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Arthur Steinkamp threw four strong innings in a 5-3 defeat at San Diego State on Thursday.

Aztecs walk off Lobos in series opener

by Evan O'Kelly

SAN DIEGO – Down to its final strike on Thursday night at Tony Gwynn Stadium, San Diego State emerged the victor 5-3 over the New Mexico baseball team when Caden Miller hit a 3-2 pitch over the fence in left field for a three-run, walk-off home run in the opening game of a Mountain West Conference series.

Miller’s no-doubt shot to left field came on the seventh pitch of the at-bat against Lobo left-hander Arthur Steinkamp, who was superb across four innings of relief on Thursday. The junior left-hander struck out four and walked none, while giving up four runs on six hits in an outing that was nearly flawless until the final pitch.

UNM starter Riley Egloff was stellar in what proved to be the final start of his career, striking out six batters before exiting with an injury with two outs in the fifth inning. The fifth-year senior allowed one unearned run on four hits and two walks, while throwing 90 pitches. With the loss, the Lobos fell to 26-23 overall and were eliminated from Mountain West tournament contention as their league record slipped to 13-15.

Lenny Junior Ashby was 2-for-4 and Sean Stephens was 2-for-2 to lead the Lobos on a night where a total of just six hits was nearly enough to win the ballgame.

Miller’s dramatic home run capped a 3-for-5 night at the plate, while Shaun Montoya and Poncho Ruiz were each 2-for-4 for the hosts. San Diego State improved to 23-27 on the season, and secured a berth into the conference tournament as it moved to 16-11 in league play with the win.

The Lobos put a pair of runners on base in the top of the first inning, with a single by Ashby followed by a walk to Braydon Runion. SDSU starter Xavier Cardenas got out of the jam however, picking up his first two strikeouts of the evening on his way to stranding both runners.

An error and a walk set the table for the Aztecs in the bottom of the first, and the hosts executed a squeeze play to grab a 1-0 lead with Montoya beating out a bunt single. Egloff kept his composure with the bases loaded and no outs, retiring the next three hitters to limit the damage to a single run.

Cole Carrigg shot the gap in left-center for a two-out double in the second, before stealing third base. Devon Dixon saved the Lobos a run on the steal attempt, as he swiped up a nasty short hop on the throw which would have allowed Carrigg to trot home had it gotten past him. Egloff then sealed his first shutout frame of the day with his third strikeout, catching Irvin Weems looking on a 2-2 pitch on the outside corner.

Ashby won an eight-pitch battle against Cardenas with one out in the third inning, rifling his 17th double of the year over the head of Xavier Gonzalez and off the left-field wall. Runion followed with his team-leading 23rd double of the season, bringing home Ashby to tie the score at 1-1. Jake Holland just missed his 13th home run of the season, as Carrigg glided towards the wall in right-center to catch a deep drive off the catcher’s bat. The Lobos kept the rally going, with Konner Kinkade drawing a gutsy bases-loaded walk on a 3-2 pitch that simultaneously gave UNM the lead and drove Cardenas from the game in the top of the third.

Egloff gained strength with the lead at his back, retiring six straight hitters including three more strikeouts into the fifth inning. Montoya broke up the streak with a two-out triple into the right-field corner to put the tying run 90 feet away, but the Lobos got out of the jam with Steinkamp getting the final out of the frame.

Ruiz once again put the tying run on third base, this time with a one-out triple in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kinkade made the most important defensive play of the game up to that point, handling a high chopper and throwing home to Holland just in time to nail Ruiz trying to score and keep the Lobos in front 2-1.

Steinkamp baffled the Aztecs in the bottom of the seventh, fielding an easy comebacker before back-to-back strikeouts to keep the hosts off the board. Stephens then delivered a key two-out, RBI-double in the top of the eighth, which scored Dixon from first base and extended the Lobos’ advantage to 3-1.

Ruiz got the Aztecs within a run with a two-out, RBI-single in the bottom of the eighth, but Steinkamp limited the damage to a single run using a ground out to Dixon to strand two runners on base.

The doomful ninth inning started with a leadoff single by pinch hitter Charlie Rhee, a sacrifice bunt by Weems, and a hit batter to put runners on first and second with one out. Steinkamp buckled down and struck out TJ Fondtain – the Aztecs’ second-leading RBI man – on four pitches to put his team one out away from victory. Miller fouled off three pitches en route to working the count full on Steinkamp, before unloading the game-deciding swing of the bat.

Both teams left 10 runners on base and struck out 10 times in the game. Brian Leonhardt limited the Lobos to one run on two hits while striking out four and walking two in five innings of relief. Eldridge Armstrong finished the game on the mound for the Aztecs, logging one strikeout across 1 1/3 perfect innings.

LOBO NOTES: New Mexico is now 84-130 all-time against San Diego State and is 37-71 in games played in San Diego…SDSU leads the season series between the teams 4-0…Steinkamp’s scoreless inning streak came to an end at 14 2/3, upon allowing the run in the bottom of the eighth…the longest streak of the season by any Lobo covered seven appearances dating back to April 28 against Fresno State.

UP NEXT: The series continues on Friday night with another 7 p.m. (MDT) first pitch from Tony Gwynn Stadium.