Lobos Smash Wolf Pack 13-4 to Open Mountain West Tournament
The New Mexico Lobos faced a lot of postseason pressure, but they answered with one of their strongest performances of the season on Thursday night in Mesa. No. 4 seed New Mexico used big offense and solid pitching to beat No.
5 seed Nevada 13-4 at Sloan Park. This opening-round win in the Mountain West Baseball Championship kept the Lobos’ season going and put them into the double-elimination bracket. For Head Coach Tod Brown, this was his first Mountain West Tournament win since coming to Albuquerque, and the Lobos made sure to earn it in a big way.
Lobos Strike Early and Never Let Up New Mexico took control of the game right away. Leadoff hitter Julian Diaz singled to start the game. After Nick Mansy walked with two outs, Lenny Junior Ashby made a big impact.
On the first pitch he saw, Ashby hit a towering three-run homer to left, his team-leading seventh, giving the Lobos a 3-0 lead. Nevada responded quickly with four hits in the bottom of the first. Right-hander Ryan Castillo limited the damage.
A key 4-6-3 double play and a strikeout helped the Lobos keep the lead, as the Wolf Pack scored only two runs. Nevada tied the game in the second inning, but New Mexico’s offense quickly took over again. The Lobos scored five runs in the third inning, breaking the game open.