Lobos Hold Off Aggies in Las Cruces to Secure Rivalry Series Win, 12-10
LAS CRUCES, N.M. β A six-run opening frame propelled New Mexico to another high-scoring rout of in-state rivals New Mexico State in the third meeting between the two teams this season Tuesday night at Presley Askew Field, with the Lobos calming things down in the middle innings and holding on late to win 12-10 and secure the season series.
With their third-straight win over the Aggies (18-19, 6-6 C-USA) and 20th win on the season, the Lobos (20-16, 8-7 MW) improve to 5-1 in midweek matchups and 7-1 in night games. Theyβll face NM State one more time next Tuesday at Santa Ana Star Field with an opportunity to sweep the four-game season series for the first time since 2022.
The Lobos are also now winners of four of their last five since getting swept on the road at Fresno State (April 4-6), a hot stretch they’ll put to the test on the road in just two days in Las Vegas for another Mountain West weekend series with the Rebels (April 17-19).
UNM scored 12 runs on 10 hits and 11 base on balls, drawing seven walks in the first two innings and capitalizing with nine runs in that span. They only needed three more β a solo homer from Will Asby in the third and a pair of run-scoring outs from Tye Wood in the fourth and sixth β to hold on in the final frame even after the Aggies took advantage of five walks in the bottom of the eighth to bring four runs across and cut the deficit to two.
T3 | @tbc_asby out of here in a ππ¨π₯π₯π¬ π
HR #β£7β£ of the year puts us back up by ποΈ right away in the third. pic.twitter.com/vHpDLzBges
β UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) April 16, 2025
Khalil Walker (2-for-4, 3 RBI, 1 R, 2B) cleared the bases with a clutch two-out double in the opening frame that proved to be the difference and Will Asby (3-for-6, 1 RBI, 2 R, HR) mashed his seventh homer of the year to lead the way, with Tye Wood (0-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 R, BB), Luke Mansy (0-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 R, 2 BB) and Caleb Herd (0-for-2, 1 RBI, 2 R, 3 BB) all driving in or scoring multiple runs despite going hitless.
β UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) April 16, 2025
Josh McAlister (1-for-5, 2 RBI, 1 R, 2B) got the Lobosβ early push going with a two-RBI bases-loaded double while Ethan Ott (1-for-3, 2 R), Karsen Waslefsky (1-for-3, 1 RBI, 1 R, BB, 2B), Andrew Neil (1-for-3, 1 R, BB) and Jordy Oriach (1-for-1, 1 R) all finished with hits to round out the Lobosβ fifth double-digit scoring game in a row.
The Aggies got to Lobo starting RHP Ben Baker-Livingston (0.1 IP, 1 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 1K) β working his way back into the rotation after a more than yearlong absence due to tommy john surgery β with three runs in the bottom of the frame despite just one hit, but RHP Tommy White (1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K) struck out the first two batters he faced to strand the bases loaded and keep the lead intact. White allowed two more runs in the bottom of the second but struck out two more to minimize the damage and come one K shy of matching his career-high, exiting the bump with a 9-5 UNM lead.
LHP Justin Still (3.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R/0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K) set the tone immediately after taking over in the third, striking out the side while retiring three of four in the third before ending a scoreless fourth with his fourth punchout of the night β he also came one shy of a career-high from 2022 (5/15/2022) after striking out one more to limit the damage to just one unearned run in the fifth.
E3 | Stilly strikes out the side π₯π₯π₯ pic.twitter.com/fAdVHicIJO
β UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) April 16, 2025
After the Aggies made RHP Grant Origer (0.0 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) and RHP Josh Barnhouse (0.2, 1 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 0 K) pay for a combined four walks with three runs in the bottom of the eighth, RHP Ty Cunningham (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K) took over, allowing one more across on a leadoff walk but closing the final frame with back-to-back strikeouts to earn his eighth save of the year. Cunningham now moves into No. 5 on the UNM All-Time single-season saves list and is three away from matching the UNM program record that has been untouched since 1985.
πππ‘ππ | Lobos 12, Aggies 10
πtoπ strikeouts seal the deal as @TyCunningham19 gets his 8th save of the year and Lobos improve to 3-0 against the team down south πΊ pic.twitter.com/3AglSZAMtf
β UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) April 16, 2025
ON DECK
The Lobos (10-16, 8-7 MW) return to Mountain West play a day early this weekend due to the Easter Holiday, opening up a road series at UNLV (18-18, 5-10 MW) Thursday evening at 7 p.m. MT. All of this weekendβs series will be available to stream free via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch, 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.
ALL-TIME SERIES
With three wins over the Aggies already this season, UNM is now 170-95 all-time against their rivals to the south, with a 79-34 record in home matchups and a 65-52 record in Las Cruces.
β’Β Β UNM went 1-2 against the Aggies in 2024 before their initially-scheduled fourth game in Albuquerque was scrapped due to weather. The Lobos hadn’t beaten NMSU three times in the same season since 2022, when they swept all four games.
β’Β Β Tod Brown improves to 10-4 against the Aggies in his tenure as UNM Head Coach. Current NMSU head coach Jake Angier was Brownβs pitching coach at North Dakota State for three seasons (2011-2013).