ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After picking up a one-run victory in the series opener against Grand Canyon University on Tuesday, the University of New Mexico baseball team was unable to pull of the series sweep as GCU claimed Wednesday afternoon’s game by a score of 9-7.
Senior right-hander Chad Smith received the starting nod for the Lobos (20-24-1) on the mound. After 47 career appearances in a Cherry and Silver uniform, this was the Albuquerque native’s first career start.
In his first start, Smith pitched well as he worked 3.0 innings, tying his longest outing of the season. The Lopes (25-19) would score three runs off Smith with a run coming across each inning, but Smith was able to avoid the crooked number in the run column thanks to the strikeout. Against the Lopes, Smith registered a career-high six strikeouts. His previous best was a four-K effort last year against eventual National Champion, Oregon State.
After Smith collected his sixth strikeout of the game to end the top of the third, the Lobo offense got going. Tyler Kelly and Justin Watari each walked on four pitches to begin the inning. Following a lineout for the first out, Connor Mang drove in Kelly with a single through the left side to bring the Lobos to within a run at 3-2. Two batters later, the Lobos took a 5-3 lead thanks to a monster three-run home run to centerfield off the bat of Derek Marshall Jr.
Neither team scored in the fourth inning, but the Lopes matched the Lobos’ four-run third inning with a four-run inning in the top of the fifth to swing the score back in their favor, 7-5. A solo home run in the top of the sixth made it an 8-5 game.
An inning later, the Lobos were able to that run back and make it a two-run game once more on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Jared Mang.
In the eighth, the Lopes picked up another run as with runners on the corners, the runner at first stayed in a rundown long enough to allow the runner from third to score. That tally made it a three-run game again, this time at 9-6.
The Lobos would get that run back in the bottom of the inning on a solo home run out to right-centerfield off the bat of Jeff Deimling. The homer for Deimling was his fifth of the season and tied him for the team-lead in that category. It also brought the game to its final score of 9-7 as neither team scored in the ninth.
Next up for the Lobos is a pivotal weekend series at home against Air Force. The three-game set is scheduled to begin on Friday night out at Santa Ana Star Field. First-pitch on Friday night is slated for 6 p.m.
Lobos drop finale to Grand Canyon
