Lobos Suffers First Shutout of Season

BERKELEY, Calif. — The University of New Mexico baseball team suffered its first shutout in the 2022 campaign as the Lobos fell to California, 11-0, in the series opener on Friday night at Evans Diamond at Stu Gordon Stadium.

The Lobos struggled offensively as the Golden Bears’ stellar pitching kept them scoreless on only four hits tonight. Kamron Willman, Willie Cano, Sean Stephens and Cody Holtz each notched one hit. Willman hit a triple and Cano hit a double for two Lobo extra base hits.

Cal opened up scoring in the bottom of the first as the first two batters hit back-to-back solo homeruns for a 2-0 lead. The second inning went scoreless as left-handed starting pitcher Matt Haley forced a three up-three down inning with a swinging strikeout and two groundouts. The Golden Bears extended their lead to 8-0 after exploding for six runs in the third inning.

Haley forced another three up-three down inning in the fourth inning with a strikeout looking, flyout and popout. Cal tacked on a couple more runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 10-0 advantage, but the Lobos limited further damage as they turned a double play to end the inning.

Haley pitched his final inning in the sixth, a scoreless one that saw two foul outs, a walk and a flyout. Will Armbruester came in to close out the game in the seventh frame. He allowed a single run in the seventh to give the Golden Bears a 11-0 lead. Armbruester notched one strikeout in his outing during the eighth inning.

The Lobos continued to struggle against the Cal pitching staff, falling 11-0 to the Golden Bears in the series opener.

New Mexico’s record falls to 19-29 overall, while California’s record improves to 23-25 overall.

The Lobos and Golden Bears resume the three-game non-conference series on Saturday with a first pitch time of 4:05 p.m. (MT).

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