To say it was all Lobo baseball in its first game of a three-game series at Air Force would be an understatement.
The Lobos (5-3, 1-0 MW) decimated the Falcons (4-4, 0-1 MW), 19-5, as they put on a firework display offensively.
New Mexico had four players that went for three or more hits in the game, out-hitting the Falcons 19 to nine on Friday afternoon.
Senior first baseman Jack Zoellner led the way, going 4-of-6 from the plate racking up a home run, three RBI and two runs scored.
Luis Gonzalez put in work as well, going 3-of-4 from the dish driving in four RBI and scoring two runs as well.
The other Lobos to reach the three-hit mark were Andre Gregory and Danny Collier.
UNM pitcher Tyler Stevens got the start on the mound for the Lobos and had a comparatively strong performance. He put himself in line for the win, striking out nine batters in 7.2 innings pitched.
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He allowed eight hits and five runs, but the Lobos got plenty of offense to help the cause.
The Lobos got out to a quick start as Gonzalez singled through the right side to lead things off. After stealing second base, he scored on an RBI-double by Gregory. Three more Lobos would score in the inning to give the Lobos the 4-0 advantage early on.
New Mexico didn’t slow down in the second inning, using the same players to put together a familiar-sounding scoring effort.
Gonzalez again reached first base after drawing a walk and proceeded to steal second base to get in scoring position. Gregory knocked Gonzalez home with another RBI double to put a run on the board.
Collier hit a single up the middle shortly after to plate Gregory and eventually took second base as well. He advanced to third on a hit by Carl Stajduhar, and came across home plate on a Zoellner RBI single to put the Lobos up 7-0 over the Falcons after just two innings of play.
The Lobos tacked on another run in the top of the third inning after an Andre Vigil double put the team in scoring position again. A sacrifice fly by Gregory later in the inning sent Vigil to home plate.
New Mexico continued to punish Air Force in the following inning, scoring three more runs on four hits to go up 11-0.
And things wouldn’t stop there either for the Lobos, as they continued the scoring barrage, putting up at least one run in each of the first seven innings.
The Lobos added a run in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings before the Falcons finally broke through in the bottom half of the frame.
Air Force avoided the shutout by posting three runs in the seventh inning but still faced a huge deficit, trailing 14-3.
The Falcons followed things up by finally silencing the Lobo bats in the eighth inning, and picked up two more runs to close the gap to 14-5 heading into the ninth.
But the Lobos removed all doubt and broke through with five more runs in the final inning to cruise to a 19-5 team victory in the first of the three-game series.
The teams will get together again to play game two on Saturday at 1 p.m. The matchup will be broadcasted on ESPN Radio 101.7 the TEAM.
Matthew Narvaiz is a sports reporter for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers women’s basketball and baseball. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @matt_narvaiz
