Long ball leads Lobos in 14-6 win over Aggies

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Nine consecutive hits in the bottom of the second inning led to an eight-run frame that ultimately decided Tuesday night’s Rio Grande Rivalry baseball contest at Santa Ana Star Field, as host New Mexico topped New Mexico State 14-6 in a weather shortened contest.

With unexpected lightning landing in the vicinity of the field after the top of the eighth inning, the teams agreed to end the contest with the Lobos ahead by eight runs. New Mexico won its fourth straight game and improved to 23-17, while New Mexico state slipped to 11-29 with the defeat on Tuesday.

The Lobos strung together 10 hits in an inning for the first time since the 2017 season, as Kyle Smith and Justin Olson led off the game-deciding second inning with back-to-back home runs and UNM never looked back. Chase Weissenborn and Braydon Runion each had two-run doubles, and Lenny Junior Ashby and Olson each had RBI-singles to cap the eight-run inning.

Reed Spenrath hit his team-leading 15th home run of the season in the bottom of the third, after Ashby added his sixth long ball to put UNM ahead 12-3. A sudden wind changed the complexion of the playing conditions in the fourth inning, as a relatively calm evening turned into a treacherous night that foreshadowed the inclement weather. Runion hit a bloop RBI-triple in the fifth and Spenrath added a sacrifice fly to cap the Lobos’ scoring for the night with a 14-5 advantage.

NMSU got one run back in the sixth on a solo home run by Christian Perez, but that was the end of the scoring for the visitors.

Wil Bannister earned his first win in a Lobo uniform, limiting the Aggies to one run in two innings while striking out a season-high three hitters. Jordan Martinez also contributed two innings, while Arthur Steinkamp upped his scoreless inning streak to 5 1/3 with one shutout frame to end the day on the mound for the Lobos.

Runion was 4-for-5 with four RBIs, three doubles, and two runs scored, he became the first Lobo with three doubles in a game since Kyle Landers on March 29, 2022, and the first Lobo with four extra-base hits in a game since Reece Weber on May 10, 2015. It was Runion’s first-career three-double game.

Ashby went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs scored, while Spenrath, Olson, and Weissenborn each had two hits and two RBIs apiece. With their four home runs on Tuesday, the Lobos upped their season total to 73 long balls which is the sixth-highest tally in UNM single-season history.

Lobo starter Benjamin Baker-Livingston got his outing started with a 1-2-3 first inning, and was rewarded with a run by his offense in the bottom of the inning. Ashby drew a one-out walk, before Runion smashed his first double off the wall in left-center to make the score 1-0. It took a diving play by Aggie shortstop Nolan Funke to turn a would-be RBI-single off the bat of Spenrath into an inning-ending double play.

NMSU showed signs of life with a three-run third inning, with Kevin Jimenez delivering a two-run double to left field after a wild pitch allowed the first run to cross the plate. Jimenez was 1 of 5 Aggies with two hits in the game, and NMSU stranded five runners aboard. The visitors used seven different pitchers on Tuesday, with Cade Swenson and Sakemi Sato combining to keep the Lobos scoreless over the final two frames.

Baker-Livingston allowed three runs on five hits, with one strikeout and one walk in his three innings of work. UNM left six runners on base. The Lobo defense aided its pitching staff with three double plays turned on the evening as well.

LOBO NOTES: UNM is now 166-92 all-time against New Mexico State and is 77-34 in games played in Albuquerque…New Mexico took a 2-1 lead in the season series between the teams…the last time UNM hit back-to-back home runs in a game was on April 18, 2023 against the Aggies, when Ashby and Olson went deep in succession…Smith’s home run was the 12th of his collegiate career and his fifth of the season…Olson’s home run was the 30th of his collegiate career and his 10th of the season…Olson became the second Lobo this year to homer in three consecutive games, after hitting three on Saturday and one on Sunday against Fresno State…Spenrath’s home run was the 39th of his collegiate career…he remained No. 2 in the Mountain West in long balls, trailing Air Force’s Jay Thomason (17)…Ashby’s home run was the 38th of his collegiate career…Runion now has 46 doubles and eight triples in his collegiate career…the UNM single-season home run record of 93 was set during the 2003 season…Bannister’s win was the eighth of his collegiate career.

NEXT UP: The Lobos return to Mountain West Conference play with a three-game series at UNLV kicking off on Friday night.