Preview: Lobos host ThunderWolves in MW bye week

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With a bye from Mountain West play this week, the New Mexico baseball team is scheduled to host Colorado State Pueblo in a pair of mid-week games at Santa Ana Star Field.

Action kicks off on Tuesday evening, before the quick two-game set wraps up on Tuesday afternoon. The two games will bring an end to a nine-game home stand, as the Lobos prepare for five straight road contests over the next two weeks.

Lobo Baseball Weekly Schedule
All times Mountain Daylight Time
Tuesday, April 11 – 6 p.m. – Colorado State Pueblo
Wednesday, April 12 – 2 p.m. – Colorado State Pueblo

GAME PROMOTIONS: Tuesday night is Bark in the Park Night, with fans welcome to bring their dogs to the ballpark. UNM will then celebrate Jackie Robinson Day on Wednesday, honoring the legacy of the baseball pioneer who broke the color barrier in 1947.

LAST TIME OUT: The Lobos are coming off a 2-1 series defeat at the hands of San Jose State last weekend at home. After winning the series opener 16-8, New Mexico fell 8-3 and 14-3 in the final two games.

MW STANDINGS SNAPSHOT: Entering this week, New Mexico holds a record of 16-13 overall and is 6-8 in conference play to sit in sixth place. The Lobos are just one game out of fourth place, and will return to conference play the weekend of April 21-23 at Air Force. The top-four teams in the standings at the end of the regular season earn a berth into the Mountain West Championships, which are scheduled for May 25-27 at Fresno State.

SPENRATH BREAKS OUT: Reed Spenrath had his biggest offensive series of the season, going 9-for-12 with seven RBIs against San Jose State. The slugger started the weekend by going 4-for-5 with a career-high six RBIs in the opener, including his team-leading ninth home run of the season. Spenrath followed by notching his first triple in a Lobo uniform, in a 4-for-4 performance in the series finale on Saturday. Spenrath now leads the Mountain West in slugging at .660, and his OPS of 1.089 ranks him third in the conference. Spenrath crossed the 150-career RBI barrier as well, as he enters this week with 153 in his collegiate career to date.

MCBROOM STELLAR IN THIRD SAVE: Brian McBroom turned in one of his best outings of the season on Thursday, matching his career highs with four innings pitched and six strikeouts to claim his third save of the season. McBroom increased his strikeout-walk ratio to 21-4 with no free passes issued, and he lowered his ERA to 3.55 on the season.

OLSON BUILDS ON BIG PERFORMANCE: Justin Olson wasn’t finished after a career-high four RBIs against San Diego State on April 2, as he went 2-for-4 with his third home run of the year and three runs scored in the win over San Jose State. It was the second time in his collegiate career he hit homers in back-to-back games, as he achieved that feat on May 21, 2021 in a doubleheader in his final game at College of Southern Nevada.

RUNION RACKS UP TOTAL BASES: Braydon Runion went 5-for-14 in the series against San Jose State, including three RBIs and his second triple of the season. Runion improved his slash line to .380/.415/.587, and his 71 total bases this spring are third-most in the conference.

ASHBY KEEPS BAT HOT: Lenny Junior Ashby had hits in all three of UNM’s games last week, and matched his career highs with three walks and three runs scored in the series-opening victory against San Jose State. Ashby maintained his slash line of .345/.426/.500 on the season, and his 31 RBIs are fifth-most in the Mountain West.

KINKADE CONNECTS ON FIRST COLLEGIATE HR: Konner Kinkade hit his first collegiate home run in Friday’s game against the Spartans, launching a solo shot over the fence in left field. Kinkade had a hit and a run scored in all three games in the series, maintaining his slash line at .333/.488/.515.

MR. HOLLAND’S OPS: Jake Holland crushed his seventh home run of the season, amid a series in which he went 4-for-13 at the plate with three RBIs. Holland remained as one of just nine players in the conference with an OPS north of 1.000, entering this week at a clip of 1.006.

WEISSENBORN BUMPS BACK OVER .300: Chase Weissenborn had four hits in the San Jose State series, bumping his season batting average back up to .303. Weissenborn has had multiple hits in seven different games this spring, and is reaching base at a clip of .379.

EGLOFF EARNS FIFTH WIN: Riley Egloff pitched five solid innings in the series opener on Thursday, keeping pace as the Mountain West leader in both wins with five and innings pitched with 48 2/3 on the season. Egloff added four more strikeouts to his tally to give him 42 on the season, and he enters this week needing two more victories to give him 20 wins in his collegiate career.

GALLEGOS REACHES 250 CAREER STRIKEOUTS: Junior right-hander Isaac Gallegos upped his collegiate strikeout total to 253, fanning six on Saturday in the Lobos’ loss to San Jose State. Only two of the eight runs he surrendered were earned, as Gallegos kept his ERA at 3.18 and continues to rank second in the Mountain West with an opponents batting average of .227 on the season.

HUDSON LOGS SCORELESS APPEARANCE: Reliever Terrell Hudson notched 1 2/3 scoreless innings on Friday, marking his fourth shutout appearance among nine outings so far this season. Hudson enters this week with 10 strikeouts against just four walks in his 13 1/3 innings pitched this spring.

Colorado State Pueblo ThunderWolves
2023 Record: 12-23, 9-11 RMAC
Head Coach: Bobby Applegate, 2nd season
Series History: UNM leads 22-5
In Albuquerque: UNM leads 22-5
First Meeting: 3/26/1968
Last Meeting: 3/11/1994

No players on either team had been born the last time the two programs met, just over 29 years ago during the 1994 season. CSU Pueblo enters the week on a nine-game losing skid, and was swept in a four-game series at No. 13 Colorado Mesa last week at home.

Reggie Williams leads the team with a .426 batting average, while four different ThunderWolves are tied for the team lead with four home runs. Brady Prewitt’s 39 RBIs lead the club, and he is hitting a solid .339 on the season. As a team, CSU Pueblo is batting .318 while averaging 6.9 runs per game.

Tyler Curtis is the top pitcher for the ThunderWolves, holding a 4.29 ERA across nine starts and 56 2/3 innings pitched. Curtis has 39 strikeouts against just seven walks, and has tossed three complete games. Zach Pratt has a team-high 50 strikeouts in his 50 innings pitched, and holds a 5.40 ERA in his nine starts. Jacob Petersheim has two of the team’s three saves, and ranks second on the squad with 11 appearances. As a unit, CSU Pueblo has a team ERA of 7.40 and the opposition is hitting .335 against it.