend, the Lobos went 2-2 with wins over No. 24 Minnesota and Gonzaga. The two losses came against No. 7/8 Oregon State as the Lobos and Beavers bookended the weekend. The Lobos had a lead against the Beavers until the bottom of ninth when Oregon State rallied for three runs to walk-off with a win. The second meeting saw the Beavers shutout the Lobos.
Right Mangs for the Job
Both Jared and Connor Mang are off to great starts offensively for the Lobos as the brothers from Los Alamos are both hitting over .370 through the first two weekends of the season. In his senior season, Jared is pacing the team in batting average (.419) slugging percentage (.742), on-base percentage (.548), runs scored (11), doubles (5) and RBIs (16). Connor is right there in slugging (.629),
batting (.371), doubles (4) and RBIs (9).
Starting off Right
Starting pitching for the Lobos has been a welcomed surprise through the first two weekends of the 2019 season. A year ago, the Lobos ended the season with a 6.92 ERA and a 10-27 record for their starting pitchers. This year, the starting rotation is 4-1 with a 2.63 ERA. Standing out among those starters early on are Justin Slaten and Nathaniel Garley. Slaten has yet to record a decision, but has a 0.75 ERA and 15 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched. His most-recent start saw the junior right-hander strikeout a career-best 10 batters against Niagara. Garley is off to a 2-0 start and has a 0.64 ERA. He has also registered 15 strikeouts in 14.0 innings pitched.