UNM’s Offense Fails In Loss to Creighton

LOS ANGELES — It’s about a 15-minute drive from the hotel to Jackie Robinson Stadium. Somewhere in between, the New Mexico baseball team lost its offense, leading to too much pressing and a failed prediction of victory.

For the second consecutive day, the New Mexico baseball team’s offense did not appear at the NCAA regional at UCLA, and this time it cost the Lobos as fourth-seeded Creighton eliminated them 7-2 Sunday.

New Mexico (37-24) managed just three hits against a Bluejays team with a losing record (28-29), only here because it won the Missouri Valley Conference tournament. This coming one day after the Lobos managed just two hits in a 7-1 loss against UCLA.

The Lobos banged out 11 hits and four runs Friday in shutting out San Diego.

In the middle of Saturday’s news conference, after losing to UCLA, New Mexico baseball coach Ray Birmingham guaranteed a victory Sunday against Creighton.

His exact words: “We’re going to come out tomorrow and win, I promise.”

His response after the loss: “I broke my promise. I apologize, but I promise things will get better.”

Perhaps the offense needs to apologize to its coach. For the three games, New Mexico batted .168 (16 for 95), and many of the hitters who carried the team all the way to the Mountain West Conference title and a third straight Regional appearance failed.

Catcher Mitchell Garver, who came in second on the team with 100 hits, was 1 for 12. Third baseman DJ Peterson, who was 4-for-4 Friday against San Diego, was 0 for 6 the rest of the way.

“It’s kind of been us trying to do a little too much,” said left fielder Ben Woodchick, who was 3 for 11 in the tournament, including a sacrifice fly Sunday. “We came in hot and maybe we tried to do too much.”

Birmingham added, “I think they tried to hit the three-run home run when it wasn’t there.”

In the process, they made opposing pitchers look good. On Sunday, it was right-hander Erik Mattingly (3-4), who in six-plus innings gave up one earned run and three hits with three walks and two strikeouts.

“I was fortunate enough that they hit balls at my fielders,” Mattingly said. “Their No.5 (Woodchick), he hit the ball hard four or five times but right at somebody.”

Reese McGraw pitched the final three innings for his fifth save.

Woodchick said the opposing staffs attacked the Lobos hitters differently.

“UCLA was more going off rhythm. Creighton was trying to mix up pitches,” he said.

Both worked.

Meanwhile, New Mexico’s pitching couldn’t compensate. Creighton got nine of its 11 hits off Josh Walker (8-3) but needed only Anthony Bemboom’s first-inning three-run homer, just his second of the season.

Walker gave up five earned runs in 3â…” innings. Bobby Mares followed with 3â…” innings of two-run, two-hit, five-strikeout ball. New Mexico retired nine in a row and 10 of the last 12 Bluejays batters, but like against UCLA, it was too late.

The Lobos cut the lead to 3-1 on Ryan Padilla’s fourth-inning single that scored Woodchuck, who had collected his team’s first hit, a double. Woodchick’s sacrifice fly came in the fifth, but by then Creighton had scored two more to lead 5-2.

“We hit some balls hard,” Padilla said, “but it didn’t go our way.”

Stanford regional

PEPPERDINE 8, FRESNO STATE 5: Matt Forgatch hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning to highlight a six-run rally that gave Pepperdine an 8-5 victory over Fresno State in an elimination game.

Sam Meyer and Floyd Given each drove in two runs for the second-seeded Waves (36-22), who advanced to Sunday night’s championship game against top seed Stanford.

Michael Swanner (3-3) recorded the final four outs to gain the victory. Starter Corey Miller lasted 5â…” innings, allowing five runs — all unearned — on seven hits. He struck out two and did not walk a batter.

Kenneth Wise had two hits and drove in three runs for the fourth-seeded Bulldogs (31-28). Austin Wynns and Jordan Brink also drove in runs.

Fresno State’s Cody Kendall (4-4) allowed six runs on nine hits in 8-plus innings.

Chapel Hill regional

ST. JOHN’S 9, N. CAROLINA 5: Frank Schwindel had five hits and pinch-hitter Robert Case had a two-run double in the seventh to help St. John’s beat North Carolina to win the Chapel Hill Regional and advance to the super regionals for the first time.
— This article appeared on page B1 of the Albuquerque Journal