Hosting the team that resides in the cellar of the conference may sound like the ideal situation for the U baseball team. However, the New Mexico Lobos are that team, and they had the Utes number in the first week of the conference season.
The Lobos were able to completely blow away the Utes in all three games of the slugfest series by scores of 13-9, 20-11 and 13-12. But now, Utah has its chance for redemption, as the Lobos come to Salt Lake City and Franklin Covey Field.
“New Mexico proved earlier in the season they know how to play well against us. We need to take care of business at home against them,” said U baseball coach Tim Esmay.
The home field advantage will probably play the most significant role in the series.
New Mexico has been absolutely atrocious on the road, collecting a 1-16 record when away from Albuquerque.
The Lobos got off to a fast start with a 5-1 conference record, but have trailed off since. New Mexico is the midst of a huge slump, as it has lost 15 of its last 18 games.
The games have not been the only thing the Lobos have lost this year?a knee injury has taken out their best player.
Donny Sevieri tore his achilles tendon in a game against UNLV earlier this year. Sevieri was hitting .329 with 6 home runs at the time. He is tied for third for career home runs in New Mexico baseball history.
Even though the hitting has been hampered after the injury to Sevieri, the Lobos have other hitters to pick up the slack. However, the pitching has been the true downfall of New Mexico.
The three starters this week for the Lobos are James Vermilyea, Matthew Bullen and Aaron Smith, but the trio has not pitched well at all this season.
After the U faced some of the best pitchers in the conference against San Diego State, the ball should seem a lot easier to hit due to the talent drop off from the Aztecs to the Lobos.
Out of all three starters, the best earned run average has been from Vermilyea, who has an unenviable 6.16 ERA. Bullen has an ERA of 7.66, while Smith has been the worst of the bunch, with an ERA of 8.32.
The Utes’ hitting has not been completely on fire as of late, but is solid enough to blow away the Lobos pitching staff.
Adam Castleton has not only been the leading hitter for the Utes, but leads the conference with a .395 batting average.
Brit Pannier played well in the Aztec series and leads the team with 48 runs batted in.
Donald Hawes goes into the series with a seven-game hitting streak.
All signs point toward the Utes dominating the Lobos, if Utah does not have any mental lapses. The Utes also have a bit of momentum, as they are winners in seven of their last ten.
This could be the break the Utes are looking for. The weekend series provides the opportunity to jump ahead of BYU for second place in the conference, as the Cougs will be playing UNLV in Provo.