The Lobos (6-1) opened their home schedule with a dominant three-game sweep of Wichita State, winning 17-7, 8-4, and 8-6. The Lobo bats were on fire and were able to make Wichita State go to their bullpen early, with only one Wichita State starter to make it through 4 innings. One key thing for the Lobos to be a truly great team this year is for the Lobo starting pitching to continue to pitch well, because the Lobo offense will probably be one of the best in the country.

Pitching Performances:

Starters:

Game One: Junior lefty Carson Schneider (2-0) went 6 innings with 6 strikeouts, while allowing 2 runs on 10 hits and no walks. Schneider has done a great job in the Friday Night Starter role so far this season, and he will continue to grow in the role. The key for Schneider this season will be to limit his walks, like he did in this start. If he can do that, he will hold on to the Friday Night role for the season.

Game Two: Sophomore right hander Tyler Stevens (1-0) went 6 1/3 innings with 5 strikeouts, while allowing 2 runs on 6 hits and 2 walks. Stevens was much better in his second start this season, walking only two batters this start after the five he walked in his first start. Stevens is going to have a very good season and I wouldn’t be surprised if he ends up throwing a few complete games this season.

Game Three: Sophomore right hander James Harrington (2-0) went 5 2/3 innings with 4 strikeouts, while allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, 1 walk, and a hit batter. Harrington continues to make a strong case to be in the weekend rotation and he will probably be the Sunday Starter for the time being as they control Colton Thomson’s workload in the first part of the season. This is a good problem to have, as Harrington is becoming a very good college starting pitcher.

Relief Pitchers:

Senior right hander Victor Sanchez (0-1, 2 saves) appeared in Sunday’s game to get his second save of the season. Sanchez went 1 inning with two strikeouts, while allowing 2 hits and a run. Because of the blowouts in the first two games, Sanchez was only called on in the 8-6 win on Sunday. I expect the Lobos to keep Sanchez’s workload to 2 appearances a weekend to keep him fresh and effective.

Junior lefty Fernando Fernandez came in to finish what Tyler Stevens started in Saturday’s game, going 2 2/3 innings with one strikeout, while allowing 5 hits and 2 runs. With the Lobos starting to play midweek games next week, we will probably see Fernandez’s role expand to being a midweek starter.

Senior lefty Alex Estrella again made quick work in his one appearance of the week, in his 1 1/3 innings he had 2 strikeouts, and only allowed a walk. Estrella is the number 2 reliever right now for the Lobos and will probably be the ninth inning guy when Sanchez isn’t able to go.

After not having a pitcher appear in more than 2 games in the four game series against Hawai’i, no Lobo pitcher appeared in more than one game this weekend.

Hitting Highlights:

Each week I will focus on the Lobo hitters that had great impact on the weekend.

Junior DH/C Chris DeVito: After struggling against Hawai’i, DeVito came back with a huge series against WSU. DeVito was DH in each game of the series and he filled his role very well, finishing the series, 8 for 12 with 6 runs, 9 RBI, 2 doubles, 1 walk and a long grand slam Friday night. DeVito was 5 for 5 with 3 runs, 7 RBI, a double and the homerun Friday night that set the tone for the weekend for the Lobo offense.

Sophomore CF Luis Gonzalez: After a disappointing first series, Gonzalez responded with a fantastic series against WSU. Gonzalez ended up going 7 for 13 with 5 runs, 2 RBI, 2 doubles, 2 triples, and 3 walks. Gonzalez will likely be the regular leadoff hitter for the Lobos until Danny Collier returns to the everyday lineup. Gonzalez performing well will be important for the Lobos to reach their full potential as an offense.

Junior First Baseman Jack Zoellner: After his dominant series against Hawai’i, Zoellner had a good week against WSU, finishing the week 3 for 10 with 4 runs, 3 RBI, 4 walks and a HR.

Scattered Thoughts:

• Carl Stajduhar had a much better series this week, which was highlighted by a long homerun down the leftfield line Friday night. I do think that Stajduhar may be pressing a little to get off to a good start this season, but once he gets in a grove watch out, because he is a special talent at the plate.
• After shuffling the lineup a lot in the Hawai’i series, the lineup was the same the first two games, and the only change in the third game was Jared Holley getting the start at shortstop. Until Collier comes back there won’t be many changes, and it looks like DeVito will be the regular DH right now.
• Getting on base is a key to scoring a lot of runs and the Lobos have done a great job so far this season. The Lobos have already drawn 60 walks and been hit by 4 pitches, which has helped the Lobos have a .461 on base percentage as a team. On the other side, the Lobo pitching staff has done a good job of limiting free passes, with only 32 so far this season (28 walks, 4 HBP).

Upcoming Series:

Up next, the Lobos continue their home stand with a three-game series against Dallas Baptist. There will be a game Friday night, Saturday afternoon, and Sunday afternoon and it should be beautiful outside, so make plans to come watch and support your Lobos. Also, we’ll have our series preview out soon, so keep an eye out for that to get your ready for the weekend.