RENO, Nev. – The University of Nevada (20-20) baseball team snapped a season-high four-game losing skid downing Pacific (10-25) in a nonconference game 6-4 at Peccole Park tonight. With the victory the Wolf Pack evened its season record at 20-20 while the Tigers dropped to 10-25.
Nevada struck first when Hugo Hernandez homered leading off the second inning. Second baseman Scott Kaplan doubled in the third to put the Pack in front 2-0. Pacific tied the game in the top of the fifth inning scoring twice on three walks and bases loaded single. The Pack responded with a single run in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single from shortstop Kyle Hunt to regain the lead 3-2. The Tigers battled back to once again to take the lead with a two-run top of the fifth. Designated hitter Gio Brusa doubled home both runs. That would be all the scoring as four Pack relievers combined to blank Pacific the rest of the night. The back-and-forth game swung again in favor of the Wolf Pack as they scored three times in the bottom of the fifth. Right fielder Brooks Klein’s single scored the first run and designated hitter Brett Jones hit triple down the right field line to score the final two runs of the game.
Reliever Barry Timko (1-3) the sixth of nine Pack pitchers earned the win pitching 1.1 scoreless innings. Sean Prihar (1) pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his first save of the season. Kyle Crawford (1-2) was the fourth of six Pacific pitchers in the game and was tagged with the loss allowing two runs, one earned in his inning of action. Hunt (3-for-4,R,RBI) led the Pack with a game-high three hits which also tied his career-high. Five different players drove in a run with Jones topping the team with two RBI. Brett Sullivan (2-for-5,R) led the Tigers with two hits as the totaled four in the game. Brusa and Taylor Murphy each had two RBI for Pacific.
Nevada returns to Mountain West action this weekend with a three-game series at Air Force. Friday’s first pitch is set for 2 p.m. MT. All three games can be heard on 1450 AM with Don Marchand calling the action.
