MWC BB: New Mexico Thumps UNLV 13-0

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. - No. 1 seed New Mexico topped tournament host and No. 4 seed UNLV Thursday night , 13-0, in the second game of the 2012 Mountain West Baseball Championship. The Lobos used a nine-run second inning to break the contest open and pick up an opening round victory at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas.

UNM starter Austin House (7-5) earned the win after tossing a complete-game, six-hitter. The right-hander struck out seven and walked just three. Rebel starter Erick Fedde (6-5) took the loss, allowing 10 runs on 10 hits in just an inning-and-a-third of work.

The Lobos was firing on all cylinders offensively as seven of the nine starters banged out multiple hits for the night. Centerfielder Josh Melendez led the charge, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI. One of the Lobos' Mountain West Co-Players of the Year, DJ Peterson, had just one hit but it was a big one, a grand slam home-run as part of the Lobo's nine-run second inning.

UNM got the scoring started early, plating a single run in the first. Mitchell Garver, the other Mountain West Co-Player of the Year, led off the frame with a double and advanced to third on Ben Woodchick's sacrifice bunt. Garver then came home to score on DJ Peterson's RBI groundout to third.

The Lobos proceeded to blow things open in the second. The biggest blow came on Peterson's grand slam to left, making it 7-0 New Mexico. In all, 13 batters came to the plate in the frame. The Lobos would tack on two more in the seventh and one in the ninth, making the final score, 13-0.

New Mexico will face No. 2 seed TCU at 7 p.m. PT on Friday, May 25 in the winner's bracket. Host UNLV will take on No. 3 San Diego State at 3 p.m. PT on Friday in an elimination game. Earlier in the day the Horned Frogs beat the Aztecs, 16-15.