Spenrath homers 3 times, Lobos split DH at Air Force

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Reed Spenrath had three home runs and eight RBIs in a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Falcon Field, as the New Mexico baseball team split a Mountain West doubleheader with host Air Force.

Behind a dominant outing by senior pitcher Tristin Lively and Spenrath’s first two home runs of the day, the Lobos claimed the opening game 12-1. The Falcons retaliated in the finale to take the series however, bouncing back with a 13-8 win in the nightcap.

Jake Holland hit two home runs in the second game and Spenrath added his third, as that duo combined for seven of UNM’s eight RBIs. The Lobos moved to 19-16 with the split and are now 7-10 in conference play.

Spenrath upped his season home run total to 12 as he moved within two of Air Force’s Jay Thomason, who hit his 14th of the year in Air Force’s 9-6 win in the series opener on Friday.

It wasn’t the first time this spring that Lively thrived against the Falcons, as he turned in a career-best 8 1/3 shutout innings with six strikeouts and just three hits allowed in New Mexico’s 15-0 rout on March 11 in Albuquerque. Including Sunday’s performance, Lively allowed zero runs on 10 hits with nine strikeouts in 15 1/3 innings pitched against Air Force this season. Lively moved into a tie for the Mountain West lead in victories with his fifth of the season.

Chase Spencer went 5-for-8 and Sam Kulasingam was 4-for-8 with five runs scored and three RBIs to lead Air Force offensively on the day. The Falcons moved to 18-24 overall and are now 11-10 in conference play with the split.

Game 1 – New Mexico 12, Air Force 1

Air Force starter Doyle Gehring made quick work of the Lobos with a 1-2-3 first inning, but it proved to be his only trouble-free inning in his outing.

Lively shook off a leadoff walk, and got through a scoreless bottom of the first which concluded with his first strikeout of the game. The Lobos struck first in the top of the second, taking advantage of a hit batter and a walk that put runners on the corners. UNM then executed a double steal with Kyle Smith taking second and Braydon Runion crossing the plate with two outs to make the score 1-0.

Increasing its lead with a big third inning, New Mexico loaded the bases with singles by Dylan Ditzenberger and Lenny Junior Ashby sandwiching a walk to Jeffrey David. Runion then lined a two-run single into left field, before Spenrath blasted a three-run home run over the fence to make the score 6-0. David drove in another run in the fourth, as the Lobos continued to expand Lively’s cushion into the middle innings.

New Mexico drove Gehring from the game after three innings of work, with the righty allowing six runs on five hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Lively pitched effectively to his defense, with Weissenborn, David, and Spenrath turning double plays in the third and fourth innings to help keep the Falcons off the scoreboard. Three catches by Ashby in left field made it five scoreless innings for the righty starter, after back-to-back doubles by Spenrath and Justin Olson led off the fifth inning to bolster the Lobos’ lead to the tune of 8-0.

Smith added a defensive assist to his big day at the plate in the bottom of the sixth, cutting down Chase Spencer attempting to steal second base to help Lively put up another zero. The junior catcher added a home run in the ninth inning, and finished 3-for-4 falling a double short of hitting for the cycle.

Spenrath’s second home run preceded Smith’s in the ninth, as the Lobos tacked on four more runs to solidify the victory. Justin Still allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts and no walks over the final two innings of the game.

Game 2 – Air Force 13, New Mexico 8

Air Force overcame a 7-1 deficit in the third inning, rallying to win the series finale, take the series 2-1, and even the season series between the teams at 3-3.

The Falcons struck first in the series finale, when Kulasingam connected on a solo home run to put his team ahead 1-0 after the first inning.

Back-to-back walks issued to Spenrath and Olson set the table for Holland in the top of the second. The slugger hammered a 1-1 pitch well beyond the fence but foul, before smashing the next pitch over the fence in left-center to give UNM a 3-1 lead.

UNM starter Isaac Gallegos worked around a jam in the bottom of the second, picking up his first strikeout before a pair of routine fly outs stranded two Falcons on base.

David led off the third with a single and Ashby followed with a walk, before Runion drove in another run with an RBI-single to left field. Spenrath then struck again, smashing his third home run of the day over the fence in left field to make the score 7-1.

Air Force starter Dylan Rogers exited after the Lobos’ big third inning, allowing seven runs on five hits with no strikeouts and four walks in his three innings of work.

Gallegos relied on his defense for an assist in the bottom of the third, as a double play limited the damage from a pair of walks to a single run.

The Lobos loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth, bringing the red-hot Spenrath to the plate. Air Force lefty Seungming Shim won a seven-pitch battle however, striking out the slugger and preventing the game from being blown open.

Momentum began to shift in the fifth inning, when Spencer laced a two-out, RBI-single into right field to kick off a string of 11 unanswered runs scored by the hosts. Air Force took advantage of two Lobo errors to score three runs in the sixth, and a two-run home run off the bat of Trayden Tamiya kick-started a seven-run seventh inning that ultimately won the game for the Falcons. Covin, Thomason, and Spencer each drove in runs during the big inning, while Greiving had a big two-run double as Air Force built a 13-7 advantage.

The Lobos got one run back in the eighth on Holland’s second home run of the game, but their bats were kept quiet after that. Shim earned the win with four shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out four and walking none. Sawyer Hawks struck out five hitters over the final two innings to finish the game for Air Force.

LOBO NOTES: New Mexico is now 152-59 all-time against Air Force and is 55-34 in road games against the Falcons…Spenrath’s home runs were the 34th, 35th, and 36th of his collegiate career…it was his fifth-career multi-home run game and his second this season, after hitting three on Feb. 24 against Northern Colorado…Ashby’s **six putouts in Game 1 were a career high…his previous high was five catches, which he had achieved in four previous games in his collegiate career…Smith’s home run was the 10th of his collegiate career and his sixth as a Lobo…Lively’s win was the 11th of his collegiate career…Holland’s home runs were the 16th and 17th of his collegiate career…Sunday was Holland’s second career multi-home run game, with the other coming on March 3 against St. Bonaventure.

NEXT UP: The Lobos play at Arizona on Tuesday evening to finish up their current five-game road trip. UNM is set to host Fresno State in a three-game Mountain West series next weekend at Santa Ana Star Field.