Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
New Mexico
Wildcats Fall to Lobos 13-4 in Series Finale
3/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 22, 2009
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
Northwestern scored in each of the first two innings, but New Mexico scored seven times in the third inning to propel the Lobos to a 13-4 win in the finale of the teams' series Sunday afternoon at Isotopes Park.
Junior catcher Chad Noble, who went 8-for-15 in the series, went 3-for-4 in Sunday's contest to pace the Wildcats (4-14).
NU scored first in the top of the first as Tommy Finn doubled with one away and scored two batters later on an RBI single by Tony Vercelli. The 'Cats added to their lead in the second as Chris Lashmet started the frame with a single and then raced around to score when Geoff Rowan followed with a double.
Northwestern starter Zach Morton struggled with his control as he walked four and hit a batter in 1 1/3 innings of work before exiting in favor of Matt Diedrich with one run already in. Diedrich got a double-play ball with the bases loaded to allow the Wildcats to maintain a 2-1 lead after two innings.
However, Diedrich ran into trouble in the third as the first seven batters reached base. New Mexico (22-3) would post seven runs on seven hits, two walks and a hit batter to take an 8-2 advantage.
The Lobos stretched their lead to 10-2 in the fourth before NU got the two runs back in the top of the sixth. Three straight singles to start the inning by Vercelli, Noble and Kenneth Avila loaded the bases to open the inning before Lashmet brought Vercelli home with a fourth-straight basehit. Jim Grieco would later add an RBI groundout.
That would be as close as the Wildcats would get, though, as New Mexico tacked on three runs in the bottom of the eighth to account for the final margin.
Northwestern continues its spring trip Tuesday as it opens at two-game series at Kansas State.
