April 24, 2008

Lobo Baseball vs. UC Irvine Game Notes

Up Next For Lobo Baseball
Games #44-46 • vs. #16 UC Irvine
Friday, April 25 • 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 26 • 2 p.m.
Sunday, April 27 • 1 p.m.
Isotopes Park • Albuquerque, N.M.

PARKING FOR UC IRVINE SERIES / YOUTH DAY ON SUNDAY ... With nationally-ranked UC Irvine in town and the Gathering of Nations Pow Wow across the street at The Pit, Lobo fans will want to take a little extra time getting to the ballpark this weekend.

• Isotopes Parking Lots will be first come-first serve for Isotopes and UNM staff, players and fans to park until those lots become full.

• Once those lots are full, fans can park across the street in Jemez, Corporate, and Tailgate 1 and 2 lots for FREE until the 4-5th innings of each game on Friday and Saturday.

• YOUTH DAY, Sunday vs. UC Irvine, 1 p.m. ... There should be no parking issues on Sunday, April 27, which is Youth Day at the ballpark. Radio Disney will be at the ballpark and all tickets are just $2 for the game at 1 p.m. Junior Lobo Club members get in free.

Live Stats, Video, and Audio: Link available on GoLobos.com. UNM Media Relations Assistant Daniel Archuleta will provide the play-by-play.

Against UC Irvine: The Anteaters hold a 5-0-1 lead over New Mexico in the series. The teams met three times in the early 1980s in Las Vegas, then renewed the series in 2007 with a three-game sweep by UCI in Irvine.

Up Next: The Lobos will have their first week of the season with only three games, when they head out to Provo for a three-game MWC series with BYU, May 1-3. The games on May 2 and 3 will be telecast on BYU-TV (Comcast Channel 289).

LOBO BASEBALL QUICK HITS

• LOBOS IN FIRST PLACE ... New Mexico is currently tied for first place in the Mountain West Conference with TCU at 11-4, thanks to back-to-back series sweeps of Air Force and Utah. MWC series remaining on the schedule - at BYU (May 1-3), at UNLV (May 9-11), vs. TCU (May 15-17).

• LOBOS IN COACHES POLL FOR THIRD TIME ... UNM is getting some recognition from the coaches who vote on the USA Today Top 25 Coaches Poll. For a third time this season, the Lobos are receiving votes at 27-14 on April 21. UNM received votes in the poll on March 3 after a quick 7-1 start, then again on April 7, at 20-11.

• THE MAGIC NUMBER IS 10 ... Lobo fans aren't just watching the scoreboard for the score. Fans are watching for the Lobos to reach10 hits in a game. Why? The Lobos are 24-3 on the season when they get at least 10 hits in a game. Just 3-13 when they don't get to 10. The Lobos' season-high is 28 hits against Air Force on April 12 in Farmington. The season-low is 3 against then-No. 1 Arizona State on March 4. If the Lobos also reach 10 runs, they are 13-0 on the season.

NEW MEXICO AT A GLANCE (27-16, 11-4 MWC) ... The Lobos are currently tied with TCU for first place in the Mountain West Conference and will spend the last four weeks of the regular season fighting for a conference championship and a stronger RPI ... The majority of the Lobos remaining schedule is against Mountain West Conference competition (9 games) ... This weekend, UNM will host nationally-ranked UC Irvine for good measure ... UNM received votes in the USA Today Coaches Poll for the third time this season on April 21 and holds an official NCAA RPI of 52 going into the UCI series ... The Lobos have put together two seven-game winning streaks this season ... Junior Brian Cavazos-Galvez leads the team in batting with a .361 average ... The right side of the infield, first baseman Kevin Atkinson and second baseman Mike Brownstein, have started every game for the Lobos in 2008 ... The weekend pitching has stabilized with seniors Bobby LaFromboise, Jacob Norton and Stephen Smith leading the way ... Norton became the Lobos first 5-game winner on April 19 against Utah ... Closer Clinton Cox leads the Lobo pitching staff with 18 appearances ... John Hesketh and Will Kerr have been solid mid-week starters against some of the toughest teams in the country.

UC IRVINE AT A GLANCE (25-10, 6-6 Big West) ... The Anteaters come into Albuquerque off of a mid-week split with Kansas State in Manhattan ... Jeff Cusick leads the everyday players in hitting with a .339 average, two triples and 11 doubles ... Scott Gorgen is the UCI ace and had an All-American season in 2007 ... The Anteaters advanced to the College World Series in Omaha in 2007.

Probable Starters

New Mexico (27-16, 11-4 MWC)
1B Kevin Atkinson
2B Mike Brownstein
SS Scott Gracey
3B Ian Hollick
LF Matt Hibbitts
CF Adam Courcha
RF Brian Cavazos-Galvez
C Rafael Neda
DH Coty Wilson

Pitching Rotation
Friday - Bobby LaFromboise (L)
Saturday - Jacob Norton (L)
Sunday - Stephen Smith (R)

UC Irvine (25-10, 6-6 Big West)
1B Jeff Cusick
2B Casey Stevenson
SS Ben Orloff
3B Josh Tavelli
LF Francis Larson
CF Ollie Linton
RF Dillon Bell
C Aaron Lowenstein
DH Ryan Fisher

Pitching Rotation
Friday - Scott Gorgen (R)
Saturday - Bryce Stowell (R)
Sunday - Daniel Bibona (L)

2008 NCAA National Stats Rankings
(through games on April 20)

UNM Team Top 50 rankings
1. Double Plays 53
2. Double Plays per game 1.29
13. Hits 475
16. Doubles 93
17. Fielding Percentage .973
23. Triples 16
24. Runs 319
33. Triples per game 0.39
37. Hit By Pitch 53
37. Sacrifice Bunts 33
38. Batting Average .320
40. Runs per game 7.8
41. Doubles Per game 2.27
45. Sacrifice Flies 21
50. Win-Loss Percentage .659

UNM Individual Top 100 rankings
21. Brian Cavazos-Galvez, toughest to K 19.4
26. Adam Courcha, sac bunts per game 0.26
36. Adam Courcha, sacrifice bunts 8
42. Bobby LaFromboise, hits/9IP 6.85
48. Kevin Atkinson, total bases 103
57. Kevin Atkinson, hits 60
85. Brian Cavazos-Galvez, slugging pct. .676
86. Jacob Norton, wins 5.0
97. Mike Brownstein, hits 57

Current RPI (Final 2007 UNM NCAA RPI - 167)
Boyd's World (April 24) - 59 (MWC - 11)
WarrenNolan.com (April 24) - 57 (MWC - 10)
Ping Baseball (April 15) - 43
2008 NCAA (April 23) - 52