MESA, Ariz. – New Mexico Baseball led San Diego State 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning but ultimately succumbed to a late surge from the top-seeded Aztecs in the second round of the Mountain West Tournament to fall 11-6.
The Lobos (29-23-1, 12-11-1 MW) will return tomorrow for an elimination game against the loser of tonight’s matchup between No. 2 seed Washington State and No. 3 seed Air Force, with first pitch set for 10 a.m. MT.
UNM jumped in front early with a run in the second, two in the third and two more in the fourth, building a five-run cushion behind RBI knocks from Antonio Gianni, Brodey Williams, Luke Mansy and Lenny Ashby. Williams opened the scoring with a double in the second before Gianni followed with an RBI double of his own, then Williams and Gianni each drove in runs again in the third to make it 3-0. In the fourth, Khalil Walker doubled and scored on Mansy’s RBI single before Ashby brought Mansy home with a single to right, pushing the lead to 5-0.
San Diego State answered with three runs in the bottom of the fourth, tied the game with a three-run fifth and took control with a four-run sixth. The Aztecs piled up 15 hits in the win, with Adam Magpoc, Max Farrell and Tyce Peterson combining for nine hits, eight RBI and five extra-base hits. Magpoc and Peterson homered in back-to-back at-bats in the fifth before Farrell and Magpoc delivered run-scoring extra-base hits in the sixth.
Mansy led the Lobos offensively, finishing 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored and a stolen base. Walker went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored, while Williams finished 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run. Gianni drove in a team-high two runs, Ashby added an RBI single and Diaz added a hit from the leadoff spot. UNM finished with 10 hits but stranded 11 runners, including two in the fifth and two more in the eighth.
Cristian Mogen started on the mound for the Lobos, striking out six over 3.1 innings while allowing three runs on five hits and six walks. Ty Cunningham took the loss, while Luke Wiseman and Josh Barnhouse combined to cover the final 3.1 innings. Barnhouse limited SDSU to one unearned run over the final two frames.