Lobos Drop Round Two in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. – New Mexico Baseball couldn’t get the bats going in its second game with San Jose State on Friday, falling 5-1 to set up a pivotal series finale tomorrow that could dictate whether the Lobos (27-24, 16-13 MW) advance to the MW Tournament for the first time since 2017.
It’s the first time the Lobos have dropped back-to-back games since April 13, the seventh and eighth games in their longest losing streak of the season. They move into a three-way tie for second place in the league standings at 16-13 ahead of their final game of the season — needing just one win to clinch a spot in the MW Tournament — and drop to 2-3 against the Spartans (22-30, 16-13) this season with a chance to secure the season series split tomorrow.
UNM can secure a MW Tournament berth tomorrow with either a win, an Air Force win or a San Diego State win — they are out if they lose and Fresno State and Nevada both win. If Fresno State wins, the Lobos earn a share of the title with a win. They have yet to be swept in a conference series this year.
The Lobos were held to their lowest hit output since March 29 with just five knocks – Chase Weissenborn, Tye Wood, Akili Carris, Konner Kinkade and Will Asby all finished with one each, with Carris hitting UNM’s sixth double of the weekend and Asby slamming his 11th homer of the season to plate UNM’s only run.
RHP Brett Russell (4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R/1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) retired 10 of his first 11 but ran into some trouble after an error and home run in succession gave SJSU its first lead of the game at 2-0. He was tagged for the loss despite only allowing one earned run during his time on the mound for the second start in a row to drop to 4-3 on the season, exiting after allowing three runners aboard with one out.
Taking over for him in the fifth, LHP Jaren Jackson (3.0 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) got the Lobos out of the bases-loaded jam with a strikeout and flyout on his first two faced but surrendered a run in each of the next three frames before RHP Ryan Castillo (0.2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K) entered the game with one out and runners at the corners, inducing a huge double play to keep the score unchanged at 5-1.
But 11 of the next 13 Lobo batters were retired following Asby’s homer to break up the shutout, with Kyle Smith drawing a walk in a pinch AB and stealing scoring position before a flyout from Wood ended the game.
UPDATED MW STANDINGS (THROUGH 5/17)
| Rank | Team | MW | Win % | GB | Overall | Win % | RPI | Last 10 | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 1 |
Air Force |
17-12 | 0.586 | – | 25-26 | 0.490 | 111 | 6-4 | W2 |
| T-No. 2 |
Fresno State |
16-13 | 0.552 | 1 | 29-25 | 0.537 | 196 | 2-8 | L4 |
| T-No. 2 |
New Mexico |
16-13 | 0.552 | 1 | 26-24 | 0.520 | 192 | 5-5 | L2 |
| T-No. 2 |
San Jose State |
16-13 | 0.552 | 1 | 22-30 | 0.423 | 159 | 4-6 | W3 |
| No. 5 |
Nevada |
15-14 | 0.517 | 2 | 24-26 | 0.480 | 181 | 5-5 | L1 |
| No. 6 |
UNLV |
12-18 | 0.400 | 5½ | 26-25 | 0.510 | 229 | 3-7 | L1 |
| No. 7 |
San Diego State |
10-19 | 0.345 | 7 | 17-36 | 0.321 | 230 | 6-4 | W1 |
UP NEXT
Tomorrow’s series finale is set for a 1:05 p.m. MT first pitch, with RHP David Lopez set to get the start on the bump for the Lobos. All of this weekend’s games will be broadcast via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/WatchBSB, with live stats available via GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on socials for promotional/marketing and gameday updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.