Lobos finish regular season at San Diego State
SAN DIEGO – Three games remain on the 2023 regular-season baseball schedule, and the New Mexico baseball team must win all three in order to claim its first berth into the Mountain West Championships since the 2017 season.
The Lobos (26-22, 13-14 MW) enter the weekend series at San Diego State in fifth place in the league standings, with the top-four teams advancing to next week’s conference tournament at Fresno State. The task at hand is a tall one for the Lobos, but three wins would guarantee a tournament berth as UNM does not need assistance from any other conference teams that play this weekend.
Lobo Baseball Weekend Schedule
All times listed are Mountain Daylight Time
Thursday, May 18 – 7 p.m. – at San Diego State
Friday, May 19 – 7 p.m. – at San Diego State
Saturday, May 20 – Noon – at San Diego State
LAST TIME OUT: The Lobos fell 8-0 in a lightning-shortened midweek game on Tuesday at New Mexico State. That came after UNM split a four-game home series with Nevada on May 12-14 in its most recent conference action.
LOBOS IN THE NCAA STAT RANKINGS: New Mexico continued to lead the NCAA in hitting, entering this weekend with a team batting average of .337 to rank first nationally. The Lobos also rank fourth in the country in slugging percentage at .573, third in hits with 601, seventh in doubles per game with 2.48 and in triples with 24, 10th in scoring with 8.9 runs per game, 15th in doubles with 119, 17th in runs with 429, 25th in home runs per game with 1.77, and 26th in on-base percentage at .413.
ASHBY ELEVATES BATTING AVERAGE: Lenny Junior Ashby matched his career high with four hits in the opening game against Nevada, and overall went 9-for-18 in the series with three home runs, seven RBIs, and six runs scored. Ashby upped his season home run count to nine, and surpassed 40 home runs in his collegiate career. Ashby ranks third in the conference in hitting at .382 and in on-base percentage at .455, and seventh in slugging at .598.
DAVID HAS 4-HIT GAME: Jeffrey David opened the series against Nevada going 4-for-4 and picked up his second multi-double game of the season. David also scored three runs in the game, before adding his Mountain West-leading fifth triple of the year on Saturday. David ranks 19th in the NCAA with his five triples this season.
DITZENBERGER STAYS IN TOP-10: Dylan Ditzenberger went 3-for-8 in the Nevada series, maintaining his season batting average at .437 which ranks him sixth in all of college baseball. The senior is the Mountain West’s leading hitter, and he ranks second in on-base percentage at .490 while slugging .563. Ditzenberger also stole a pair of bases last week, making him a perfect 6-for-6 on the season.
MR. HOLLAND’S OPS: Jake Holland matched his career high with three hits in the series finale, and just missed his 13th home run of the spring with a fly ball to center that was caught at the wall. Holland ranks third in the conference with a slugging percentage of .664, while batting .350 with 39 RBIs in 38 games played. Holland is 1 of 8 players in the league with an OPS north of 1.000, with his mark sitting at 1.044 entering the week.
OLSON SLUGS 12TH HR: Junior Justin Olson hit his 12th home run of the season on Sunday, and upped his RBI count to 29 in just 33 games played. He followed with a 3-for-3 performance in the Tuesday game at New Mexico State. Olson owns a slash line of .387/.524/.863 in 80 at-bats this spring, and he ranks tied for third in the conference with 12 home runs.
RUNION DOUBLES DOWN: Braydon Runion hit four more doubles over the weekend, pushing his season total to 22 which is tied for second in the conference and ranks him sixth in all of college baseball. Runion also hit his fourth triple and ninth home run of the season, and he is tied for third in the conference with 75 hits. Runion is also fourth in the conference with a batting average of .369 and fourth in slugging at .650.
SPENRATH MAINTAINS RBI LEAD: Reed Spenrath knocked in three more runs over the weekend, holding on to the top spot in the conference in that category with 62 on the season. The junior slugger is also tied for the conference lead with 18 home runs, and is the league leader in slugging at .732.
