Armbruester and Castillo Named All-MW First Team; Armbruester Named Pitcher of the Year
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — The Mountain West released its annual post-season awards on Thursday, and a pair of standouts on the University of New Mexico baseball team received recognition for their performances during the 2021 baseball season. Outfielder Kyler Castillo and right-handed pitcher Justin Armbruester both earned All-Mountain West First Team Honors. Armbruester also earned the Mountain West Pitcher of the Year Award, serving as the first Lobo since 2006 to win MW Pitcher of the Year. The last Lobo to earn the award was Danny Ray Herrera, who shared the honors with TCU’s Jake Arrieta.
The ace of the Lobo squad earned his spot as Pitcher of the Year after leading the Mountain West with a 3.58 ERA, an opposing batting average against of .231, and a total of 101 strikeouts through 78.0 innings pitched. Armbruester earned a total of four Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors, serving as the first time a pitcher tallied as many in program history.
On March 14, Armbruester pitched a total of nine innings and struck out 17 batters in UNM’s 1-0 10-inning win over Fresno State. The senior allowed just two hits in the game. The last time a Lobo pitcher posted 17 or more strikeouts in a game was on Feb. 17, 1998. That pitcher was Jim Serrano versus Point Lomas. Armbruester is just the seventh pitcher in UNM history to tally 17 or more strikeouts in a game.
The senior from Sammamish, Wash., registered nine games with eight or more strikeouts through 13 starts.
Kyler Castillo has been a force for the Lobos since the beginning of the season. A native of Midlothian, Texas, Castillo led the Lobos with a .439 (72-for-164) average with 40 runs scored, 16 doubles, seven home runs, and 40 RBIs. He slugged at a clip of .665 and posted an on-base percentage of .486. The senior finished the season with a 15-game hit streak, 12 of those being multi-hit games.
In MW-only action, Castillo hit a Mountain West-leading .462 (49-for-106) over 25 games with 28 runs scored, nine doubles, five home runs, and 32 RBIs. Castillo’s MW slugging percentage was .689, and his on-base percentage checked in at .525. His on-base percentage was second-best in the league through conference play.
Out of the 38 games played in the season, Castillo registered 25 multi-hit games and had nine contests in which he had three or more hits.