Lobos Top Nevada 10-8 in Finale for Coach Brown's 400th Career Win
RENO, Nev. – New Mexico came out of a back-and-forth affair with Head Coach Tod Brown’s 400th career win in Sunday’s series finale at Nevada, with Reed Spenrath and Jake Holland combining for seven RBI with two homers and four doubles and RHP Josh Barnhouse keeping the Wolf Pack off the board in the final frame to seal the deal.
The Lobos improve to 12-8 through the first 20 games of the season, with a 4-2 mark in Mountain West matchups.
With Brown’s 400th career win (North Dakota State 2008-2021, UNM 2022-present), he’s one of only three UNM coaches to surpass 400 wins in their careers, trailing only Rich Alday (515-313 [1990-2007]) and Ray Birmingham (414-341 [2008-2020]) – the second and third-longest tenured Lobo Baseball coaches in program history – for the most career wins. Brown has posted a 59-66 record since becoming UNM’s 12th Baseball coach in the summer of 2021.
BY THE NUMBERS
Reed Spenrath finished with two momentum-swinging hits – a two-RBI double and a three-run homer – to drive in a team-high five runs for the Lobos, with Jake Holland connecting on three doubles and a homer to go 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI. Devon Dixon added two more runs driven in with a double of his own and Tye Wood drove in another to go with a run scored to round things out.
RHP Wil Bannister went three innings in the start, tagged for six earned runs on nine hits while striking out three and walking one. LHP Arthur Steinkamp (3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) and RHP Josh Barnhouse (3.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K) took over the rest of the way, with Steinkamp getting the win to improve to 1-1 in games of record and Barnhouse throwing two clutch scoreless frames to close things out and earn the save.
THE ACTION
UNM got the scoring started with Spenrath’s third homer in the last week, driving in himself along with Jake Holland – who doubled – and Asby – who was hit by a pitch – for a 3-0 lead. Spenrath hit his first homer of the year on Sunday against UNLV, and has connected on six extra base hits since then.
But the Wolf Pack reset the game in the bottom of the frame thanks to two singles and two hit-by-pitches that yielded three earned runs before Bannister could end the inning with a flyout. Nevada tacked on another run on two more hits in the second after the Lobos went hitless in the top of the inning, but Bannister induced a grounder with two aboard to keep the deficit at just one run.
A one-out double from Holland down the left field line – his seventh of the season – sparked a Lobos rally in the third, with Wood drawing a hit-by-pitch to get aboard before Dixon connected on a second double to score them both and retake the lead at 5-4.
Bannister kept things going with three flyouts in a scoreless bottom of the inning, but Nevada struck again in the fourth, going back ahead on a pair of RBI doubles and a wild pitch from Steinkamp that made it 7-5.
But two more doubles in the fifth gave the Lobos momentum again – Holland connected on his second of the game after Asby was walked, and Spenrath recorded his fourth and fifth RBI of the day with another two-bagger to tie things up. Wood provided the go-ahead with a single up the middle to score Spenrath and make it 8-7, but was caught stealing on his way to second for the first out.
Holland provided the final punch with his fifth homer of the season in the top of the seventh, putting UNM up 10-7. They’d hold that lead the rest of the way with Barnhouse tossing the final 2 ⅔ innings – Nevada got one back in the bottom of the inning on a sac fly, but didn’t score again as Barnhouse shut the door with a 1-2-3 ninth. Barnhouse finished with four strikeouts, two of them in that final frame.
UP NEXT
The Lobos return home for their first Rio Grande Rivalry matchup of the season against New Mexico State Tuesday at Santa Ana Star Field. Live stats will be available via GoLobos.com/BSBStats, with streaming via the Mountain West Network at GoLobos.com/Watch — follow @UNMLoboBaseball on Instagram and X for live updates, highlights and more.