April 2, 2008
Albuquerque Journal
Topes Foil UNM in Exhibition
The Score? It’s Open to Debate
So was it 3-0? 6-0? Just what?
Depends on your perspective of the Albuquerque Isotopes’ exhibition baseball victory Tuesday night over the University of New Mexico at Isotopes Park.
Five Isotopes pitchers held the Lobos to two hits in the scheduled seven-inning game. And when Lobo Ian Hollick flied out to Jai Miller in right, the public address system announced game over, ’Topes win 3-0.
But as fans filed out, the Lobos went out to play defense for the bottom of the inning. Seems that UNM wanted sophomore Scott Gracey to pitch an inning, and coach Ray Birmingham saved him for the seventh.
“Guess they thought they’d have a lead,” said Isotopes manager Dean Treanor.
“I like that confidence.”
Gracey, a La Cueva grad, showed a 90-plus mph heater. But the Isotopes turned on it for four straight hits, scoring runs four, five and six.
Then when Andrew Beattie grounded to shortstop for the first out, and with increasing winds making 57 degrees seem much chillier, well, the two teams called it for good.
“I thought our guys competed,” said Birmingham, in his first year at UNM. “We very easily could have had two runs and it’d have been 3-2 going into the bottom of the seventh. We had some men in scoring position a couple of times and some lasers were hit. Those were Triple-A baseball players. Our kids competed.”
The bottom of the seventh wasn’t the only deviation from the norms. UNM swung wooden bats, not aluminum. As another favor, the Lobos moved up two lefties in the top of the sixth to face Isotopes lefty reliever Randy Williams.
The biggest favor, however, is for UNM, since the net proceeds from the game benefit Lobos baseball. The official paid turnout was 1,914.
“Wasn’t that fun? I thought it was a great time and I think we can make it bigger and better,” said Birmingham.
“I have some ideas to promote it and bring in some more things. This is my first time to see it and I’m thinking this should be a big party for the city of Albuquerque to celebrate the Isotopes and UNM athletics.”
The Lobos (18-10) now prep for a weekend series at San Diego State. UNM is 3-3 in the Mountain West Conference.
The Isotopes will fly out today to Omaha to begin Pacific Coast League play Thursday. The UNM exhibition was to be helpful in getting those five pitchers some work.
Perhaps they got what they needed in the bullpen. None of them had much from the mound. The Lobos never walked and never sent more than four batters to the plate in one inning.
Even Isotopes starter Doug Waechter threw only 28 pitches — 21 for strikes — in three innings. Four other relievers pitched one inning each.
“The main thing is Waechter needed at least three innings tonight,” said Treanor. “He’s got the third game (on Saturday in Omaha), so we’ve got to try to get hopefully five from him then.”
Waechter left the Lobos hitless. So did Chris Seddon in the fourth.
But in the fifth, Manzano graduate Brian Cavazos-Galvez ended the no-hitter suspense, ripping Scott Nestor’s first pitch into the left-field corner for a double. Adam Courcha lined deep to Alexis Gomez in left field with two outs, ending the Lobos’ best threat.
Eric Reed was 3-for-4 from the leadoff position for the Isotopes, who had 11 hits. Lee Mitchell scored twice and wrapped a home run around the left-field foul pole off Daniel Grubbs.
Up next
Thursday:
Isotopes at Omaha, 6:05 p.m. Radio: KNML-AM (610)
Friday: Lobos at San Diego State, 7 p.m.