An end to an era of Lobo Baseball took place on a sunny Saturday afternoon as hall of fame coach Ray Birmingham coached his final game for the cherry and silver.
Although the season proved to be a disappointment with the Lobos finishing with a 16-24 record, including an 11-10 loss in the final game of the season against visiting San Diego State, not one person in attendance cared as a packed house at Santa Ana Star Field said goodbye to the Cowboy coach one last time.
The Aztecs jumped out early with a two-run triple by first baseman Jacob Cruce in the top of the first inning. SDSU would add a pair of runs in each of the next two frames before breaking the game wide open with a four-run sixth inning to take what would turn out to be an insurmountable 8-4 lead.
As you would expect of a team playing for their beloved skipper one list time, the Lobos did not give up easily and fought to the end.
UNM stormed back with five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, capped off by an RBI triple by Harry Fullerton off of reliever Avery Jones.
The Lobos added another run in the bottom of the eighth to make it just a one-run game but could not come through with the needed run in the bottom of the ninth to tie the game, despite two runners on base in the final frame.
Coach B took the field one last time to thank the fans, his players, the university, and the state of New Mexico before donning a Cowboy hat and mounting a horse for a proper send-off for the Cowboy coach.
No other person did more for the state of New Mexico with regards to furthering the game of baseball and helping hundreds of young men become better baseball players, student-athletes, and members of our community.
Coach Birmingham will undoubtedly be missed, but his legacy will live on forever.
Below is a tribute to Coach B that was played at the conclusion of the game on Saturday.