Lobos Unable to Hold Off Oregon State in Final Game of Sanderson Ford Classic
SURPRISE, Ariz. — The University of New Mexico’s baseball team (1-3) showed a strong defensive game versus Oregon State (3-1), but it was not enough to hold the Beavers, dropping 2-5 in the last game of the Sanderson Ford Baseball Classic.
The Lobos trailed 0-1 going into the fourth inning and managed to come back and take the lead. The first runner to reach home plate was senior Jared Martin, who first tripled to right field. Junior Willie Cano was the next at-bat, singling to the right field on his first hit, sending Martin home and putting the Lobos on the board. Two players were out before sophomore Cole Posey was hit-by-a-pitch, filling the bases. Freshman Chase Weissenborn then singled down the right-field line in his first career hit, sending Cano home, earning a 2-1 lead for the Lobos.
T4| @canowillie swings at the very next pitch and drives in Martin from third to tie it at 1-1!@FloBaseball
Watch: https://t.co/NMZDmV5Kkx pic.twitter.com/g5ZNWdmihr— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) February 22, 2021
T4| @theweissenborn drives in a run on his first career hit and the Lobos lead 2-1! @FloBaseball
Watch: https://t.co/NMZDmV5Kkx pic.twitter.com/wNYlBV0RL3— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) February 22, 2021
In getting to the fourth inning, the Lobos had an impressive double play. With one out on the board, a grounded ball was picked up by Martin at first base and launched to Mack Chambers who was waiting at second. The ball was then thrown to pitcher Nathaniel Garley at first, turning two to end the third.
B3| Lobos turn two to get out of the inning! Martin➡️Chambers➡️Garley@FloBaseball
Watch: https://t.co/NMZDmV5Kkx pic.twitter.com/H1Nv5rV5SM— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) February 22, 2021
Oregon State tied the game by the bottom of the inning after Kyler McMahan reached home after a double, advancing on a wild pitch and a single to first base from Cole Hamilton.
The Beavers went on to score a run in three more innings, creating a deficit that the Lobos could not recover from.
The Lobo defense played a strong game. As a team, the Lobos had 24 putouts with 14 assists. Leading the team in putouts was catcher Shane Podsednik with seven. The senior also saw four at-bats with two hits.
Junior pitcher Isiah Campa led the team with five strike-outs, seeing a total of 10 batters, allowing only two hits in a total of 2.2 innings pitched. Senior Nathaniel Garley started on the mound for the Lobos, pitching a total of 3.1 innings, facing 18 batters, striking out one, and earning a 1.50 ERA.
Martin had a standout weekend, playing in four games, starting in two, with three runs, two of those being home runs, and three RBIs. Martin tallied a team-high 22 putouts with three assists on the defensive end, earning a .962 fielding percentage.
B7| @canowillie fields the deflection off @Rileye295‘s glove and throws out the runner! A great defensive showing for the Lobos today.@FloBaseball
Watch: https://t.co/NMZDmV5Kkx pic.twitter.com/OD0co6r7tm— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) February 23, 2021
Junior pitcher Tristin Lively posted a team-leading 1.50 ERA in six innings, striking out seven players. Kyler Catillo, a junior from Midlothian, Texas, currently leads the team in runs (3), and sophomore Mack Chambers leads the team in hits (6) and at-bats (17) with a total of two runs on the weekend.
The Lobos will now head to Amarillo to host its first home conference series against Air Force at HODGETOWN Stadium, home of the Amarillo Sod Poodles, in Amarillo, Texas. The three-game series is set to take place February 27-28.