Isabel Gonzalez
@cisabelg
April has been no joke for the University of New Mexico baseball team. While the Lobos have struggled, they finished the weekend on a high note by taking the series 2-1 against the UC Riverside Highlanders.
Thursday: UC Riverside 18, New Mexico 10
The Highlanders picked up their only win on Thursday as they defeated the Lobos in a high-scoring game. New Mexico led 4-0 after the first inning, but the visiting team showed its offensive power during the second with nine runs. The cherry and silver tied it 9-9 after the fourth but UC Riverside got two more in the fifth and never fell behind again.
Friday: UC Riverside 10, New Mexico 11
The Lobos were ahead 10-4 at the bottom of the fifth after picking up seven runs during that inning. UC Riverside replied with five runs in the sixth. Senior Malachi Emond came in for the last part of the inning to help the Lobos hang on. Each team only got one more run for the rest of the day.
T9 | Big time win! Emond finishes it off with his bare hands! #GoLobos pic.twitter.com/iQXF89lCVt
— UNM Baseball (@UNMLoboBaseball) April 19, 2019
Saturday: UC Riverside 9, New Mexico 10
The Lobos most effective offense came at the bottom of the sixth with six runs. The Highlanders were looking for a comeback and got close during the eight as they got four runs. To make sure the Lobos stayed on top, the UNM coaching staff sent senior Hayden Schilling to the mound. Toward the end of the game, UC Riverside had two players on bases but Schilling got the strikeout and his third save of the year.
UC Riverside fell to a 12-25 overall record. New Mexico is now 18-21 overall. The Lobos have gone 4-8 this month, while going 8-10 in March. Head coach Ray Birmingham said he isn’t too concerned about how the season is going.
“I’ve taken this season with a grain of salt because of what has happened. We are just trying to keep competing”, he said. “Early they played well. Things have happened and there is not much depth. There’s people being asked to do jobs that a normal human being wouldn’t do, and our schedule is extremely hard. The hardest part about it is the wear and tear in the pitching staff with double midweek games. It catches up to you eventually.”
Things won’t get any easier for the Lobos as they hit the road next week for a five-game stretch.
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