DIXON, WEISSENBORN AMAZE WITH GLOVES: Middle infielders Devon Dixon and Chase Weissenborn put on a defensive show all weekend long, combining to make 39 plays without committing a single error in the series against Nevada. Dixon had a career-high seven assists in the series opener, upping his career total to 287 in his three collegiate seasons. Weissenborn meanwhile approached 350-career assists, upping his three-year total to 343 with the Lobos. At the plate, Weissenborn had his third four-hit game of the season in the opener, and raised his season batting average to .310 by going 8-for-16 on the weekend.
JACKSON SUPERB IN FINALE: Jaren Jackson helped keep the Lobos’ playoff chances alive on Sunday, authoring 6 2/3 shutout innings on the way to his third win of the season. The left-hander had five strikeouts while allowing just four hits to keep the Wolf Pack at bay. The win was the 18th of his four-year collegiate career, and he upped his career strikeout total to 179.
STEINKAMP UPS SCORELESS INNING STREAK: Arthur Steinkamp delivered his fifth and sixth consecutive shutout appearances out of the bullpen, extending his scoreless inning streak to 11 2/3 frames dating back to April 28. The left-hander has been nearly untouchable for the last month, holding a WHIP of 0.51 since April 23. Steinkamp has now walked a batter during that span, and has issued just four free passes on the season. In 14 total appearances and 21 2/3 innings, Steinkamp holds a 1.66 ERA and a WHIP of 1.11.
EGLOFF EARNS 20TH WIN: In his final career appearance at Santa Ana Star Field, senior Riley Egloff earned his 20th collegiate win on Friday afternoon. The right-hander struck out seven hitters in 6 1/3 innings, making it seven wins on the season to put him atop the Mountain West leaderboard in that category. Overall in his five-year career, Egloff has struck out 217 hitters in 246 2/3 innings, while going 20-15 with a 5.55 ERA.
GALLEGOS SITTING ON 19 WINS, 275 KS: Junior Isaac Gallegos enters the week with 19 wins in his collegiate career, and 275 strikeouts across 217 2/3 innings including his two years at Trinidad State College. Gallegos matched his season high with seven innings in a no-decision on Saturday, and he has struck out 57 batters in 65 2/3 frames in his first season with the Lobos.
KINKADE HITS SECOND HR: Konner Kinkade ripped his second home run of the season off the foul pole in left on Sunday, helping solidify the Lobos’ 7-3 victory. It came directly after Olson’s home run, as the duo went back-to-back. Kinkade is hitting .304 and slugging .522 in 32 games played primarily off the bench this spring.
San Diego State Aztecs
2023 Record: 21-27, 15-11 MW
Head Coach: Mark Martinez (9th season)
Overall series: SDSU leads 129-84
In San Diego: SDSU leads 70-37
First meeting: 4/15/1990
Last meeting: 4/2/2023
The Aztecs enter the final series of the regular season tied for second in the conference standings, and must win at least one game in the series in order to punch their ticket to the postseason. San Diego State is coming off a 2-1 series loss to Air Force last week, and has lost five of its last six games entering the weekend series.
Cole Carrigg is the lone Aztec batting north of .300, as his mark of .314 leads the team. TJ Fondtain leads the team with nine home runs to go along with 32 RBIs, and Poncho Ruiz is the club’s RBI leader with 36 on the year. As a team, SDSU bats .248 and averages 5.0 runs per game.
Fondtain is also the team’s top pitcher, holding a 2.68 ERA with 84 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings pitched across 13 starts. Chris Canada has been the Aztecs’ other primary starter, striking out 70 hitters in 60 innings across 12 starts with a 5.10 ERA. Kelena Sauer is one of the top closers in the conference, leading the league with 11 saves while striking out 34 hitters in 30 innings to go along with a 4.50 ERA. The SDSU pitching staff has an ERA of 4.78 and the opposition is batting .251 against them.