Oregon State romps past UNM in baseball

Lobo softball is no-hit by No. 4 Arizona’s Bowen

Day two of the College Baseball Classic was one to forget for the University of New Mexico baseball team.

Oregon State outpitched, outslugged and generally dominated the Lobos in a 14-1 thumping in Surprise, Arizona. (Box score, B5.)

UNM (0-2), which lost 4-3 to Gonzaga on Friday night, was never a factor in Saturday’s game, managing just four hits with 11 strikeouts against OSU starter Cooper Hjerpe and five relievers.

Meanwhile, the Beavers offense played long ball. Ryan Ober, Joe Casey and Cesar Valero homered for OSU (1-1), accounting for nine runs. Ober’s grand slam capped a six-run fifth inning that made the score 11-0.

Jared Martin’s solo home run in the eighth accounted for UNM’s scoring.

Lobo starter Justin Armbruester was not sharp, allowing five earned runs on seven hits and three walks in 3-plus innings. Armbruester allowed just three earned runs and three bases on balls combined in four starts last season.

UNM was without coach Ray Birmingham, who began serving a two-game suspension after being ejected Friday night for arguing balls and strikes. Assistant coaches Jon Coyne and Brandon Higelin managed in Birmingham’s absence.

The Lobos will face Kansas State at 5 p.m. on Sunday in round three of the four-day tournament. Another game with Oregon State looms on Monday.

SOFTBALL: In Tucson at the Hlllenbrand Invitational, No. 4 Arizona’s Hanah Bowen tossed a five-inning perfect game at New Mexico in a 12-0 Wildcats victory. It was one of two games Saturday for UNM (1-3), which earlier blasted Southern Utah 11-3 in six innings.

Bowen struck out five Lobos in setting down all 15 batters she faced. Leadoff hitter Alyssa Palomino was 2-for-3 and scored three runs for the Wildcats (3-0).

Kiana Spencer (0-1) allowed seven runs in 1⅔ innings and took the loss.

In the Lobos’ victory, Izzy Owen had two of UNM’s 10 hits, and each of the other eight in the Lobo lineup had one. Owen scored twice and drove in two runs, and Andrea Howard homered. Emma Guindon (1-0) earned the win, allowing three runs over five innings, and Kiana Spencer pitched the scoreless sixth.

UNM is back in action at the tournament Sunday with back-to-back games vs. Seattle (9 a.m.) and Southern Utah.

■ In Orlando, Fla., New Mexico State (1-5) took another beating at the hands of No. 24 Central Florida (5-1), falling 11-2 in five innings. The Aggies lost the opener of the three-game set with the Knights 18-1, also a five-inning knockout, on Friday. Game three is Sunday.

In Saturday’s middle game, the Knights scored seven two-out runs. The day’s one NMSU bright spot was the RBI single and a walk by redshirt freshman Matalasi Faapito, who is hitting .462 through six games.

VOLLEYBALL: In San Diego, Victoria O’Sullivan had 20 kills and host San Diego State (3-3) handled New Mexico 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19).

Sophomore Kaitlynn Biassou had 14 kills for New Mexico (2-4), which has dropped four consecutive matches since opening the season with a two-match sweep at Nevada. Next up for the Lobos as their Mountain West-only schedule continues is matches Friday and Saturday at Air Force.

MEN’S TENNIS: At the H-E-B Tournament of Champions in Corpus Christi, Texas, New Mexico State fell 4-3 to Troy, which roared back with four singles wins in six matches after falling behind 2-0 early.

The Aggies and Trojans are two of the five competing teams at the tournament. NMSU plays UTSA and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Sunday.