Preview: Lobos have big home week w/No. 22 Texas Tech, SD State
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Nine of the next 10 games for the New Mexico baseball team are at Santa Ana Star Field as the Lobos prepare for a big two weeks in the Duke City.
The Lobos (14-8, 5-3 MW) have won three straight Mountain West games and picked up a series win over the weekend with a 2-0 record at Nevada. The series finale, scheduled for Sunday, was postponed due to an unfavorable weather forecast.
UNM now turns its attention to No. 22 Texas Tech, which will roll into Albuquerque for a 2 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday in a rematch of March 7 when the Red Raiders claimed a 6-3 win at home. New Mexico will then host San Diego State in a three-game conference series this weekend, San Jose State in a three-game conference series next weekend, and NCAA Division II Colorado State-Pueblo in two games during its bye week on April 11-12. The lone road game during that stretch is on April 4, when UNM travels down I25 for the second of four scheduled games against rival New Mexico State.
Lobo Baseball Weekly Schedule
All times listed are Mountain Daylight Time – All games are at Santa Ana Star Field.
Tuesday, March 28 – 2 p.m. – No. 22 Texas Tech
Friday, March 31 – 6 p.m. – San Diego State
Saturday, April 1 – 2 p.m. – San Diego State
Sunday, April 2 – Noon – San Diego State
MOUNTAIN WEST STANDINGS: Entering the middle third of their 2023 schedule, the Lobos sit in third place in the Mountain West standings. UNM’s 5-3 record puts it just one game behind first place San Jose State (4-2), while this week’s opponent San Diego State sits a half game behind at 4-3.
LOBOS MAINTAIN NCAA STAT RANKINGS: New Mexico continued to lead the NCAA in batting average, upping its mark to .342 with a big performance over the weekend in Reno. UNM also ranks No. 4 in hits with 285, No. 5 in triples per game with 0.59, No. 6 in triples with 13, and No. 7 in total offense with an average of 10.0 runs per game. The Lobos are also in the top-20 in the country in runs (No. 18, 220), doubles per game (No. 18, 2.45), and slugging percentage (No. 18, .549). While the offense has made headlines this spring, the Lobo pitching staff ranks No. 5 in the NCAA in walks/9 innings at 2.88, and the defense ranks No. 11 in fielding percentage at .983.
LIVELY NAMED MW PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Tristin Lively earned the Lobos’ fourth Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honor of the season after another dominant outing. The senior right-hander was nearly untouchable against the Wolfpack, allowing just two hits and two walks in his seven innings of work. Lively had a season-high eight strikeouts, while throwing 110 pitches on the way to his fourth win of the season. He enters the week tied with Egloff and Gallegos for the most victories in the conference.
DITZ A HIT MACHINE: Dylan Ditzenberger maintained the third-highest batting average in the NCAA last week, going 4-for-10 in the series against Nevada including a 3-for-6 effort with his first multi-double game of the year on Saturday. Ditzenberger leads the Mountain West with a batting average of .473. He leads the NCAA in hits per game with 2.00, ranks second in runs per game with 1.64, third in runs scored with 36, and fourth in hits with 44. Not only do the Lobos have arguably the best leadoff man in the country, Ditzenberger is one of the top defensive third basemen in the nation as well. In his 22 games this year, the senior has committed just one error and holds a fielding percentage of .981. After reaching base in 14 consecutive games to end his career at Kansas last spring, Ditzenberger has continued the streak through all 22 games this season giving him an intact stretch of 36 games reaching base entering this week. He also enters this week on an 18-game hitting streak. Ditzenberger enters this week with 95 career RBIs, five away from the triple-digit threshold.
200 HITS FOR LENNY: Lenny Junior Ashby hit the 200-hit barrier last Friday at Nevada, collecting 96 hits during his two-year career at Odessa College (2020-21) and making it 105 so far in his second season at New Mexico. Ashby drove in three runs in the first five innings of UNM’s 9-5 win to open the series, upping his season total to 27 which is second in the Mountain West. Ashby owns a slash line of .337/.413/.483 this spring. Ashby enters the week one double away from reaching 50 in his collegiate career, and is 11 total bases away from 200.
DAVID THE MW RBI LEADER: Jeffrey David picked up his 28th RBI of the season on Saturday, giving him the most runs batted in across the conference. David is hitting .327 this spring, while reaching base at a clip of .369 and slugging .515. He enters the week with 99 hits in his UNM career, needing one more to reach the century mark in just his second season with the Lobos.
