Carl Stajduhar went four for five with three runs scored and Luis Gonzalez pitched five strong innings of four-hit ball as the Lobos cruised to an 11-4 win over Binghamton at Santa Ana Star Field on Sunday.
The win gave the Lobos a three-game sweep of the visiting Bearcats, a team that made the NCAA Regionals last season.
“It’s a good way to start the season, but it’s a long season,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said in a quote on golobos.com. “Binghamton is a quality team and program, but the road will get tougher for us.”
The Lobos used a seven-run third inning to break the game wide open, highlighted by a two-run home run by left fielder Danny Collier and a two-run double to left center by catcher Robby Campillo.
The Bearcats would mount a brief three-run rally in the top of the eighth inning when designated hitter Pat Britt poked a two-run single with the bases loaded. But UNM’s large lead was too much to overcome, as six New Mexico pitchers combined for seven strikeouts and six walks over nine innings.
Gonzalez scattered four hits over five innings of work to earn his first win of the season. The Tucson, Arizona native struck out four and walked two batters on 76 pitches thrown.
With the win, the Lobos secured their first 3-0 start since 2008 and only their second since 2001. The club batted .304 as a team over the three-game series, with first baseman Jack Zoellner and second baseman Beau Capanna each hitting .500 over the weekend.
Zoellner wowed the home crowd with three home runs in game two of the series, including a two-run blast to dead center field on his third at-bat of the day.
The Lobos continue their 2017 campaign with eight straight games on the road against Dallas Baptist, Texas Tech, and Mountain West Conference foe Air Force.
Be sure to catch all the action live and in crystal-clear stereo on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.