Lobos sweep DH behind dominant pitching; sweep series as well
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Forced to play a doubleheader on Sunday due to a rain postponement on Saturday, the University of New Mexico baseball team was completely dominant across all 18 innings played at Santa Ana Star Field. The Lobos, behind brilliant pitching performances all around, took both games of the twin-bill and secured an overall series sweep against Northern Colorado.
Between the two games, the Lobos (5-2) collectively as a staff allowed two runs, nine hits, walked three and struck out 24 batters.
In the opener, Justin Armbruester was nearly un-hittable as he went on to pitch 6.0 scoreless innings with just two hits allowed, no walks and nine strikeouts. The junior newcomer would not factor into the decision of what turned out to be a 3-2 win for the Lobos, however, as the Bears (2-5) struck for two runs against the Lobo bullpen in the top of the eighth. Miguel Reyes Jr. came on after the two runs scored by the Bears and retired the next two batters to keep the game tied at two-all.
Reyes Jr. then found himself in line for his first win as a Lobo as a single through the left side off the bat of Jarrett Gonzales plated Harry Fullerton and gave the Lobos a 3-2 lead. With the lead, Reyes Jr. came back for the ninth and worked around a one-out double to secure the victory.
While the pitching was overall great in the first game, it was even better in the nightcap as the combination of Tristin Lively, Matt Haley and Terrell Hudson combined to author the Lobos’ second shutout of the season. The last time that the Lobos had two pitching shutouts in a season was 2016. That year, the Lobos had three shutouts and advanced to a NCAA Regional.
Lively got the start in game two and nearly matched Armbruester’s outing in the opener. Lively would also pitch 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed just two hits, but he did issue one walk and struck out eight. Moving to 1-0 on the season, Lively had his best performance as a Lobo notching career-highs in innings pitched and strikeouts.
Haley, a true freshman from Crowley, Texas made his collegiate debut coming on in relief of Lively to start the seventh inning. Haley went on to pitch the seventh and eighth innings and was almost flawless in his debut as he allowed just one hit and struck out four.
The Lobo offense added three runs of insurance in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 9-0 game. Witt that comfortable lead, Haley might have been able to go back out and possibly pick up the three-inning save, but it was Hudson who got the ball for the ninth. In that inning, Hudson made quick work of the Bears as he retired the side in order and notched a pair of strikeouts as well.
While the pitching grabbed the headlines for the Lobos on Sunday, the offense also held their own as well with 12 runs on 20 hits for the doubleheader. All but two of the hits were singles, but Kyler Castillo, who was 5-for-9 on the day, had a double and a RBI and Fullerton, who was 3-for-5 with three walks and three RBIs hit his second home run of the season.
The Lobos will now prepare for a four-game series against former Mountain West rival BYU starting on Thursday, February 27 at 3 p.m. The Lobos and Cougars have already played each other twice this season with the Lobos claiming both games against BYU last weekend in Surprise, Ariz.