SPENRATH STRIKES AGAIN: Reed Spenrath hit his Mountain West-leading eighth home run of the season on Saturday, and matched his season high with three hits to help the Lobos to a blowout 12-1 victory. Spenrath upped his RBI count to 24 with the solo shot, and 13 of his 21 hits this year have been either home runs or doubles. Spenrath holds an OPS of 1.061 entering the week, and he also leads the conference with 20 walks drawn. Defensively, the first baseman has been perfect in 206 chances and he is 19 putouts away from reaching 600 in his collegiate career. Spenrath is also five RBIs away from 150 in his career and 14 total bases away from reaching 300.
MCBROOM SCORELESS AGAIN OUT OF ‘PEN: Brian McBroom authored two shutout innings in UNM’s Friday win at Nevada, extending his scoreless inning streak to 6 2/3 frames over his last four outings. The right-hander has given up just five hits during that span, while striking out four and issuing zero walks. McBroom owns a 3.66 ERA this spring, and a WHIP of 1.22. McBroom enters this week one strikeout away from reaching 50 in his collegiate career.
RUNION RACKS UP TOTAL BASES: Two of Braydon Runion’s four hits last week went for extra bases, as he upped his season total base count to 56 which ranks him second in the Mountain West. Runion had his second two-double game of the season on Saturday, and went 4-for-10 overall against Nevada to lift his season batting average to .389. Runion has 24 RBIs this spring, with seven doubles, a triple, and four home runs aiding his .622 slugging percentage.
EXTRA BASES FOR PIGFORD: Deylan Pigford doubled and tripled in UNM’s Saturday victory, giving him 11 extra base hits among his 29 knocks on the season. A productive mid-order hitter, Pigford holds a slash line of .367/.474/.595 while starting all 22 games this spring. His 28 runs scored are second-most in the Mountain West, as are his eight stolen bases.
MR. HOLLAND’S OPS: Jake Holland holds an on-base percentage of 1.089 this season, a mark that ranks him third in the Mountain West. The Lobos’ starting catcher had a 2-for-5 performance on Friday at Nevada, upping his RBI count to 21 on the season and raising his batting average to .383. Holland has also been perfect defensively behind the plate, handling 88 chances this spring without an error.
DIXON CLIMBING AT PLATE: A 4-for-9 weekend for Devon Dixon elevated his batting average 27 points to the mark of .273, as he capped the Nevada series going 3-for-5 with two RBIs which was his highest hit total of the year. Dixon was also busy defensively over the weekend, matching his season high with four putouts on Friday and making 12 total plays in the two games in Reno.
SEVEN STRONG FOR EGLOFF: For the second time this season, Riley Egloff pitched seven complete innings helping UNM to a series-opening win over Nevada on Friday. The right-hander added four strikeouts to his ledger, and he enters this week 11 shy of 200 strikeouts in his collegiate career which began at Yavapai College in 2019. Egloff leads the Mountain West this spring with 36 2/3 innings pitched, while ranking fourth in strikeouts with 33.
KINKADE MAKES MOST OF AB: Three of Konner Kinkade’s six hits this spring have been doubles, the most recent of which came in the form of a pinch-hit, RBI-knock on Saturday. Despite just 14 at-bats this spring, Kinkade is hitting .429 and is reaching base at a clip of .556 giving UNM a premier option coming off the bench.
GALLEGOS’ TURN NIXED: Cold weather in Reno on Sunday prompted the postponement of the series finale between the Lobos and Wolfpack, meaning junior right-hander Isaac Gallegos missed the chance to go for his fifth consecutive victory. Gallegos has been lights out in his first season at UNM, entering this week ranked No. 18 in the NCAA with a WHIP of 0.86. Gallegos has 26 strikeouts in 29 innings of work, while allowing just 27 baserunners in that span.
Texas Tech Red Raiders
2023 Record: 18-7, 2-4 Big 12
Head Coach: Tim Tadlock, 11th season
Series History: TTU leads 80-48-1
In Albuquerque: UNM leads 28-25-1
First meeting: 4/19/1962
Last meeting: 3/7/2023
The Red Raiders’ 6-3 win over New Mexico on March 7 in Lubbock, Texas kicked off a stretch of seven wins in nine games that elevated the team to No. 15 in the NCAA rankings. Three losses at Texas over the weekend however dropped Texas Tech down to No. 22 on Monday, as UNM will prepare to face its second ranked opponent of the year.
Like the Lobos, the Red Raiders are one of the premier offensive teams in the country with a team batting average of .318 and an average of 9.52 runs per game. Gavin Kash leads the team with a .437 batting average, nine home runs, and 38 RBIs. Austin Green is hitting .364 with six home runs and 35 driven in, and Dillon Carter has five long balls towards the team’s total of 38 this spring.
On the mound, TTU holds a team ERA of 4.08 and the opposition is hitting .248 against it. Mason Molina, Brendan Girton, and Taber Fast have been the most relied upon starters, with Molina holding a 2.93 ERA with 40 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings of work. TTU has used a variety of arms in relief, with three different pitchers having one save this season.