UNM BASEBALL
Lobos fall to Texas Tech in error-ridden effort
UNM's designated bullpen held up despite allowing runs late
Scoring opportunities didn't come often Tuesday at Lobo Baseball Field. The Texas Tech Red Raiders made the most of theirs.
Texas Tech put together three three-run innings 鈥� including the eighth and ninth 鈥� and came away with a 10-5 midweek victory over the frustrated UNM Lobos. Each team finished with nine hits, but the Red Raiders (19-13) did a better job bunching them, leaving just five runners on base.
It wasn't all bad news for New Mexico (19-12-1), which got solid work from most of the 10 pitchers it employed in a designated "bullpen game." But the Lobos, who host Mountain West-leading San Diego State for a key series this weekend, made too many mistakes Tuesday for head coach Tod Brown's liking.
"This can't win a Mountain West game," Brown said. "We had three errors and probably should've had four. We pitched 10 guys and a lot of them did a nice job, but we had two of our top relievers in there for the last two innings and gave up six runs. That's disappointing."
Oddly enough, pitching has been something of a strength for UNM this season, keeping the Lobos near the top of the MWC standings while their normally stout offense has been inconsistent. The Lobos led the nation in batting average last season and have consistently ranked among the leaders in recent seasons, but the came into Tuesday ranked fourth in the Mountain West with a .305 team average.
Brown's team lost a key piece when infielder and middle-of-the-order hitter Aidan Kuni suffered a season-ending quad injury after just seven games. Still, Brown believes his offense has thus far underachieved.
"We're not as strong as we should be," Brown said. "There's still a lot of baseball left and we're in a good spot in the conference, but our hitting numbers need to improve."
Outfielder and leadoff hitter Anthony Diaz, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored Tuesday, agreed.
"We started off the season hot," Diaz said, "but we've been a little sporadic lately. It's there. We've got good hitters up and down the lineup. We just need to trust our preparation and put it together again."
UNM collected five hits and three runs in the first two innings off Tech starter Kayson Raineri to grab a 3-0 lead, but could not cash in on its few opportunities. The Lobos' best chance came in the fifth, when they loaded the bases with one out for Gene Trujillo. UNM's RBI leader hammered a line drive directly at right fielder Jesse Rusinek, who caught the ball and fired a strike to cut down Caleb Herd at home plate and end the rally.
Texas Tech led 4-3 after seven innings but tacked on insurance runs in the eighth and ninth to make it 10-3. UNM made things interesting in the bottom of the ninth, getting RBI doubles from Antonio Gianni and Shane Miller and loading the bases with two out before Trujillo struck out to end the game.
Having dropped both non-conference meetings with Texas Tech this season, the Lobos quickly turned their attention to the upcoming showdown with San Diego State. The Aztecs are 7-2 in MWC play, while the Lobos enter the weekend in third place at 5-3-1. UNM won its last two Mountain West series against Fresno State and UNLV.
"We're coming off a good series in Vegas," Diaz said, "and we need to carry that over this weekend. You always want to play the best and San Diego State is in first place right now. This is our chance to make a statement."
