On the heels of an abysmal weekend against San Diego State, the U baseball team would likely welcome an Air Force or UVSC matchup on its schedule.
No such luck. Instead, the Utes go on the road for a three-game series against one of the hottest teams in the Mountain West Conference in New Mexico (24-14, 8-4).
In strict contrast to the Utes — who have lost their last three games — the Lobos have won seven of their last eight conference games and head into Friday placing second in the MWC. They trail conference-leading San Diego State by one game and have beaten the Aztecs twice this season.
“Going to New Mexico this weekend is going to be a tough test,” Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg said. “The Lobos are on a roll right now.”
The Lobos sport one of the more dangerous batting lineups in the conference, coming into the weekend averaging .317 at the plate. Over the past six games, the Lobos have been on an offensive tear, averaging 9.5 runs per game.
The offense is led by the trio of Brian Cavazos-Galvez, Matt Hibbitts and reigning MWC Player of the Week Kevin Atkinson. Cavazos-Galvez is the most complete of the three as he is hitting .359 with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. Four of those home runs came in a single game last week when the Lobos defeated Air Force, 26-9.
Surprisingly, as far as statistics go, Utah still holds an advantage over the Lobos in terms of offensive efficiency. The Utes hold the top spot in the conference with a .320 batting average.
Utah has struggled at the plate as of late, though. Last week against San Diego State, the Utes managed one hit in their first game and finished the three-game series averaging 1.33 runs per game.
The Utah pitching staff kept the team close in two of those games, but, ultimately, the lack of run-scoring proved to be the Utes’ downfall.
“San Diego State is the top team in our league,” Kinneberg said. “We went down there, played two tight games against them and even had the chance to win. But this team has to learn to make plays, make pitches and to take advantage of offensive opportunities at key points in the game.”
Whatever the problem, the Utes better figure out the answer before they play the well-rounded Lobos. In addition to having to deal with New Mexico’s batting prowess, the Utes also have the unenviable task of gauging Lobo pitchers Bobby LaFromboise and Stephen Smith. Both pitchers rank amongst the conference’s best and are expected to make starts this weekend.
“(The Lobos) are second in the league right now, on the heels of San Diego State, and they are playing good ball,” Kinneberg said. “We need to go down there better prepared to play than we were last weekend.”
The first game is set for today at 6 p.m. and will be followed by contests at noon Saturday and Sunday.
Aaron SchwendimanThe road doesn’t get any easier for Utah as they travel down to face second place New Mexico.