Lobos rally for second straight win
UNM scores nine unanswered vs. Bears
The big hits kept coming for the University of New Mexico baseball team Friday night.
Jared Mang and Hayden Schilling delivered in clutch situations as the Lobos came from behind to defeat Missouri State 9-5 at Santa Ana Star Field. UNM (20-13-1) took its second straight win over the Bears (21-13) and will shoot for a series sweep today.
It didn’t come easily or quickly for the Lobos on Friday.
Ace starting pitcher Tyler Stevens battled his command and Missouri State took advantage, building a 4-0 lead in the third inning. Stevens needed 96 pitches to get through the fourth.
But the right-hander scratched, clawed and battled his way through 5⅓, working out of several jams to keep his team in it. Stevens (5-3) was rewarded as the Lobos’ offense put up nine consecutive runs to earn him a victory.
“Tyler fought his tail off for us,” Mang said. “He didn’t have his best command but he battled and gave us a chance. That’s all you can ask of your starting pitcher.”
Mang did his part with a second straight big game. He finished 2-for-5 with an RBI double and a solo home run.
In two games since being moved to the No. 2 spot in the batting order, the sophomore outfielder is 7-for-11 with two homers and six RBIs.
“I don’t know what it is,” Mang said, “but it feels pretty comfortable batting second. As long as we’re winning, I’ll hit wherever they want me.”
There were few comfortable moments for either team Friday as the Lobos and Bears played a second straight marathon. This one included 19 hitters with full counts, 13 walks and four hit batters — to go along with 20 combined hits.
“Tyler wasn’t sharp and most of our (four) relievers weren’t really sharp,” Lobo coach Ray Birmingham said. “Fortunately, our hitters were pretty good and we made the plays defensively. We got out of lot of jams tonight.”
Missouri State, which came into the series ranked 28th in one national poll, got off to a fast start against Stevens. Jake Burger belted a two-run homer into a stiff breeze toward center field in the first inning, and Jack Duffy added a two-run single in the third to make the score 4-0.
UNM started its comeback in the bottom of the third when Mang laced an RBI double to left-center and later scored on a ground out to make the score 4-2.
The Lobos picked up a run in the fourth, then grabbed their first lead with a three-run rally in the fifth. Bears starter Dylan Coleman (4-2) hit Carl Stajduhar with a pitch and walked Andrew Pratt before Schilling and Beau Capanna delivered two-out RBI singles. A wild pitch allowed another run to give UNM a 6-4 lead it would not surrender.
New Mexico has scored 26 runs in the first two games of the series after struggling to collect key hits during an 0-3-1 road trip.
“I just think guys are going up there with clearer heads,” Mang said. “We’re being aggressive instead of tentative, not being afraid to fail, that’s the biggest difference.” Schilling finished 2-for-3 and scored a pair of runs, and Danny Collier had two hits for UNM. Duffy was 3-for-5 with a triple to pace the Bears.