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2009 Season Stats
2008 Season Stats
2007 Season Stats 

The Sul Ross baseball team opened 2008 in what would be coach Mike Pallanez’s final season at the helm after a career that spanned more than forty years in the high school and collegiate ranks. Pallanez’s Lobos finished 2008 with a season record of 6 wins and 29 losses and an ASC mark of 3-18.

In spite of the record, the Lobos look to return a roster filled with depth and leadership. Returning shortstop Javier Arrieta leads the pack into 2009. Arrieta finished with a team high .426 batting average. He also led the team in almost every other hitting category including 28 RBI’s, 6 homeruns, and 55 hits after 129 at-bats. He also saddled a .698 slugging percentage.

Other top returners include Eric Castillo at third base, James Johnson at first base, Monte Piper at catcher. Castillo, who enters 2009 as a sophomore with the Lobos, finished his freshman campaign .282 batting average. He posted 29 base hits including three doubles, a triple, a homer and 11 RBI’s.

Johnson, a junior, finished 2008 with a second team-best 30 base hits, 10 doubles, 3 triples, a pair of homeruns and 20 RBI’s, also good for a second team-high.

Piper enters 2009 as a junior and completed his sophomore year with a .233 batting average. He tied teammates Arrieta and Chris Rodriguez with 11 base-on-balls. Piper led Sul Ross in an early season victory over NCAA Division II West Texas A&M University. His four RBI’s helped to solidify an 8-6 win over the Buffalos on February 8.

Other top returners include Chris Rodiguez, Zach Denson, Ryan Kassner, Adrian Zepeda and Isaiah Rayos.

The 2009 season will also mark the head coaching debut of former Lobo second baseman Bobby Mesker.

Following his graduation and playing career at Frenship High School in Lubbock, Mesker enrolled at Sul Ross and was a four-year starter for the Lobos and a three-time recipient of the Golden Glove Award.

He also earned ASC All-West Division Second Baseman recognition and was elected as team captain his senior year. Mesker then earned his Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Sul Ross in 2004 and retuned to his native Lubbock to begin his coaching career.

In 2005, he served as an assistant coach at Lubbock Christian High School where he helped lead the Eagles to a TAPPS 4A state runner up finish. Mesker then landed an assistant coaching position at Lubbock High under current Midland Junior College coach David Coleman. Mesker also served as a hitting instructor as Wal-Ball Baseball Academy (owned by established baseball coach Travis Walden).

Coach Mesker was named to the Lobo coaching staff in May of 2007 and completed his Masters of Education in May of 2008.