Lobos and Cougars meet on diamond for four-game series
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| NEW MEXICO LOBOS 5-2 |
BYU COUGARS 5-3 |
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Thursday, February 27 | 3 p.m. (MT) | Friday, February 28 | Noon (MT) | DH | Saturday, February 29 | Noon (MT) |
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Leading Off
A mere two weeks after playing a doubleheader during Opening Weekend in Surprise, Arizona, the University of New Mexico and BYU baseball teams are set to square off in a four-game series in Albuquerque starting on Thursday.
The Lobos, who won both of the previous games this year against BYU, enter their weekend series with the Cougars at 5-2 overall. The Lobos are also coming off of a three-game sweep at home of Northern Colorado last weekend. The weekend sweep was the first for the Lobos since 2018. After coming away with a pair of one-run wins to start the series, the Lobos dominated the finale and shutout Northern Colorado 9-0. The shutout was the second of the season for the Lobos, which is also the most shutouts in a season since 2016.
Three of the four games for the Lobos have a projected starting pitcher with the finale tabbed as TBD. Aaron Makil is slated to get the ball game one on Thursday. He was the starting pitcher in the first game against BYU and the junior transfer pitched a gem as he tossed 6.0 innings of shutout baseball helping the Lobos win 2-0.
Justin Armbruester is scheduled to pitch the first game of Friday’s doubleheader. Armbruester is off to a great start to his Lobo career as the junior leads the team with a 0.75 ERA and has 14 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched.
In the nightcap on Friday, the Lobos are scheduled to start Tristin Lively. Lively has also started a game this year against BYU. Coming away with a no-decision in what was a 5-4 win for the Lobos, Lively pitched 4.2 innings and registered a then career-high six strikeouts.
Offensively, the Lobos started to gain traction against Northern Colorado and will enter the weekend with a .256 team batting average. The Lobos currently have four players over .300 and are led by Shane Podsednik at .400 (6-of-15). Harry Fullerton leads the team in home runs with two and is tied for the lead in RBIs with six.Scouting BYU
BYU enters play this weekend 5-3 overall. This past weekend, the Cougars played a four-game series on the road at Cal Poly. BYU took three of four in the series. The weekend prior, BYU took part alongside the Lobos in the Sanderson Ford Collegiate Baseball Classic in Surprise, Ariz. The Cougars would go 2-2 that weekend with both losses coming against the Lobos.
Entering this weekend series, the Cougars are hitting .183 as a team (47-for-257) and are led by Andrew Pintar and Bryan Call at .286. Hayden Leatham leads the team in home runs with two. Austin Deming is the leading RBI man with six.
On the mound, Cougars have a team ERA of 2.88 entering this weekend’s action. BYU is projected to have a four-man rotation of Justin Sterner, Cy Nielsen, Jarod Lessar, and Easton Walker. None of the projected starters have recorded a victory this season, but all four have made two starts. Sterner has the lowest ERA among the four at 0.75
and has 14 strikeouts in 12.0 innings pitched. Lessar has a 1.93 ERA and 10 strikeouts in 9.1 innings pitched. In 8.2 innings, Nielson has a 13 strikeouts and a 4.15 ERA.
In the dugout, BYU is led by Mike Littlewood, who is now in his eighth season at the helm of his alma mater. In his time at BYU, Littlewood has amassed a 220-163 record and has guided the Cougars to three West Coast Conference Championships since 2016.