Lobos Head to Lubbock for Midweek Rematch with Texas Tech

New Mexico Baseball heads to Lubbock for a midweek rematch with Texas Tech (29-13, 12-9 Big 12) on Tuesday at Rip Griffin Park, looking to avenge its 11-8 loss in March in the two teams’ second and final meeting this season.

The Lobos (19-19, 9-9 MW) are coming off a 2-2 week that culminated in Sunday DH split with second-place Air Force – since snapping an eight-game skid with a series finale win over MW-leading Fresno State on April 14, they’ve won three of their last five, with two being against the top two MW teams in the league standings and RPI.

They’ll get quite a test from the Red Raiders, which sit in fifth in the Big 12 standings (12-9) after a three-game sweep of No. 22 West Virginia at home that improved them to 21-3 on the year in games played at Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park. Sitting at No. 28 nationally in the RPI rankings, Texas Tech opened the season at No. 21 and was ranked in the Top 25 of D1Baseball.com’s poll all season up until they fell out of the rankings on March 18 after dropping a weekend series to Baylor in Waco, Texas. The Red Raiders have played in an NCAA Regional in each of the last seven tournaments and advanced to a Super Regional three times in that span (2018-19, 2021).

In the first meeting between the two teams on March 5 in Albuquerque, the Lobos took an 8-7 lead heading into the sixth but were kept off the board the rest of the way after a four-run response from the Red Raiders to fall 11-8. They’re looking to make it three straight years in which they split the season series with their regional rivals.

Heading into this weekend, UNM is batting .314 on the season as a team with an OPS of .924 while averaging 8.65 runs and 11.61 hits per nine innings to lead the league in batting average, slugging, on base percentage, hits, RBI, total bases and walks. Jake Holland is pacing the league in homers (13), slugging (.882) and batting average (.391) while ranking second in RBI (46). Reed Spenrath leads the league in triples (4) and ranks fourth in slugging (.678), while Khalil Walker and Tye Wood both leading the MW in on-base percentage (.492, .483) with Wood producing the second-most swiped bags (11).

UNM also ranks No. 17 in batting average (.314), No. 26 in team on-base percentage (.421), No. 18 in doubles per game (2.39), No. 31 in all of D-I college baseball in total double plays (34) and DP per game (0.89), No. 30 in total hits (409) and No. 48 in slugging (.503), No. 55 in runs scored (305) and No. 70 in base on balls (201). 

First pitch is set for 1 p.m. MT on Tuesday, with the action broadcast via ESPN+ and live stats available via GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on socials for promotional/marketing and gameday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

at Texas Tech (29-13, 12-9 Big 12)
April 24 | Lubbock, Texas | Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park

PROBABLE STARTERS
Texas Tech: RHP Josh Barnhouse
UNM: TBA

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM is 49-81-1 against Texas Tech all-time, but the Lobos are 29-26-1 against the Red Raiders at home and the two teams have split the season series in each of the last two years. The Lobos’ two wins in that span both came by the same score of 11-10, and both were at Santa Ana Star Field. Last season, Jake Holland walked off the Red Raiders – ranked No. 22 at that point – in the bottom of the ninth with a solo homer to avenge a 6-3 previous loss in Lubbock earlier that season.

LAST TIME AROUND (March 5)
The Lobos took an 8-7 lead heading into the sixth against then-No. 17 Texas Tech in midweek action March 5 at Santa Ana Star Field but were kept off the board the rest of the way after a four-run response from the Red Raiders to fall 11-8.
Down 7-0 heading into the bottom of the second, the Lobos stormed back with four runs in the second and three more in the third to tie things, taking their first lead of the game on a fielder’s choice knock from Konner Kinkade. But the Red Raiders’ four runs in response in the top of the fourth were enough to last the rest of the way as neither team scored again.
Devon Dixon went 3-for-5 – matching a career-high he’d notched just three times in his career prior – to lead a 12-hit outing for UNM, with Sean Stephens (1 R, 2 RBI) and Konner Kinkade (4 RBI) both adding two knocks each. Kinkade’s four runs driven in were a new D-I career-high.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW
The Lobos went 2-2 last week, defeating CSU-Pueblo 3-1 in a midweek matchup on Tuesday before taking a game off second-place Air Force (17-21, 10-7 MW) over the week with a DH split on Sunday. UNM leaned on a four-RBI outing from Will Asby and a great start from RHP Brett Russell to tie up the series with a 6-5 win in Game One, but the Falcons erupted for 18 hits and four homers to win Game Two 18-7 and take the three-game weekend series.

ON DECK
UNM returns home to play host to San Diego State (11-28, 5-13 MW) for a three-game weekend series at Santa Ana Star Field April 26-28 — the first of four teams below the Lobos in the conference standings that they’ll have to fend off to hold on to their spot in the MW Tournament May 23-25 in San Diego, Calif. The Aztecs swept a DH (8-6, 13-0 [7 Inn.]) to take the three-game set in San Diego March 28-29 after the Lobos snapped an 11-game losing streak to SDSU with a 5-2 win in the series opener but sit in last place in the league standings and are riding a five-game skid.