Baseball opens conference play at home vs. Air Force
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kicking off its 2023 league schedule this weekend at Santa Ana Star Field, New Mexico’s baseball team plays host to Air Force in a three-game series.
Lobo Baseball Weekly Schedule
Friday, March 10 – 6 p.m. (MTN) – Air Force – Albuquerque, N.M.
Saturday, March 11 – 2 p.m. (MTN) – Air Force – Albuquerque, N.M.
Sunday, March 12 – Noon (MTN) – Air Force – Albuquerque, N.M.
Watch live: www.themw.com/watch
Live stats: www.golobos.com/bsbstats
WEEKLY PROMOTIONS: All three games this weekend will feature free admission for all fans. Fans are encouraged to park in the Baseball South parking lot, due to heavy traffic in The Pit parking lots. Friday’s series opener will be Country Night, with a country music and attire theme throughout the game. On Sunday, children ages 12 and under will be able to run the bases on the field upon the conclusion of the game.
A LOOK AHEAD: After the first conference series of the year, the Lobos will play their midweek game at Grand Canyon next Tuesday with a 2 p.m. first pitch. UNM will then have a three-game MW series at Fresno State, set for March 17-19 in California.
TOUGH AGAINST TECH TUESDAY: In the first meeting of a home-and-home series with Texas Tech on Tuesday, the Lobos dropped a tightly-contested affair 6-3 in Lubbock. It was UNM’s first true road game of the 2023 season, and Texas Tech will make the trip to Albuquerque for a rematch on March 28.
LOBOS SECOND IN NCAA IN BATTING: Through its first 12 games of the season, UNM compiled a team batting average of .366 and as of March 9 ranked No. 2 in the NCAA. The Lobos’ average of 11.7 runs per game ranks third in the NCAA, and UNM is sixth in hits with 165, 11th in runs with 140, and sixth in on-base percentage at .456.
NO ONE’S PERFECT: After going the first five games of the season without committing an error – a string of 47 consecutive innings – the Lobos finally had their first miscue in the second game of the series against Northern Colorado. Through the first 12 games of the year, UNM has committed just six errors for a fielding percentage of .986 which ranked them 11th in the NCAA as of March 9.
EGGS SUNNY SIDE UP: Two-time Mountain West Pitcher of the Week Riley Egloff ranks fourth nationally with three wins this spring, as he went at least five innings for his third straight start last Friday against St. Bonaventure. Egloff owns a 2.65 earned run average while leading the team with 17 innings pitched and 20 strikeouts while issuing just two walks. The opposition is hitting just .206 off the senior, and he carries a WHIP of 0.88.
26-STRAIGHT FOR DITZENBERGER: Senior third baseman Dylan Ditzenberger extended his reached-base streak to 26 games with a knock at Texas Tech on Tuesday. Ditzenberger is hitting .489 on the year (22-for-45), and he has driven in 15 runs while stealing three bases. Entering this week, Ditzenberger ranks fourth in the NCAA in runs (24) and leads the country in runs per game (2.00). He is also 26th in hits (22), 14th in batting average (.489) and 26th in hits per game (1.83).
ASHBY’S HIT STREAK SNAPPED AT 15: Lenny Junior Ashby’s team-leading hit streak came to an end on Saturday at 15 games, as he went 0-for-1 with a pair of walks in UNM’s 20-3 rout of St. Bonaventure. Ashby’s reached base streak of 18 games remains intact, after he hit his second home run of the year and had three hits at Texas Tech. Ashby is reaching base at a clip of .509 this spring while hitting .435 and slugging .609. Ashby continues to lead the team with 20 RBIs, a figure that ranks him 33rd nationally.
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF FOR DAVID: A day full of good outcomes at the plate made for a frustrating stat line for Jeffrey David on Saturday, who hit most of his seven balls in play on the screws to deep parts of the field but didn’t come away with a hit. He kept the momentum going on Sunday and it paid off, as he doubled and tripled while driving in a run and scoring twice. David’s three triples this spring rank him fifth in the NCAA, and he holds a .308 batting average while starting all 12 games mixed between center field and second base.
SPENRATH SHOWING DISCIPLINE: Reed Spenrath has drawn all 13 of his walks this season in the last seven games, as he boosted his on-base percentage to .444 over the weekend. He delivered his team-leading fourth home run of the year and added a pair of doubles, as eight of his 10 hits this year have gone for extra bases on the way to a .667 slugging percentage. Spenrath has also driven in 14 runs, ranking him fourth on the team.
HOLLAND GOES WAY DEEP: Jake Holland homered three times over the weekend, including his first-career multi-homer game with a pair of long balls in the series opener. Not only were they long balls, but Holland’s first two home runs were absolute no-doubters with one colliding with The Pit and the other clearing the hitter’s eye in straightaway center. In his first season with the Lobos, Holland is hitting .412 with 14 RBIs and is tied with Spenrath for the team lead in home runs.
