Lobos lead from start to finish in 9-5 triumph at Nevada

RENO, Nev. – Lenny Junior Ashby drove in three runs and reached 200 collegiate hits on Friday afternoon at Don Weir Field, as the New Mexico baseball team defeated Nevada 9-5 in Mountain West action.

Ashby, who finished the game 2-for-3 with a double, had all three of his RBIs by the fourth inning, as the Lobos built an early lead and never looked back. “What makes us really good is there isn’t an easy out in our lineup, one-through-nine,” said Ashby. “We realized that especially in Fresno, when the middle of our lineup wasn’t on. The bottom of the lineup helped us a lot, and those guys came in clutch. Everybody picks up each other.”

Deylan Pigford was 3-for-5 with his second home run of the season, and Jake Holland and Jeffrey David each had a pair of hits to lead the Lobos offensively. New Mexico improved its record to 13-8, and nudged above .500 in league play at 4-3 with its second straight conference victory. “We were prepared and ready to play,” said UNM head coach Tod Brown. “Getting a win on Friday is really critical in this league, and it helps us get momentum going into Saturday.”

New Mexico’s strong offensive showing was enough to propel starter Riley Egloff to his fourth win of the season, as the senior right-hander pitched into the eighth inning in the series opener. Egloff had four strikeouts, while allowing five runs on 10 hits with a pair of walks. Brian McBroom allowed two hits in a pair of shutout innings to end the ballgame and secure the win for the Lobos. “It felt really good – it was a little colder than usual, but everything felt good,” Egloff said after his sixth start of the season. “All of my pitches felt like they were working.”

Nevada scattered a dozen hits in the loss, with Matt Clayton going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs to lead the offense for the hosts. After Wolfpack starter Kade Morris allowed six runs on nine hits in four innings, Peyton Stumbo threw the final five frames and limited New Mexico to three runs on four hits. The Wolfpack moved to 11-11 on the season, and is now 2-5 in conference play with the defeat.

David beat out an infield single in the top of the first inning, and Ashby got the Lobos on the board first with a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-0. UNM built on its lead in the top of the second with Devon Dixon delivering an RBI-double and Chase Weissenborn driving in a run with a sacrifice fly. “Lenny is unstoppable when he gets into a groove,” Egloff said. “We have all seen it, and it is always a matter of time before he figures it out. Big hits are huge, and when one of your best hitters is putting up numbers, it helps that much more.”

Nevada got a run back in the bottom of the second on a two-out double by Taylor Holder, but Egloff limited the damage to a single run.

Ashby came through with his second RBI of the day in the top of the third inning, shooting a deep drive into center field that scored David from first base. Jake Holland followed with an RBI-single, pushing the Lobos ahead 5-1. “It’s always huge when the guys get a few runs early, and you’re pitching with a lead from the first inning,” said Egloff. “It’s nice to see the hitters getting into their groove, and letting me work with whatever my stuff is. It helps me knowing we are in the lead, and I just have to shut it down and put up a zero.”

Dylan Ditzenberger extended his reached base streak to 35 games and hitting streak to 17 games with a one-out double in the fourth, and Ashby came through with his 200th-career hit to add another run to UNM’s lead. “It was much needed,” Brown said of Ashby’s breakthrough performance after going hitless in his last three games. “We have a couple guys who have been scuffling, and for those guys to give us hits early was big. Lenny was a big part of getting the early lead today.”

“Everybody is going to struggle at some point,” said Ashby. “It is tough, but you just try to find it again. I’m just grateful that I did find it today.”

The Wolfpack manufactured a run with two outs in the bottom of the fourth, when Holder and JR Freethy hit back-to-back doubles to make the score 6-2.

Egloff received a boost from his defense in the bottom of the fifth, with Weissenborn and Dixon turning an inning-ending double play. After a two-out, two-run triple by Braydon Runion in the top of the sixth, Egloff kept the momentum going with a scoreless frame to keep the score at 8-2 in favor of the Lobos.

Pigford’s solo home run in the seventh proved to be the final run of the day for the Lobos, whose lead was hefty enough to withstand a two-run home run by Clayton in the seventh. Nevada finally ended Egloff’s outing in the eighth after 98 pitches, and McBroom kept Nevada off the scoreboard the rest of the game. “It shows other pitchers you can be successful here,” Brown said on Egloff pitching into the eighth inning. “It helps save our bullpen for the rest of the weekend, and gives us momentum in a big conference series. Having a legitimate Friday night starter is necessary to have a championship-level team.”

“No matter what, if Brian goes in I know the game is going to be shut down,” Egloff said on the right-hander. “He does a great job minimizing, and even if I leave a guy on he’s going to shut it down for me. His stuff is so good – he lets it play in the zone, and everyone has that much confidence in him.”

Both teams left seven runners on base in the game, Nevada drew two walks and struck out five times, while New Mexico drew three walks and struck out seven times.

LOBO NOTES: UNM is now 25-29 all-time against Nevada and is 12-11 in road games against the Wolfpack…Ashby had 96 hits during his career at Odessa College from 2020-21, and after Friday’s game had 104 since joining the Lobos prior to the 2022 season…Runion’s triple was his first of the year, his third as a Lobo, and the sixth of his collegiate career…it was the 12th triple of the season for UNM, which entered the day ranked No. 5 in the NCAA in triples and No. 7 in the NCAA in triples per game with 0.55…Pigford’s home run was the 14th of his collegiate career…Egloff’s win was the 17th of his collegiate career including his 11th as a Lobo…McBroom made it four consecutive outings without surrendering a run.

NEXT UP: The series continues on Saturday afternoon with another 2 p.m. MDT first pitch at Don Weir Field.