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Mar. 16—Andrew Neil was in unfamiliar territory starting in left field for the University of New Mexico baseball team Sunday.
He felt comfortable at the plate, however.
Neil helped the Lobos tumble into an 8-2 hole against UNLV at Santa Ana Star, misplaying a fly ball for a two-run error. The junior more than made up for it, bashing two home runs including a walk-off three-run shot as UNM rallied for an 11-8 win to sweep the Mountain West-opening series.
"It didn't look good for a while, but the guys hung in there," Lobos coach Tod Brown said. "We really needed a series like this."
Neil, listed as a pitcher/infielder on his UNM bio, drove in five runs in just his second start of the season. He was filling in for teammate and regular left fielder Tye Wood, who is considered day-to-day with a shoulder injury.
"Andrew's a converted outfielder and we've been working with him," Brown said. "He got there on that fly ball, but the sun was an issue and that's just inexperience. But if he's going to give us two homers and five RBIs, I guess we can live with a defensive mistake."
Sunday's win capped a bounce-back weekend for UNM (11-9, 3-0) which was swept in a series at Tarleton State last week. The Lobos dominated the first two games against UNLV (11-8, 0-3), winning 12-6 and 13-3 before coming from behind in Sunday's finale.
Neil hit a solo homer and a sacrifice fly in his first two at-bats to give UNM an early lead, but the Rebels tied it at 2-2 in the fifth inning and took a 4-2 lead when Neil lost Dwight Allen's two-out fly ball in the sun in the left-field corner. UNLV tacked on four runs in the sixth, sparked by Brendan O'Sullivan's two-run double, to lead 8-2.
The Lobos got back in the game in the bottom of the sixth when Jordy Oriach lined a two-out, three-run homer to right field. It was his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
UNM added a run in the eighth to make the score 8-6, then struck for five runs in the ninth against UNLV closer Alex Overbay (2-1). Luke Mansy's pinch RBI single and a run-scoring groundout by Khalil Walker tied the score at 8-8, then Neil belted a one-out homer to left to end the game.
Reliever Josh Barnhouse (2-0) got the victory with 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief and three strikeouts. The Lobos' scheduled game Tuesday at Texas Tech has been canceled due to predictions of inclement weather. They're scheduled to return to MWC play Friday at Nevada.
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He felt comfortable at the plate, however.
Neil helped the Lobos tumble into an 8-2 hole against UNLV at Santa Ana Star, misplaying a fly ball for a two-run error. The junior more than made up for it, bashing two home runs including a walk-off three-run shot as UNM rallied for an 11-8 win to sweep the Mountain West-opening series.
"It didn't look good for a while, but the guys hung in there," Lobos coach Tod Brown said. "We really needed a series like this."
Neil, listed as a pitcher/infielder on his UNM bio, drove in five runs in just his second start of the season. He was filling in for teammate and regular left fielder Tye Wood, who is considered day-to-day with a shoulder injury.
"Andrew's a converted outfielder and we've been working with him," Brown said. "He got there on that fly ball, but the sun was an issue and that's just inexperience. But if he's going to give us two homers and five RBIs, I guess we can live with a defensive mistake."
Sunday's win capped a bounce-back weekend for UNM (11-9, 3-0) which was swept in a series at Tarleton State last week. The Lobos dominated the first two games against UNLV (11-8, 0-3), winning 12-6 and 13-3 before coming from behind in Sunday's finale.
Neil hit a solo homer and a sacrifice fly in his first two at-bats to give UNM an early lead, but the Rebels tied it at 2-2 in the fifth inning and took a 4-2 lead when Neil lost Dwight Allen's two-out fly ball in the sun in the left-field corner. UNLV tacked on four runs in the sixth, sparked by Brendan O'Sullivan's two-run double, to lead 8-2.
The Lobos got back in the game in the bottom of the sixth when Jordy Oriach lined a two-out, three-run homer to right field. It was his team-leading seventh home run of the season.
UNM added a run in the eighth to make the score 8-6, then struck for five runs in the ninth against UNLV closer Alex Overbay (2-1). Luke Mansy's pinch RBI single and a run-scoring groundout by Khalil Walker tied the score at 8-8, then Neil belted a one-out homer to left to end the game.
Reliever Josh Barnhouse (2-0) got the victory with 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief and three strikeouts. The Lobos' scheduled game Tuesday at Texas Tech has been canceled due to predictions of inclement weather. They're scheduled to return to MWC play Friday at Nevada.
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