RUNION HAS CAREER GAME: Senior rightfielder Braydon Runion caught fire amid the series against St. Bonaventure, going 4-for-5 with five RBIs and three runs scored in Game 3. Runion had a streak of six consecutive hits during the series, and he carries an eight-game hitting streak into the series against the Falcons. Two of Runion’s hits on Saturday were doubles, marking the first time in his five-year collegiate career he has had multiple doubles in a single game. Runion also homered in the game, upping his career totals to 33 doubles and 32 home runs.
PIGFORD EXTENDS STREAK: Lobo newcomer Deylan Pigford has reached base in all 12 games this spring, and made it a six-game hitting streak with knocks in all four games last weekend and against Texas Tech Tuesday. Pigford is second on the team with 17 runs scored, and he holds a stellar slash line of .415/.520/.610 while starting all 12 games.
DIXON MAGNIFICENT WITH GLOVE: Despite committing his first error of the season, snapping a streak of 24 consecutive plays without a miscue, infielder Devon Dixon more than made up for it both with his glove and his bat. Dixon made 10 stellar plays defensively over the weekend, while going 4-for-10 at the plate with a double, a home run, and six RBIs. In his first year with the Lobos, Dixon is batting .345 with 10 RBIs and 12 runs scored in his eight starts. He is reaching base at a clip of .486 and slugging .655 as well.
GALLEGOS SHUTS DOWN BONNIES: Claiming a victory on the mound for the second week in-a-row, junior right-hander Isaac Gallegos put forth five shutout innings on Sunday against St. Bonaventure. He has thrown five innings in each of his three starts, striking out 13 hitters and allowing just seven hits. His WHIP of 0.73 ranks him in the top-40 in the NCAA.
JACKSON EARNS FIRST UNM WIN: After having his turn canceled by a windstorm last week, junior left-hander Jaren Jackson made the most of his second start of the year on Saturday and picked up his first win in a Lobo uniform. He struck out four and walked just one, while allowing three runs – two earned – on three hits in six strong innings of work.
ITURRALDE QUIETLY EXCELLING IN ‘PEN: Senior right-hander Adolfo Iturralde has quietly put together a string of five consecutive outings without surrendering an earned run dating back to last spring. In three appearances so far in 2023, Iturralde has allowed just one baserunner while striking out four hitters in his 2 1/3 innings of work out of the bullpen.
DEBUT TO REMEMBER FOR DEWYER: Albuquerque native Trent Dewyer made his Lobo debut on Saturday, allowing one baserunner in 1 2/3 scoreless innings of relief.
OLSON’S 7TH HIT WINS IT: Junior Justin Olson has gone 7-for-19 (.368) this year, with hits in all but one of his appearances. His most recent knock ended the series against the Bonnies, as he put UNM ahead 16-6 in the bottom of the seventh for a run-rule victory. Olson is slugging .579 and has driven in four runs on the young season.
SMITH NOTCHES FIRST HR: Kyle Smith hit his first home run of the 2023 season last Sunday, clearing the fence in center field for the eighth overall of his collegiate career. Smith had his second multi-RBI game of the season thanks to the long ball, and defensively he has been perfect in 41 chances behind the plate handling the Lobo pitching staff.
WEISSENBORN PRODUCING STEADILY: Junior Chase Weissenborn continued his steady production at the bottom of the UNM lineup, scoring six runs while driving in three last weekend. Weissenborn has scored 14 runs this season, while maintaining a slash line of .316/.400/.421 in his 12 starts at shortstop.
Air Force Falcons
2023 Record: 4-9
Head Coach: Mike Kazlausky, 13th season
Series History: New Mexico leads 149-56
At UNM: New Mexico leads 86-20
First Meeting: 1957
Last Meeting: 5/21/2022
Air Force is off to a 4-9 start this spring and will also be making its 2023 Mountain West debut this weekend. The Falcons are coming off a 2-2 performance during a trip to Charleston, S.C., where they split two games with Charleston Southern, beat Michigan State, and lost to College of Charleston.
Sam Kulasingam is the top hitter for the Falcons at .472, while adding six doubles and six RBIs. Jay Thomason leads the conference with five home runs and the team with 15 RBIs, while batting .250 through the first 13 games of the season. As a team Air Force is hitting .263 with 16 long balls and an average of 5.38 runs per game.
On the mound, Seungmin Shim has been the top arm with an ERA of 1.59 and 13 strikeouts in his 17 innings of work. He, Doyle Gehring, and Dylan Rogers have each made three starts this spring, for a staff that holds a collective ERA of 6.22 and an opponents batting average of .300.