5th-ranked Texas Tech unloads on New Mexico

Lobos hold brief lead, but tumble to their 10th consecutive defeat in blustery conditions

It was the best and worst of times all rolled into one very windy Tuesday.

Texas Tech’s fifth-ranked baseball team continued to ride high, making the most of brutal conditions on the way to a 20-9 win over host New Mexico at Santa Ana Star Field. Third basemen Josh Jung hit for the cycle, smacked two home runs and racked up eight RBIs as the Red Raiders (30-8) earned their 10th consecutive win.

UNM remained on the other side of the coin. Early defensive miscues combined with shaky pitching and some plain bad luck sent the Lobos (12-22-1) spiraling to their 10th straight loss.

The slide matches UNM’s longest under 11th-year coach Ray Birmingham and equals its longest drought since an 11-game skid in 1974.

“It’s been kind of a perfect storm and it’s frustrating,” Birmingham said. “We’ve had injuries, we’re young and some of our key guys have been pressing. The only thing we can do is stay positive and just keep working. That’s what we will do.”

There were a few positives for the Lobos to take away from Tuesday’s blowout. UNM’s offense, which has struggled mightily during the losing streak, showed some life against Texas Tech’s top-flight pitching staff.

Justin Watari went 4-for-5 to pace the Lobos, and brothers Jared and Connor Mang homered in the same game for the first time as college teammates.

“I don’t know if we ever did it (at Los Alamos High School),” said Jared, who finished 3-for-5 and drove in five runs Tuesday. “We probably did it in Little League or something but doing it here is pretty cool. It definitely would’ve been nicer to do it in a win, though.”

UNM looked like it might give the Red Raiders a challenge early. Jared Mang’s two-run double in the bottom of the first gave the Lobos a 3-2 lead — their first lead in 83 innings during the losing streak.

It remained 3-2 after two innings, but that’s when UNM’s defensive issues began to prove costly. The Lobos mishandled a potential double-play grounder to load the bases, and Texas Tech followed with a two-run Jung double and a two-run Grant

Little triple into the jet stream to right field. The Red Raiders led 6-3 after three innings.

Any hopes of an upset largely blew away in the fourth, when Lobos reliever Nathaniel Garley retired the first two hitters before issuing a walk. Texas Tech’s Cody Farhat then hit a towering infield pop up that UNM catcher Daniel Herrera called, only to watch it blow just beyond the pitcher’s mound and drop for an infield double. Jung followed with a three-run homer to make the score 9-3.

“We’ve got to pitch and play defense first and foremost,” Birmingham said. “The conditions were bad and both teams misplayed some balls, but things like that pop up can’t happen.”

The only remaining drama in the game surrounded Jung, who singled, doubled, homered and walked in his first four at-bats. He came up needing a triple to complete the cycle in the eighth but hit a high fly ball that blew over the right-field fence for a solo homer.

But Texas Tech rallied for eight runs in the final two innings and Jung got another opportunity. He tripled to the gap in left-center to complete the Red Raiders’ first cycle since 2008.

NOTE: Tuesday’s game was initially scheduled as part of a two-game series in Albuquerque but it was trimmed to a single game by mutual agreement, Birmingham said. The Lobos open a three-game home series against UNLV on Friday. Texas Tech hosts a three-game series against Oklahoma.