Lobo baseball rebounds vs. Aztecs
Bats give support to Tripp in 11-6 victory
SAN DIEGO — The University of New Mexico baseball team rebounded emphatically from being shut out Friday, getting a solid start from Johnathon Tripp and cruising to an 11-6 Mountain West Conference baseball win at San Diego State.
The victory keeps the Lobos (25-18-1), who lost 4-0 Friday, in first place in the Mountain West at 15-3-1. San Diego State (30-14) drops to 14-6 with today’s rubber match looming (2 p.m., 101.7 FM). Luis Gonzalez (3-2, 5.11 ERA) pitches for UNM against Cody Thompson (1-0, 4.91 ERA) ,
The Lobos scored seven runs in the first inning and had 11 on 13 hits after three.
“It was good to come out and get the bats going today,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said. “Plus, Johnathon Tripp gave us a good six innings and Drew Gillespie looked good in those first two innings before getting through that final inning to close it out.”
Tripp gave up three runs (two earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Gillespie tossed two scoreless innings before the Aztecs scored three runs in the ninth off the freshman.
Danny Collier finished 3-for-5 with a triple, double, two RBIs and two runs for the Lobos, Carl Stajduhar (on his 21st birthday) went 3-for-4 and scored three runs, and Jared Mang finished 3-for-6 with a double.
■ In Las Cruces, clean-up hitter Garrison Schwartz homered and drove in four runs for Grand Canyon, which turned four double plays and defeated New Mexico State 7-2 in Western Athletic Conference baseball at Presley Askew Field.
The ’Lopes (21-21, 15-2), who also won 11-9 in 10 innings on Friday in the opener of the threegame set, have wrested first place from the Aggies (26-18, 11-3), who try to avoid the three-game series sweep today at noon.
Aggie sophomore Kyle Bradish (6-1) took his first loss of the season. Austin Botello drove in both Aggie runs.
GOLF: In Mesa, Ariz., New Mexico State shot the best round of the day, a 9-over-par 293, and moved into a tie for third place among seven teams competing at the WAC men’s championship at Longbow Golf Club. The last of three rounds is set for today.
The Aggies and fifth-place UT Rio Grand Valley shot 293s on Saturday. NMSU gained two strokes on first-place Seattle (17over 585) and is seven strokes back at 24-over 592.
Mike McGilton is the top Aggie at par 142, one shot behind leader Kyle Cornett of Seattle.
TRACK AND FIELD: In Austin, Texas, New Mexico triple jumpers Sam Trigg and Jannell Hadnot won their events to highlight the Lobos’ performances over the two-day Longhorn Invitational that concluded Saturday.
Trigg jumped 52 feet, 10¾ inches with a 3.3-meter/second tailwind to gain new personal record. It’s the best attempt by a Mountain West Conference athlete this season. Hadnot leaped to a tailwind-aided 43-5, about three feet better than the next best MWC triple jumper and into the top 15 in the NCAA.
All-American Alice Wright is slated to compete at the Payton Jordan Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., next Sunday as she vies for an NCAA-qualifying time. The rest of the Lobos return to action at the league meet May 11-13 in Logan, Utah.
TENNIS: In Las Cruces, the New Mexico State men’s and women’s teams will be playing for WAC championships and NCAA berths on their home courts today.
The 11-12 Aggie women won a WAC semifinal 4-1 Saturday against short-handed UT Rio Grande Valley (4-16) at the NM State Tennis Center. The Aggies advance to today’s scheduled 9 a.m. final against Missouri Kansas City.
Led by WAC player of the year Christofer Goncalve, the topseeded Aggie men (17-5) won 4-0 Saturday over No. 4 Chicago State (8-16) and also set up a finals match with No. 2 UMKC.
The 17 wins by New Mexico State in dual play ties the all-time record set by the 1998-99 squad, which went 17-7 overall and 4-1 in Big West Conference play.
■ In San Antonio, Texas, No. 22 Western New Mexico fell 5-2 to No. 20 St. Mary’s in South Central Regional play and ended their season at 13-10. It was the final match for Mustangs JeanLaurent Pageault, Tristan Da Lio and Sascha Brechtel.
SOFTBALL: Due to inclement weather early in the day, Saturday’s Mountain West Conference game between San Jose State and host New Mexico was postponed and will be made up today as part of a 10:30 a.m. doubleheader at Lobo Softball Field.
■ In Las Cruces, New Mexico State (23-22, 11-4) split a Western Athletic Conference doubleheader with visiting Grand Canyon (36-15, 11-4).
The Aggies won the opener 13-5, but dropped the nightcap 13-10. NMSU’s Victoria Castro homered twice and drove in 12 runs in the doubleheader.