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Lobos Fall 11-2 to Gophers in Surprise

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SURPRISE, Ariz. – New Mexico couldn’t overcome an early eruption from Minnesota’s bats in its third game of the Sanderson Ford College Baseball Classic at Surprise Stadium on Sunday evening, falling 2-11.

The Lobos (1-2) look to finish the weekend at the .500 mark with a rematch with CSU Bakersfield (0-3) in their Surprise finale tomorrow at 2 p.m. MT. Head to GoLobos.com/Surprise for this weekend’s FloBaseball streaming options and live stats links all in one place.

Minnesota plated six runs in the first two innings and tacked on four more in the fifth to jump out to a 10-1 lead the Gophers would hold onto the rest of the way despite the Lobos holding them hitless in the third, fourth, sixth and seventh. In both innings in which the Lobos plated a run, the Gophers led off with multiple knocks in succession in the bottom of the frame to nullify the gain.

Khalil Walker (2B, 1 R, 1 BB), Tye Wood (1 H, 1 R, 1 BB), Ethan Ott (1 H) and Jake Holland (2B, 1 RBI) all finished with hits, with Will Asby drawing a pair of walks and Reed Spenrath and Josh McAlister both walking once each. 

RHP Dayne Pengelly weathered some blows from the Gophers in his first start (1.0 IP, 5 H, 6 ER, 3 BB, 3 HBP, 1 K), with LHP Daxton Purser entering the game with bases loaded and nobody out and tossing 2 ⅔ innings of hitless relief (1 BB, 2 K) to calm things down. Ryan Castillo (0.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB) got the Lobos out of a jam with two runners on in the bottom of the fourth and LHP Justin Still (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K) and RHP Blake Lehmbeck (1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) threw the rest of the way.

THE ACTION
Entering the game with the bases juiced and nobody out, Purser induced a double play – UNM’s fourth of the season – to exchange two outs for a sixth run and picked up his first strikeout in the next at-bat to stop the bleeding.

Purser continued to keep things quiet even as the Lobos’ slow start at the plate continued, tossing a 1-2-3 inning (lineout, flyout, groundout) to keep the Gophers off the board for the first time and reach five consecutive batters retired.

UNM got its first runner in scoring position after Ott singled and Asby reached on an error to push him to second with one out on the board, making it five straight at-bats for Asby without being retired. With deuces wild, Spenrath drew a walk – extending his active on-base streak to six games  – to load the bases and force the Gophers to talk things over on the mound, but UM RHP Will Semb was able to pick up his sixth punchout on Josh McAlister in response to keep UNM scoreless.

After a leadoff hit-by-pitch broke up Purser’s near-flawless outing so far, he continued to hold UM hitless in the fourth, adding his second strikeout in the next at-bat but issuing his first walk to cue Castillo’s entry into the game. The true freshman induced a routine grounder with three pitches to keep the Lobos out of trouble and make it two straight hitless frames.

UNM’s bats finally produced a run in the fifth, with Walker depositing a two-out double in left field and Wood following with a base hit to get him to third, where he hurried on a wild pitch in the next at-bat to plate UNM’s first run.

After the Gophers put up a run in response to leave UNM with two innings to put a dent in the lead, Wood and Asby both got aboard on walks and Holland got the Lobos back on the board with an RBI double to make it 10-2.

But just like UNM’s first run, the Gophers responded with back-to-back hits to lead off the next frame that pushed another run across to bring the deficit back to nine.

Walker (BB) and Wood (HBP) both got on base in succession again with the Lobos down to their final out, but a flyout from Ott stranded them both and ended the game.

UP NEXT / FOLLOW THE ACTION
Monday’s game is set for a 2 p.m. (MT) start, with RHP Ben Baker-Livingston set to get the start on the mound for the Lobos. Live stats and streaming options are available via GoLobos.com/Surprise  — follow @UNMLoboBaseball on Instagram and X for live updates, highlights and more.

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