Lobos power past Bulldogs, 8-2
FRESNO, Calif. – The University of New Mexico baseball team evened their weekend series with league-leading Fresno State with an emphatic 8-2 win on Saturday night.
In picking up the victory, the Lobos (19-23, 8-12 MW) displayed power both at the plate and on the mound. At the plate, the Lobos launched five home runs to account for all eight runs that they scored on Saturday night. The five home runs hit by the Lobos are the most in a game since they hit six against Ari Force back in 2017.
Senior outfielder Jared Mang led the way in that department with two home runs. The first of his homers came in the first inning and staked the Lobos to a 1-0 lead. His second was a two-run shot that came in the fifth inning and doubled the Lobos lead to 4-0. The multi-homer game was the second in the career of Mang.
Three other Lobos connected for long balls against the Bulldogs (26-13, 12-7 MW). Freshman Ediberto Reyes launched his first career home run out right field to lead off the fifth inning. Tyler Kelly and Connor Mang were the other two Lobos with homers on Saturday as both also had two-run shots, respectively. Kelly’s blast came in the seventh while C. Mang’s came in the ninth.
Benefitting from all the offensive fire power was UNM starter, Justin Slaten. The ace of the staff, Slaten lived up to the billing once more as he quieted the Bulldogs’ bats all night. Despite a few walks early in the game, Slaten did not allow a hit until the fourth inning and a run until the sixth inning.
Helping keep the Bulldogs at bay was the strikeout. In 7.0 innings pitched, Slaten racked up 11 Ks to set a new career-high. It is the fourth time this season that Slaten has registered double-digit Ks with the three other instances yielding 10 Ks.
Backing up Slaten on the mound and preserving the win was Malachi Emond. Emond would work the final two innings of the game and picked up two strikeouts of his own to bring the Lobos team total to 13. The Lobos now have 16 games this season in which their pitching staff has recorded double-digit strikeouts.
The third and final game of the series between the Bulldogs and Lobos will be played on Sunday, April 28 with a first-pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. (MT).