Oriach Homers Twice; Lobos Fall Late in Weekend Opener at Tarleton
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – New Mexico held Tarleton to one run across the first five innings en route to a 3-1 lead before the Texans erupted for nine runs across the sixth and seventh to hand the Lobos a 10-4 loss in Friday’s series opener at Tarleton Baseball Complex.
The Lobos drop to 8-6 with their three-game win streak snapped. They’ll play a doubleheader tomorrow with the Texans (5-9) that gets underway at noon (MT).
Reigning Mountain West Player of the Week for the second week in a row, junior Jordy Oriach homered twice – his fifth and sixth big flies of the season – in the DH spot to drive in three of UNM’s four runs, with Tye Wood doubling twice and driving in a run on a sac fly. Oriach now ranks among the Top 20 in the nation in total homers so far this season — he’s hit all six in his last 10 games, a span in which he’s batting .548 and slugging 1.190 with 20 RBI in total.
Will Asby (2 H) and Khalil Walker (1 R) also added a double each and Gene Trujillo, Ethan Ott and Brodey Williams all finished with a hit each to round out a 10-hit night. Akili Carris went 0-for-4 to snap a team-best 10-game hit streak but extended the longest on-base streak on the squad to 11 games.
Another 𝗝𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘆 -💣‼️
Oriach’s 5th of the year puts two on the board early for the ‘Bos. pic.twitter.com/jgwMm4bTAi
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) March 8, 2025
RHP Diego Alvarez (5.1 IP, 7 H 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K) was largely dominant in his fourth start of the season, giving up the early run on a pair of hits in the first before putting up four zeroes in a row with just one hit in that span. He was tagged with the loss after giving up four late runs as the Texas (5-9) retook the lead in the sixth.
Taking over from there, RHP Jack Messmore (1.0 IP, 3 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) induced two outs in a row to end the sixth but ran into more trouble in the seventh, allowing a home run and a pair of extra-base hits that extended the lead to 10-4. RHP Daxton Purser (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K) was sharp in his short stint when called upon, striking out both batters he faced on nine pitches. RHP Blake Bell (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) worked around control issues to post a scoreless frame, while RHP Josh Still (0.1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) recorded an out in his brief appearance.
ON DECK
Tomorrow’s doubleheader is set for a 12 p.m. (MT) first pitch, with the second game getting underway roughly 45 mins upon the conclusion of the first. All of this weekend’s series will be broadcast via paid subscription to ESPN+, 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.
THE ACTION
After allowing an early triple in the bottom the first that scored Tarleton’s first run, Alvarez allowed just two hits across the next four frames as he put a zero on the board in each – he escaped from a minor jam in the third with a pickoff to second and retired the side in order in the fourth.
Wood doubled twice in his first two at-bats, scoring on Oriach’s first-frame homer as UNM jumped out to an early lead. He followed with an RBI on a groundout in the fifth that put the Lobos back up by a pair of runs.
After Ott wore a hit-by-pitch and Asby connected on the Lobos’ fourth two-bagger of the night to put runners at second and third with nobody out, Carris and Williams came up empty and McAlister drew a walk to juice the bases with two outs, but Walker grounded out to halt the advance.
Tarleton’s bats finally got to Alvarez in the top of the sixth with three hits in a row – the last of which a three-RBI triple that retook the lead at 4-3 and cued Alvarez’ exit after a largely dominant outing. Messmore took over on the bump and induced a run-scoring sac fly and a popup in succession to end the frame with the Lobos trailing by a pair.
Oriach provided the response in the bottom of the seventh with yet another towering homer – a solo shot that cut the deficit to one – but the Texans kept coming in the bottom of the inning, driving in five more runs on four hits to knock Messmore out of the game. Purser slammed the seventh shut with back-to-back strikeouts upon taking the mound and Bell and Still combined to put hold Tarleton scoreless in a precarious eighth, but the Lobos couldn’t plate another run the rest of the way.
