Lobos Downed Late in Opener at Air Force, 14-9
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. – New Mexico Baseball tied things up at 9-9 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning of its series opener at Air Force Friday afternoon at Erdle Field but couldn’t recover from a five-spot in the bottom of the frame as the Falcons (19-30, 11-14 MW) won 14-9.
The Lobos (28-19, 15-10 MW) will get a chance to tie up the weekend series and set up a Sunday rubber match with a win in tomorrow’s Game Two, set for a 1 p.m. first pitch.
UNM matched the Falcons with 13 total hits – their xxth game in a row with double-digit knocks – with Will Asby (3-for-5, 1 R, 1 RBI) continuing his hot streak with a three-hit outing to lead the way. Josh McAlister (2-for-4, 2 RBI, 2 R) mashed his 13th homer of the year to match Jordy Oriach for the team lead, while Oriach (2-for-5, 3 RBI, 1 R) drove in a team-high three runs with his 21st and 22nd doubles of the year. Ethan Ott (2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 R) and Tye Wood (2-for-4, 3 R) both finished with two hits each and Akili Carris (1-for-1, 1 RBI) and Karsen Waslefsky (1-for-4, 1 RBI) both added a knock apiece to round things out.
LHP Daxton Purser (5.0 IP, 6 H, 7 R/6 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) kept Air Force off the board in three of his five innings of work but was tagged for six earned runs after the Falcons plated five runs on three hits and two walks in the third and two more on a pair of hits in the fifth. RHP Josh Barnhouse (2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 0 K), RHP Ty Cunningham (0.2 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 0 K) and RHP Luke Wiseman (0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R) combined to throw the rest of the game, with Cunningham tagged with the loss after Air Force’s late surge in the bottom of the eighth retook the lead for good.
ON DECK
The Lobos look to tie the weekend series at a game apiece in tomorrow’s Game Two, set to get underway at 1 p.m. MT. All of this weekend’s series at the Air Force Academy 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
• The Lobos lead the all-time series against Air Force 155-63, with an 90-22 record in matchups in Albuquerque and a 56-37 record on the road.
• In their first three-game series this year at home, the Lobos took the first two games to secure the series but couldn’t complete the sweep in the finale (6-4, 12-7, 1-7). They only faced each other for one weekend series last season, with the Lobos dropping two of three on the road in Colorado Springs (3-12, 6-5, 7-18 [7]).