Lobos Take Weekend Finale Over N. Colorado, 12-7

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico Baseball secured the weekend series split with a 12-7 win over Northern Colorado in Sunday’s finale at Santa Ana Star Field thanks to an early eight-run deluge in the first two innings and late homers from Khalil Walker and Jordy Oriach that put the Bears (4-4) away for good.

Oriach went 3-for-3 with a home run, two RBIs, and four runs scored, Akili Carris went 3-for-4 while driving in a team-high four RBI and Walker added a homer among his three hits to lead a 14-hit effort for UNM that saw six different players drive in runs. Over the four-game weekend series vs. Northern Colorado, Oriach batted a team-high .632 (12/19), scoring 10 runs and driving in seven while hitting four doubles and two homers. Carris batted .579 with a team-high 11 RBI in the same span, scoring three runs and doubling twice.

Will Asby and Brodey Williams both doubled for the second game in a row while Ethan Ott drove in two runs and scored two more despite not recording a hit, drawing a team-high three walks. Cooper Brass and Josh McAlister each contributed an RBI, with Brass also notching a stolen base. 

As a team, UNM drew five walks and three HBP while the Lobos’ pitchers only hit one batter and issued three walks.

After dropping the first two games despite cracking double-digit runs in both, the Lobos (4-4) held the Bears (4-4) to five or less runs in the next two to get back to .500 on the season. RHP Ryan Castillo (4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R/3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K) opened with his sixth and seventh consecutive scoreless innings in his second start of the season as UNM built the early lead and RHP Tommy White (4.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) calmed things down with three shutout frames in a row before RHP Brian McBroom (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 0 K) tossed the final inning in his season debut.

ON DECK
The Lobos (4-4) continue their homestand on Tuesday, hosting New Mexico State for their first Rio Grande Rivalry matchup of the season at 6 p.m. MT. Tuesday’s game will be broadcast for free via the Mountain West Network, with live stats, streaming options and more available via GoLobos.com/BSBGameDay. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on IG, X and Facebook for comprehensive coverage, promotional updates, behind-the-scenes content and more.

KEY MOMENTS

• UNM loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first and squeezed out three runs on a walk from Ethan Ott and a two-run single from Akili Carris. The Lobos found themselves in the same situation in the second and capitalized further, pushing across five more for a commanding lead that would hold through nine.
• Walker broke up a three-inning scoreless spell with his solo homer out of right field in the sixth – a drive that narrowly stayed fair and was upheld after review. With two outs on the board and bases loaded, Akili Carris and Josh McAlister followed with back-to-back RBI base knocks to extend the lead to 11-5.
• RHP Tommy White took the mound in the fifth, escaping a jam with a double play to get out of that inning and calming things down over the next three – he retired nine of the next 10 he faced to put three zeroes on the board in a row heading into the ninth.
• On the first pitch of the bottom of the eighth, Jordy Oriach went yard for the second time in as many games to tack on the Lobos’ 12th run. RHP Brian McBroom made his season debut on the mound in the top of the ninth to close things out, bleeding a pair of runs but ending the game with a PFP to first.