Freshman gives up 2 hits in 5 innings

Chalk one up for the other guys.

The University of New Mexico baseball team’s banged-up stars had little impact Tuesday, but other Lobos rose to the occasion in a 10-3 victory over Texas Tech at windy Lobo Field.

Freshman Drew Bridges pitched five strong innings, Alex Real and Jared Holley collected three hits apiece, and UNM bounced back quickly from Monday night’s road loss at New Mexico State.

	Friday UNM at Air Force, 3 p.m.

“I liked seeing it,” Lobos coach Ray Birmingham said. “D.J. Peterson’s not playing, (Mitch) Garver lost his streak, and we still had guys knocking the ball around the yard. It’s good to see us get a win like this.”

Peterson, who leads the Lobos in hitting, home runs and RBIs, sat out a fourth straight game with a hamstring injury. He could return to the lineup this weekend at Air Force, Birmingham said.

Garver, the Lobos’ senior catcher, served as designated hitter for a second straight game after suffering a broken nose Saturday against San Diego State. Garver came in with a 26-game hitting streak but went 0-for-4 Tuesday, reaching only when he was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning.

For a day at least, UNM (14-14) was all right without major contributions from Peterson or Garver. The Lobos scored in each of the first five innings and controlled Tuesday’s game with strong pitching and defense.

The play of the day came with UNM leading 4-1 in the top of the fourth. Texas Tech (17-14) had a runner on first when Jarrad Poteete lined a hard, slicing shot to center field that seemed sure to reach the fence and plate a run.

Lobo center fielder Josh Melendez sprinted back and made a stunning, diving grab for the inning’s first out.

“I actually took kind of a bad route to the ball,” Melendez said with a smirk. “It got to a point where I had no shot except to dive. (The catch) kind of surprised me, too.”

It thrilled Bridges (1-1), a converted infielder making his third start of the season. The right-hander did not need a great deal of help, however, allowing just two hits in five-plus innings.

“He’s part of our future pitching staff,” Birmingham said. “He came here as a shortstop but we moved him to the bullpen right away once we saw his arm. The way he pitched today showed you what he can be.”

Said Bridges: “I was just trying to attack the hitters and not be intimidated.”

Relievers Jonathan Cuellar and Josh Walker completed a three-hitter for UNM. Real finished 3-for-5 with four RBIs, and Holley was 3-for-4 with two doubles as the Lobos outhit the Red Raiders 12-3.

LOBOS 10 , RED RAIDERS 3 TEXAS TECH (17-14) NEW MEXICO (14-14) ab r h bi ab r h bi Bell cf 4 0 1 0 Harris rf 4 1 1 1 Conley rf 3 1 0 0 Haggerty 2b 3 3 2 0 Richoux c 2 0 0 1 Garver dh 4 1 0 0 Humphreys ph 1 0 0 0 Real 1b 5 1 3 4 Randolph c 0 0 0 0 Padilla lf 1 1 0 0 Gutierrez 1b 3 1 2 0 Melendez cf 4 0 1 2 Poteete dh 3 0 0 0 Suarez c 5 0 1 1 Barrios 3b 3 0 0 1 Allbritton 3b 4 1 1 0 Burleson 2b 4 0 0 1 Holley ss 4 2 3 0 Davis lf 2 0 0 0 LeJeune ph 1 0 0 0 Moore lf 0 0 0 0 Proudfoot ss 1 1 0 0 Florence ph 1 0 0 0 Totals 28 3 3 3 Totals 34 10 12 8 Texas Tech 001 002 000-3 New Mexico 121 310 02x-10 E-Custred (1), Holley (8). DP-Red Raiders 1; Lobos 1. LOB-Red Raiders 7, Lobos 9. 2B-Harris (3), Haggerty (5), Holley 2 (3). SB-Bell 2 (19), Conley (7), Harris (8). CS-Bell (4). SF-Richoux, Melendez. IP H R ER BB SO Texas Tech Custred (L, 1-1) 3 1/3 6 7 6 4 4 Bethard 3 2/3 3 1 1 1 1 Meyer 0 1 1 1 0 0 Brown 1 2 1 1 1 0 New Mexico Bridges (W, 1-1) 5 2 2 2 2 3 Cuellar 3 1/3 1 1 1 3 5 Walker 2/3 0 0 0 0 1 T-3:00. A-479.Freshman gives up 2 hits in 5 innings‘Other’ Lobos shine in 10-3 rout of Texas Tech

UNM
— This article appeared on page D4 of the Albuquerque Journal