Lobos RISING
UNM coach Birmingham warns against a letdown
The University of New Mexico baseball team moved a giant step closer to a Mountain West Conference championship over the weekend, but the Lobos haven’t crossed the finish line yet.
By rallying to win the final two games of a three-game series at San Diego State, UNM gave itself some breathing room atop the MWC standings. The Lobos (26-18-1 overall, 16-3-1 Mountain West) are essentially three games ahead of the second-place Aztecs (30-15, 14-7) with each team having nine conference games remaining.
The first-place finisher will host the Mountain West tournament with the league’s guaranteed NCAA Regional berth at stake.
UNM also boosted its NCAA résumé by splitting a pair of games against nationally ranked Texas Tech and winning the weekend series at SDSU. The Lobos national RPI ranking climbed to No. 36 on Monday.
All the positives brought a quick smile to the face of Lobo coach Ray Birmingham, but it didn’t stay there long. Birmingham pointed out that UNM’s final 10 regular-season games could easily derail its postseason plans. The Lobos host New Mexico State tonight for their final non-conference contest.
“We showed a lot of fight in San Diego,” Birmingham said, “but we can’t let down now. Our RPI is where we want it
and we have to win to keep it there. Every game we have left is important, starting with New Mexico State.”
The Aggies (26-19, 11-4 Western Athletic Conference) will be trying to bounce back from a damaging weekend series. NMSU dropped three straight home games to Grand Canyon to fall into second place in the WAC race behind the ’Lopes (2221, 16-2). New Mexico State also has 10 games remaining, nine against WAC foes. The Aggies’ RPI ranking was 133 on Monday.
UNM won two previous games against the Aggies this season, 8-2 in El Paso and 5-3 in Las Cruces. Both teams made extensive use of bullpen pitching in the first two meetings and tonight’s contest will likely follow the same pattern.
“It’s our Johnny Whole-Staff against theirs,” Birmingham said. “May the better staff win.”
Birmingham gave his players a day off Monday after they arrived back in Albuquerque around midnight. The mood around UNM’s clubhouse was decidedly upbeat after the Lobos came from behind three times in Sunday’s 12-10 win over San Diego State.
“I was proud of our kids,” Birmingham said. “I still don’t think we’re hitting on all cylinders but there was no quit in us Sunday. That’s what we need to show every day.”
Sophomores Jared Mang and Christian Tripp led the way for New Mexico, Mang at the plate and Tripp on the mound. Mang went 3-for-5 with two homers, including a go-ahead three-run shot in the seventh inning, and six RBIs. Tripp worked the final three innings, allowing no runs on two hits, striking out two for the save.
Mang was named Mountain West player of the week on Monday after going 11-for-25 overall in UNM’s five games. He hit three home runs, drove in 11 runs and scored eight times. It was Mang’s second weekly Mountain West honor this season.
“Jared Mang’s one of the hottest hitters in the United States right now,” Birmingham said. “Even most of his outs are loud outs. He’s in a zone and we need to keep him there.”