The first road trip on 2017 for the Lobo baseball team did not start off on a good note, with losses in three of their first four games, including a 7-2 loss to No. 10 Texas Tech on Tuesday.
Perhaps the Lobos took out their collective frustration against the Air Force Falcons in a three-game series to end the road trip, scoring an impressive 59 runs in a three-game sweep, including a 16-7 come-from-behind victory on Sunday.
Down 7-4 with six outs remaining, the Lobos mounted an eight-run eighth inning, capped off by a pinch-hit three-run triple by sophomore outfielder Austin Bell.
“That was a huge hit,” UNM coach Ray Birmingham said in a quote to GoLobos.com “He’s a guy that if it’s a right-hander on the mound, he’s in. I know he’s going to put the bat on the ball. He’s really coming around.”
UNM would tack on four more runs in the top of the ninth inning to pad their lead, but the Falcons were unable to respond with a single run of their own after the relentless Lobo comeback.
First baseman Jack Zoellner led the Lobos with hits in all five of his at-bats, including a solo home run in the eighth inning to help kick off the comeback. Leadoff hitter Luis Gonzalez went 4-5 with four runs scored, pushing his team-best batting average to .537 on the season.
Johnathon Tripp went six innings for Coach Birmingham and the Lobo coaching staff, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits and two walks. Drew Gillespie pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the win in relief.
The Lobos head south to El Paso to take on the New Mexico State Aggies in a one-game series before returning home for a three-game tilt against San Jose State starting Friday, March 10th.
Be sure to catch all of the action live and in crystal clear stereo on ESPN Radio 101.7 The TEAM.