Lobos Outlast Nevada in 12 Innings, 6-4
RENO, Nev. – New Mexico outlasted Nevada 6-4 in a 12-inning slugfest on Friday night at Peccole Park, scoring two runs in the top of the 12th to put the Wolf Pack away for good after a four-run lead slipped away in the eighth.
With their fourth-straight win — and first true road win of the season — the Lobos (12-9, 4-0 MW) remain the only undefeated team in conference play. They’ll get a chance to clinch their second conference series in a row in tomorrow’s Game Two (3 p.m. MT). Friday’s game was the longest since Feb. 20, 2022, a 4-3 neutral-site win vs. Minnesota.
Making his second Friday start in a row after a quality five-frame outing against UNLV last Friday, LHP Daxton Purser (6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 11 K) threw six shutout frames while striking out a career-high 11 – he gave up only two hits and three walks to put himself in line for the win until the Wolf Pack’s late push tied things up heading into the ninth. In his last six appearances on the mound, Purser has only allowed five earned runs across 16 ⅔ innings of work (2.70 ERA) with three hitless outings in that span.
The Lobos went hitless through the first three innings with six strikeouts in that span, but drew five walks to get a runner aboard in each of the first three frames and take an early 1-0 lead on a bases-loaded HBP in the second. They racked up 13 hits over the next nine frames, with Andrew Neil (3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2B) leading the way with another multi-RBI performance in only his third start in left field, homering for the third time in his last two games and driving in two other runs with a hit-by-pitch and a double.
Khalil Walker (3-for-4, 3B, RBI, BB) added a key RBI triple in the eighth and Ethan Ott (2-for-6, 2B) and Brodey Williams (3-for-5) also finished with multiple hits, with Ott getting the 12th-inning rally started with a one-out double before scoring on a wild pitch to tack on an insurance run late.
The Lobos’ bullpen had to weather a five-hit, four-run eighth inning from the Wolf Pack that threatened to steal the opener late, but Ty Cunningham (3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K) settled things down before Diego Alvarez (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K) slammed the door in the 12th to earn the save.
ON DECK
The Lobos (12-9, 4-0 MW) look to clinch another Mountain West weekend series with a win in tomorrow’s Game Two, set to get underway at 3 p.m. MT. All of this weekend’s series will be broadcast free via the MW 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.
THE HIGHLIGHTS
⚾️ #MWBSB Highlights from @UNMLoboBaseball‘s 6-4 win over Nevada pic.twitter.com/dJaaQJywNB
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) March 22, 2025
ALL-TIME SERIES
With the win, UNM trails the all-time series 32-34 and is 29-31 against the Wolf Pack in Mountain West matchups, with a 15-13 edge in matchups in Reno and a 12-18 record at home (1-3 neutral).
UNM has now won four of the last five meetings – Head Coach Tod Brown is now 8-7 against Nevada in his tenure at UNM. Last season, the Lobos dropped two out of three on the road in Reno (2-13, 3-4, 10-8) but returned the favor in their final home series of the season at Santa Ana Star Field (16-0, 0-2, 11-5).