Lobos Top Air Force 11-4, Sweep Series
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico’s baseball team made a dominant appearance in game three of its conference season opener versus Air Force (1-5, 0-3 MW). With four players with two or more runs, the Lobos (4-3, 3-0 MW) edged out the Falcons 11-4, sweeping the three-game series.
The Lobos were led by an impressive pitching appearance from right-handed pitcher Tristin Lively who pitched for a total of 6.0 innings. On the mound, the junior threw a total of 98 pitches with 63 strikes, seven strikeouts, and allowed only one run for a 1.50 ERA. Seniors Nathaniel Garley and Cody Dye also made an appearance in the game, but the win was credited to Lively.
“We have a long ways to go but this is a good start,” said head coach Ray Birmingham. “We saw some good pitching today. Lively was off the charts and we saw it yesterday with Armbruester … Kyler Castillo played his tail off and Weissenborn played really well.”
The Lobos opened up with two runs in the first inning. With one out on the board and two on base, senior Jared Martin hit a double to left-center, allowing sophomore Cole Posey to round third base and make it home for the first run of the game. The next at-bat was senior Harry Fullerton, who hit a sacrifice fly out to right field, bringing home senior Kyler Castillo (2-1).
The Lobo offense put three more runs on the board in the second inning starting with junior Willie Cano who was batted in off a single up the middle by freshman Chase Weissenborn (3-1). The freshman then scored his own run two batters later off a double to centerfield from senior Kyler Castillo (4-1). Then, in the same manner, Castillo then scored off a single up the middle from Mack Chambers (5-1).
Castillo earned two more RBIs in the fourth inning, batting in both senior Jarrett Gonzales and Cano (7-1). Again, Castillo earned a run of his own after a single through right field from Martin (8-1). With Martin on first and Chambers on second, the Lobos attempted to trip up the Falcons by stealing second and sending Chambers home, but on the second try, Martin was tagged out ending the inning.
Weissenborn was the first at-bat for the Lobos in the sixth inning and reached first base by singling a hit to the pitcher. There was a misread by the Falcon’s first baseman and the freshman made it to first with no contest. Weissenborn, along with Posey, was then batted in by Martin who drove the ball through the left side for a base hit (10-1).
The Falcons scored two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth, but it was not enough to change the momentum of the game. The Lobos answered back in the bottom of the eighth with a smart offensive play by Chambers who scored a run off a wild pitch after being on third base (11-4).
Castillo finished the game with three runs and three RBIs. Martin had four RBIs with four hits on the game. Cano, Weissenborn, and Posey all posted two runs each, helping the Lobos with the sweep.
The Lobos improve to 4-3 on the season with an undefeated 3-0 conference record. The team will now head to Las Vegas, Nev. to face off with the UNLV Rebels. The three-game series will start with a doubleheader on Saturday at 2 p.m. and game three of the series will take place Sunday at the same time.