The University of New Mexico baseball team entered this weekend’s three-game series against the visiting UNLV Rebels on a ten game losing streak, searching for anything that could help them snap out of their tailspin. Although the Lobos dropped the final game 8-3 on Sunday afternoon at Santa Ana Star Field, the Lobos broke their losing streak by taking the first two games of the series
UNM’s struggling offense broke out with 19 combined runs in the first two games, including an 11-2 blowout win on Saturday afternoon. The brother tandem of Jared and Connor Mang proved to be the offensive catalyst in the two wins for UNM, with the two combining to go nine for 15, with six runs scored and nine RBI. Connor led the Lobos with a team-high three RBI in Saturday’s blowout 11-2 victory, while Jared notched his team-best sixth home run in the season to help secure the win on Friday evening.
The hot bats of the Lobos were eventually cooled by Sunday afternoon starter Trevor Horn. The 6-1, 195-pound junior from Scottsdale, Arizona, pitched six and two-thirds innings of shutout baseball to earn his third win of the season.
After failing to score a run over the first seven innings of play, the Lobos mounted a comeback with one run in the eighth inning and two more in the ninth. Connor Mang hit a solo shot to left center field, and Brayden Merritt hit his first home run of the season in the bottom of the ninth, but it was too little too late, and the Rebels left Albuquerque with an 8-3 win.
With the win, the Rebels move to 28-14 overall and 9-8 in MW conference play. After taking two of three games, the Lobos improve to 14-22-1 overall and 8-12 in conference play. UNM will take on Grand Canyon University in a two-game midweek series in Phoenix before heading to San Jose to take on the Spartans on Friday, April 27th.