The University of New Mexico baseball team’s roller-coaster 2022 season finally skidded to a halt Saturday afternoon.
Visiting Air Force effectively applied the brakes, clinching the final spot in the upcoming Mountain West tournament with a 10-0 victory at Santa Ana Star Field. Right-hander Dylan Rogers tossed eight shutout innings to throw a damper on UNM’s Senior Day festivities.
The defeat came just hours after the Lobos staged a dramatic comeback, rallying for seven ninth-inning runs to steal a 13-12 win that temporarily kept Air Force out of the four-team conference tournament field. Such were the highs and lows of coach Tod Brown’s first season, as pitching-challenged UNM finished 21-33 overall, 10-20 and tied for last place in the seven-team Mountain West – 11 games behind regular season champion UNLV.