'Jacks Head to New Mexico For Midweek Series
3/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Stephen F. Austin at New Mexico
Lobo Field •Albuquerque, N.M.
Game One: Tuesday, March 10 •7 p.m.
Game Two: Wednesday, March 11 •3 p.m.
Records: SFA (4-12); UNM (9-3)
Live Audio: GoLobos.com
Live Stats:GoLobos.com
Opening Pitch
Stephen F. Austin embarks on a five-game road swing with a midweek trip to Albuquerque, N.M. to face New Mexico. The Lumberjacks and Lobos take to the diamond on Tuesday, March 10, for a 7 p.m. CT first pitch, followed by a Wednesday showdown getting underway at 3 p.m. CT.
Pitching Matchup
• Game One: RHP Jarred Greene, SFA (1-3, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Tyler Stevens, UNM (1-0, 1.69 ERA)
• Game Two: LHP Patrick Day, SFA (0-0, 6.75 ERA) vs. RHP Mike Gould, UNM (0-0, 0.00 ERA)
Scouting the Lobos
2015: 9-3 overall, 6-2 home. Receiving votes in this week's USA Today Top 25 poll
Last Series: Defeated San Diego State (L 10-8, W, 11-10 (10), W 6-2)
Head Coach: Ray Birmingham (New Mexico State, 1978). 28th season overall (1,067-505-3, .678); Eighth season at UNM (249-177-1, .584)
Synopsis: New Mexico is closing out a 10-game home stand against the Lumberjacks, sitting at 9-3 overall and 6-2 at Lobo Field this season. New Mexico is sitting at 4-2 in Mountain West play, coming off a series victory over San Diego State. The Lobos are batting .272 as a team in 2015, averaging 5.74 runs per game while allowing the opposition to bat .283 with a 4.25 team ERA. Chris DeVito has had the hot bad for New Mexico early in the year, batting .364 with four homeruns and 16 RBI while Cory Voss is batting .333 with 11 RBI.
Series Information
SFA and New Mexico have met four times previously with the teams splitting the four games. The Lumberjacks took a pair of games from the Lobos in Albuquerque in 2012, winning 8-7 and 9-5 at Isotopes Park. UNM then returned the favor last year, defeating SFA 9-6 and 6-3 at Jaycees Field.
Last Time Out
SFA dropped a pair of extra inning slugfests with Central Arkansas in its 2015 Southland Conference opening series, beginning with an 8-7 loss in 12 innings Friday night. The `Jacks rallied twice, but were unable to convert on chances to win the game in both the ninth and 10th innings. SFA then raced out to a 7-2 lead through seven innings in the second game against the Bears, only to see UCA claw its way back before upending the `Jacks 9-8 in 10 innings. Central Arkansas then made quick work of SFA in the getaway game, defeating the Lumberjacks 11-1 in eight innings to close out the series.
Piling On
Stephen F. Austin scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth inning against Central Arkansas Saturday afternoon, matching the most productive inning of the season for the Lumberjacks. All six of SFA's runs against the Bears as the `Jacks also scored six runs in the bottom of the third in the loss to UT-Arlington back on Feb. 15.
Back-To-Back Jacks
Trailing Central Arkansas 3-1 in the fifth inning of the first game of the series, SFA was looking for an offensive spark, finding it in back-to-back homeruns. Junior Garrett McMullen sent a blast to right field, his second homer of the season, which was followed two pitches later by freshman Hunter Wilson belting his first collegiate home run to right center. McMullen leads SFA with a pair of homeruns as Tyler Boxwell and Kyle Thornell have added the other roundtrippers for the 'Jacks.
Looking Ahead
Following the two-game series against New Mexico, SFA gets back on the bus for a long trek east. The Lumberjacks will bus 1,200 miles to New Orleans, Louisiana, to open up a three-game SLC series against the Privateers this weekend. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by afternoon affairs on both Saturday and Sunday to close out the five-game road trip.
-SFA-
