Lobo Baseball Ranked No. 33 in Preseason Poll

Lobo Baseball Ranked No. 33 in Preseason Poll
UNM is seeking its fourth straight trip to an NCAA regional in 2013

Head coach Ray Birmingham's Lobos are won the Mountain West regular season and tournament titles last season.

Dec. 20, 2012

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The University of New Mexico baseball team is poised for another postseason run in 2013, and people around the country are taking notice.

Collegiate Baseball newspaper released its Fabulous 40 NCAA Division I preseason poll Thursday, and the Lobos came in at No. 33. UNM finished last season unranked but was receiving votes in both the USA Today/ESPN and the NCBWA polls.

Arkansas is the preseason No. 1 team in the nation. The Lobos travel to Fayatteville to face the Razorbacks in a two-game series April 9 and 10.

The Lobos return six starters from last season's team that finished 37-24, including 2013 Preseason First Team All-Americans DJ Peterson and Mitch Garver. Also returning for UNM are 2012 Freshman All-American Ryan Padilla and 2012 Mountain West Tournament MVP Josh Melendez. Those four players were the top four hitters for the Lobos last season.

UNM opens its season at home with a three-game series against Oklahoma State beginning on Friday, February 15.

The full rankings and release are available here.