Lobos Fall in Opener at Fresno State, 12-5

FRESNO, Calif. – New Mexico Baseball tied things up midway through its weekend opener on the road at Fresno State but couldn’t withstand a late push from the Bulldogs (13-16, 6-4 MW) en route to a 12-5 loss to the Preseason MW Favorites on Friday night at Bennett Stadium.

The Lobos fall to 16-13 overall and 6-4 in Mountain West play  – now in a three-way tie for first place in the MW standings – and will look to even the series on Saturday, with first pitch set for 4 p.m. MT.

Ethan Ott (2-for-4, 2 HR, 2 RBI) and Khalil Walker (2-for-3, HR, 2 RBI) powered New Mexico’s nine-hit outing — with Ott launching his sixth and seventh home runs of the season and Walker adding his third — while Akili Carris chipped in with a double and a run scored. Will Asby and Luke Mansy each tallied a hit, and Josh McAlister added a single as well.

The game started with an early blow from Fresno State, plating three runs in the first inning. After Ott’s first homer of the game got the Lobos on the board in the fourth, the Lobos tacked on three more in the fifth thanks to Walker’s two-run shot to center that followed a clutch-two out double from Akili Carris and another RBI two-bagger from Asby that tied it up at 4-all. But the Bulldogs responded quickly, regaining control with a four-run bottom half to go up 8-4, with Ott’s second big fly of the night being the only run that crossed for UNM the rest of the way.

The Lobos threatened again in the eighth when Ott connected for his second homer of the night to trim the deficit to 10-5, but Fresno State tacked on two more runs to seal the opener.

On the mound, Daxton Purser (4.2 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 4 BB, 1 K) took the loss after issuing a pair of free passes in the fifth that sparked Fresno State’s go-ahead rally. Luke Wiseman (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K) steadied things briefly in relief, before Matt Romero, Tommy White, and Brian McBroom combined to finish out the final 1.1 innings.

ON DECK
Tomorrow’s Game Two is set to get underway at 4 p.m. MT. All of this weekend’s action 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.

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THE HIGHLIGHTS

⚾️ #MWBSB Highlights from @FresnoStateBSB‘s 12-5 win over New Mexico pic.twitter.com/29U56IMjm2

— Mountain West (@MountainWest) April 5, 2025