ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Fresno State baseball team dropped the regular season finale to the New Mexico Lobos, 12-10, on Saturday at Santa Ana Star Field.
Fresno State closes the regular season with a 28-27 record, 18-12 in Mountain West play, securing the No. 2 seed in the MW Championship.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lobos were the first on the scoreboard on Saturday afternoon with a four-run second inning.
Fresno State squashed the Lobo lead in the next inning, sparked by three straight singles from Lee Trevino, Sky Collins and Griffen Sotomayor that tacked on the Bulldogs' first run. The Lobos opted out of pitching to Murf Gray, intentionally walking him to load the bases. Bobby Blandford came inches short of a grand slam, hitting a 1-0 pitch that bounced off the top of the wall and back into left field, which tied the game at four.
The Lobos were back on top in the fourth inning, scoring three runs on four hits.
Murf Gray began the Bulldogs' rally in the fifth inning, launching a ball 465 feet over the left field wall to make it a 7-5 game.
New Mexico battled back in the next pair of innings, scoring five runs to widen the gap, 12-5.
The Bulldogs chipped away in the next two innings as Bobby Blandford hit an RBI double in the eighth and Griffen Sotomayor hit a sacrifice fly in the ninth, adding two for the Bulldogs. Gray struck again in the bottom of the ninth with his second home run of the game that got Fresno State within two runs, but the late rally fell short, ending the game at 12-10.
NOTES
Bryce Armstrong pitched a career-high 4.0 innings and 77 pitches.
Murf Gray's first home run of the day had a 110 MPH exit velocity.
This is the Bulldogs' highest seed in the MW Championship since 2019.
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs are headed to Mesa, Ariz., for the MW Championship at Sloan Park. The No. 2 Bulldogs will face the third or sixth seed on May 22 at 6:05 p.m. PT.