ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Ryan Castillo dazzled with the first nine-inning complete game since 2018 as New Mexico raced to a series-clinching 11-3 victory over San Diego State in Saturday’s Game Two at Lobo Baseball Field.
The Lobos (21-12-1, 7-3-1) have now won three Mountain West series in a row and are winners of eight in a row over the Aztecs dating back to the 2024 season. They move into second place in the MW standings for the time being behind Nevada (18-12, 7-3 MW), dropping the Aztecs (19-17, 7-4 MW) into a tie for third with Air Force (14-18, 7-4 MW).
In nine frames of work, the junior righty struck out eight and surrendered just three runs on six hits – with all of them coming in a three-spot in the eighth after Castillo kept the Aztecs off the board for seven straight to start. He finished with eight strikeouts to just one walk.
With the win, Castillo improves to 7-1 on the season, the most wins by a pitcher since Carson Schneider won nine in 2016.
He got plenty of help from the Lobos’ bats as well, as UNM rapped out 16 hits and plated 11 runs behind a 4-for-4 performance from Lenny Junior Ashby (2 R, 1 RBI) and multi-hit outings from Anthony Diaz (2-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB), Gene Trujillo (2-for-4, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 BB), Luke Mansy (2-for-4, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB), Akili Carris (2-for-5, 1 R) and Khalil Walker (2-for-3, 1 R, 3 RBI).
ON DECK
The Lobos get an opportunity to complete their fourth series sweep of the season – and first of conference play – in tomorrow’s finale, with first pitch set for 12 p.m. MT. All of this weekend’s action will be streamable via both the MW Network (GoLobos.com/Watch) and Altitude+ and televised on Altitude, with live stats available at GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on IG, X and Facebook for comprehensive coverage.
ALL-TIME SERIES
UNM improves to 93-134 against San Diego State all-time and 67-76 against the Aztecs in Mountain West games, with eight wins in a row over them. Head Coach Tod Brown is now 9-11 against SDSU in his tenure in Albuquerque, losing the first nine meetings before winning nine of the next 11. The Lobos are 48-49 at home against SDSU and 36-27 in Mountain West matchups at home.