The Lobos (19-9, 9-3) had themselves a nice week by going 4-1 during that stretch, including two wins over Sacramento State and winning 2 of 3 against UNLV. They had a chance to go undefeated on the week, but the last game didn’t go the way the Lobos would have liked. After winning the first two games against UNLV by comfortable margins, they had a 5-2 lead going into the eighth inning. However, a four-run inning by UNLV gave the Rebels a 6-5 win and prevented the Lobos from running the table. As nice as it would have been to get the sweep, the important thing for the Lobos is they won the series 2-1 and are now 9-3 in conference play overall. The Lobos will turn their attention to NMSU for their matchup in Roswell tonight. This is the second of four midweek games this year between the two instate rivals, and the second at a neutral site. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Luis Gonzalez getting the midweek start instead of James Harrington, since Harrington got the ball in the last meeting between these two teams.

Scattered Thoughts:

• The big news came this last weekend that Junior Outfielder Danny Collier will be out for the rest of the season, which is a big blow to both him and the team. The school and Collier will apply for a medical hardship waiver to remain a junior next season, which isn’t a guarantee, given that he has exceeded a couple of the limits for a waiver. However, Collier missed time earlier in the year for a knee injury and a concussion, so there is still a chance that he’ll be grated another year.
• In Collier’s place, the Lobos have turned to freshman outfielder Austin Bell, who has been fantastic in his limited duty so far this year. Bell leads the team with a .417 average and has played good defense in left field. If he can keep that up, the team shouldn’t miss a beat.
• We need to take in everything the Chris DeVito is doing this season and enjoy every minute of it. This is the most locked-in we have seen a Lobo since DJ Peterson was wearing the cherry and silver. The way he’s going right now, I think that DeVito will play his way into a high draft pick in this year’s MLB draft. DeVito is hitting .413 with 12 doubles, a triple, 8 homeruns, 26 runs scored, and 40 runs batted in.
• The weekend rotation for the Lobos continued their great pitching with a solid series against UNLV, where the three starters combined to go 20 innings and give up only 3 earned runs. If the starting rotation can continue pitching this well, the Lobos will win a lot of games and would be a very dangerous team in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitching Performances:

It was quite the week for the Lobos starters, with Carson Schneider and Tyler Stevens each picking up wins, and Colton Thomson dominating the Rebel hitters for 6 innings.

Carson Schneider (5-1) continued his great pitching in the Friday night role, and has put himself in position to be in the Conference Pitcher of the Year award. Schneider went 8 innings while allowing 7 hits and 1 run, with no walks and 1 strike out.

Tyler Stevens (4-2) had another good start in the Saturday role. He ended up going 6 innings while allowing 8 hits, 4 runs (1 earned), with 2 walks and 4 strikeouts. It is great see the improvement Stevens has made in commanding the strike zone, especially after watching him battle with control issues early in the year.

Colton Thomson (3-1) didn’t factor in the decision, despite dominating the Rebel hitters from the first pitch. Thomson didn’t pitch in the SDSU series because of the games being moved up a day, so with the extra rest he was able to show how he is one of the best pitchers in the conference with his performance on Sunday. Thomson finished his game going 6 innings while allowing 7 hits, 1 run with 3 walks and 9 strikeouts.

Hitters:

Chris DeVito was CHRIS DEVITO this weekend, going 5-10 with 3 runs, 6 RBIs, 2 walks, a HBP, 2 double, a triple, and a HR.

Jack Zoellner had another solid weekend at the plate, going 5-13 with 4 runs, 4 RBIs, a double, and a homerun.

Luis Gonzalez continued his great work at the top of the Lobo lineup, going 7-14 with 4 runs, 5 RBIs, 2 walks, 2 doubles, and a homerun.

Jared Holley is starting to put together a great senior year and has found a home in the two-hole in the Lobo lineup. Holley finished the weekend going 5-13 with 4 runs, 6 RBIs, and 4 doubles.

Austin Bell did a great job replacing Collier in the Lobo lineup, going 5-8 with 3 runs, 2 RBIs, 2 walks, a double, and a triple.

Up Next:

The Lobos head to Roswell to face NMSU (17-11) for the second game of the four-game series this season. The Aggies won the first game a couple of weeks ago in El Paso, 9-6. The Lobos will be starting either James Harrington or Luis Gonzalez in this midweek game, but I would expect to see Gonzalez, given that Harrington pitched against the Aggies already.

The Aggies have a good offense, featuring 6 players with an average over .300. Their leading hitter is Austin Botello, who is hitting .375 with 22 runs scored, and 23 RBIs with 7 doubles, a triple and a homerun. Despite Botello’s strong start, I think that Daniel Johnson is probably their best player. So far this season, he is hitting .348 with 31 runs scored, and 18 RBIs with 4 doubles, 4 triples and 4 homeruns, while also leading the team with 16 stolen bases on 17 attempts.

With this game being played at NMMI, it could end up being a very high scoring game with two very good offenses. If the wind is blowing out – which is a distinct possibility this time of year – it could be a crazy final score. I don’t know how small of a ballpark it is, but it is smaller than Santa Ana Star Field.

Game Info:

Who: New Mexico Lobos (19-9) vs. New Mexico State Aggies (17-11)

Where: NMMI Ballpark at J.P. White Field, Roswell, NM

When: Tuesday April 5^th, 6 PM MT

Steam: No Stream

Radio: 101.7 FM The Team

Stats: golobos.com