Lobo bats go cold in series finale

Sometimes the bear gets you. After mauling Missouri State’s pitching staff for 26 runs in the first two games of a three-game series, the University of New Mexico baseball team got carved up by Bears lefthander Doug Still.

Still (5-1) pitched a five-hit shutout and lifted Missouri State to an 8-0 victory at Santa Ana Star Field on Saturday. The Lobos managed just five hits and were shut out at home for the first time since 2011, despite striking out just once against Still.

“He located the heck out of the ball,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said. “We made a lot of soft contact and the few balls we hit hard were right at people. Give (Still) credit. He was good.”

UNM (20-14-1) came from behind to win the first two games of the series and had a few early chances Saturday. But the Lobos stranded a runner at third base in the first inning, and a hard-hit grounder by Jared Mang turned into an inning-ending double play to defuse a first-and-third situation in the third.

After that, the Lobos went quietly. Not so for the Bears, who hammered

some balls against UNM starter Johnathon Tripp (2-1). Jeremy Eierman had a particularly big day for the visitors, going 4-for-4 with an RBI double in the first inning and a tworun homer in the third. Blake Graham also launched a long solo home run off Tripp in the second inning.

Tripp allowed five runs on six hits with five walks in six innings. The Bears added single runs in each of the final three innings against four Lobo relievers, cashing in on several bloops and infield hits along the way.

“It was just their day,” Birmingham said. “We got a few breaks the first two games, Missouri State got them all (Saturday). But we still took the series from a very good team, and that’s what we wanted.”

Danny Collier and Luis Gonzalez each had two of UNM’s five hits. Daniel Herrera’s double was the Lobos’ lone extra-base hit.

UNM will go back on the road Tuesday for a doubleheader at Kansas State (17-18). The two-game set was originally scheduled as single games Tuesday and Wednesday but was recently changed by mutual agreement, Birmingham said.

The Lobos (11-2-1 Mountain West) return to conference play Friday, hosting the opener of a three-game series against UNLV.