Lobos Return to Las Cruces for Rio Grande Rivalry, Pt. 3

Coming off its first 4-0 week this season, New Mexico Baseball returns to Las Cruces tomorrow for its third matchup with in-state rivals New Mexico State (20-23, 7-11 C-USA) on Tuesday at Presley Askew Field.

Last time UNM headed to Las Cruces on April 9, they were on a five-game skid that extended to six with a 2-10 loss to the Aggies. This time around, the Lobos (23-19, 12-9 MW) are winners of four straight and seven of their last nine since snapping the skid at game games on April 14 – they swept San Diego State in a three-game series (8-5, 19-5, 9-7) for the first time since 2013 last weekend to jump from fourth to second in the Mountain West league standings thanks to a walk-off grand slam from Devon Dixon that completed a rally from down 7-1 in the finale on Sunday. Should the Lobos win three out of four this week, they’ll match last season’s total wins for most in a season with Head Coach Tod Brown at the helm.

As a result, the Lobos swept the Mountain West Weekly Awards released Monday, with Will Asby being named Player of the Week, Brett Russell Pitcher of the Week and Gene Trujillo Freshman of the Week.

Meanwhile, the Aggies are coming off a weekend sweep of their own after beating Jacksonville State three times in a row (8-4, 9-5, 22-8) – they sit in seventh-place in the C-USA standings.

UNM won the first game in dominant fashion at Santa Ana Star Field on March 19, run-ruling the Aggies 14-4 in seven innings while hitting three homers and four doubles but went cold at the plate in a 2-10 loss in Las Cruces April 9. UNM and their rivals to the south split a four-game season series in 2023, but the Lobos have won six of their last nine since renewing the rivalry for the first time since 2019 two seasons ago. They’re 167-94 all-time against the Aggies, with a 63-51 record in games played in Las Cruces.

The two teams will meet once more for the season series finale a week from tomorrow at Santa Ana Star Field. A win on tomorrow puts UNM in a position to take the four-game season series 3-1 — if they fall tomorrow, the best they can do is split.

Heading into this weekend, UNM is batting .323 on the season as a team with an OPS of .949 while averaging 9.20 runs and 12.04 hits per nine innings to lead the league in batting average, slugging, on base percentage, runs, hits, RBI, total bases and walks. Khalil Walker (.412) and Jake Holland (.370) have the No. 1 and No. 3 batting averages in the Mountain West — Holland also leads the league in slugging (.803) and ranks third in RBI (48) and second HR (13) while Walker leads the league in OBP (.517). Reed Spenrath leads the league in triples (4) and ranks sixth in slugging (.6645). Tye Wood ranks third in OBP behind Walker at .470 with the second-most stolen bases (12).

UNM also ranks No. 9 in all of D-I college baseball in batting average (.323), No. 11 in team on-base percentage (.429), No. 13 in doubles per game (2.40), No. 18 in total hits (469), No. 38 in total double plays (36), No. 40 in DP per game (0.86),  No. 29 in slugging (.520), No. 33 in runs scored (358) and No. 35 in base on balls (233). 

Tuesday’s midweek matchup is set for a 6 p.m. MT first pitch, with a live stream available via ESPN+ and live stats at GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on socials for promotional/marketing and gameday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

vs. New Mexico State (20-23, 7-11 MW)
April 30 | Las Cruces, N.M. | Presley Askew Field

ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM is 167-94 all-time against their rivals to the south, with a 78-34 record in home matchups after winning the two teams’ first matchup this year in Albuquerque on March 19 and a 63-51 record in Las Cruces. The two teams split four matchups last season, with the Lobos winning via run rule twice (13-0, 14-6) but losing via shutout twice as well (0-2, 0-8). Tod Brown is 7-3 against the Aggies in his tenure as UNM Head Coach.

LAST TIME OUT
The Lobos put together their most complete week on both sides of the ball last week, batting .395 as a team while limiting opponents to a .254 average. UNM started the week with a loud 17-3 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock on Tuesday and kept rolling upon their return to the Land of Enchantment over the weekend, sweeping San Diego State in a series that they controlled even after falling behind midway through the finale.

Eight of 10 Lobos that appeared in all four games batted above .300 on the week, led by Khalil Walker (.600), Will Asby (.526), Reed Spenrath (.444) and Chase Weissenborn (.417) all above .400. 10 UNM batters drove in multiple runs in that span, with Asby and Weissenborn both finishing with 8 RBI each to lead the team. The Lobos averaged 16.2 hits and 14.31 runs per game despite a relatively quiet week from their leading home run hitter and RBI man Jake Holland, who batted .235 with one double and two RBI.

Six different Lobos combined for nine home runs – Will Asby, Khalil Walker and Josh McAlister finished the week with two round-trippers each. Asby matched a single-season program record with his third grand slam this season on Tuesday at Texas Tech and Devon Dixon walked off the Aztecs on Sunday with his first of the season to bring UNM up to five total grand slams on the season.

UNM pitchers posted a 4.00 team ERA as the Lobos held opponents to seven or fewer runs in all four games – the first time all season they’ve held opponents to single-digit runs four games in a row. Lobo batters drew 32 walks in total (8.64 / 9 innings) while UNM’s pitchers only issued 18 (4.50 / 9 innings).

The Lobos’ four-game win streak is tied for their longest this season – they hadn’t won four in a row this year since beating Arizona State on the road on March 12.

ON DECK
UNM hits the road for a MW weekend series with UNLV (23-20, 10-14 MW), who the Lobos swept at home earlier in the year. They’ll need another series win to solidify their hopes of making the Top four ahead of the MW Tournament.