ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico kept Air Force off the board for six consecutive frames after an early seven-run outburst but couldn’t get the bats going as the Lobos fell 11-1 in Game Two of a Mountain West weekend series Saturday at Lobo Baseball Field.
UNM gets a chance to take the series in tomorrow’s rubber match on Senior Day, with first pitch set for 12 p.m. MT.
RHP Ryan Castillo responded in a big way after surrendering seven earned runs on nine hits in the first two frames, retiring 11 of the next 12 he faced with just one single and no walks in that span – he closed his time on the mound with 10 retired in a row, striking out the side in order in the top of the sixth. He was tagged for just his third loss of the season to drop to 7-3.
LHP Matt Cornelius (2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K) kept things going with two shutout frames of his own, but the Falcons jumped RHP Seth Lee (0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R / 3 ER, 2 BB, 0 K) and LHP Matt Romero (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 R / 1 ER, 0 BB, 1 K) for four runs in the top of the ninth to put things even further out of reach with just three outs to work with.
UNM totaled eight hits but left 12 baserunners on to only scratch one run – Anthony Diaz, Lenny Junior Ashby (1 BB), and Karsen Waslefsky all finished with a pair of hits each, with Gene Trujillo (1 H, 1 RBI) driving in UNM’s lone run in the seventh and Caleb Herd (2B) connecting on a double in the bottom of the fourth.
ON DECK
Tomorrow’s Senior Day rubber match is set for a 12 p.m. MT first pitch. Sunday’s game will be free to stream via the MW Network at GoLobos.com/Watch, with live stats available at GoLobos.com/BSBStats. Follow @UNMLoboBaseball on IG, X and Facebook for comprehensive coverage.