Box Score Feb. 13, 2015 Final Stats
Box Score 
ABILENE, Texas - The Nevada baseball team opened the 2015 season with plenty of offense, defeating Abilene Christian, 12-3, Friday at Crutcher Scott Field behind 12 runs, 14 hits and three home runs. The Wolf Pack improves to 2-0 in season-opening games under second-year head coach Jay Johnson.
Nevada scored runs in the first five innings and exploded for five runs in the seventh inning on back-to-back home runs from junior Ryan Howell and senior preseason All-American Austin Byler. Howell, making his Nevada debut after transferring from Chabot College, led the way with two hits, three RBI and two runs scored.
Junior Cameron Rowland earned the win on the mound in his Wolf Pack debut. The 6-foot-1 junior college transfer pitched three innings in relief of starter Michael Fain, allowing just one hit while striking out five Wildcat batters.
"It was a well-played game in all phases," said Johnson, who guided Nevada to a 31-27 record in 2014 with a third place finish at the Mountain West Tournament. "Our pitchers threw strikes, we played good defense and took a lot of good at bats. It was a good start to the season."
The Wolf Pack jumped out to an early lead and never looked back, scoring three runs in the first inning behind sophomore Trenton Brooks' two-run homer. Brooks' fourth career home run drove in senior Kyle Hunt. Nevada tallied another run behind senior Jordan Devencenzi's RBI single.
Nevada's next two runs were created by newcomers. Howell tallied an RBI sacrifice fly in the second frame, and freshman Jordan Pearce drove in classmate Grant Fennell with an RBI-double to put Nevada ahead, 5-0, in the third frame. Brooks scored Hunt for a second time in the fourth inning, notching his second RBI of the game with a double to right field.
Sophomore Justin Bridgman added to the Pack's advantage in the fifth, scoring Devencenzi with a sacrifice-RBI. Fain's season debut came to an end in the fifth inning, as the Wildcat's Aaron Draper hit a two-RBI double to make the score 7-3.
Rowland replaced Fain in his Division I debut, retiring all three batters in consecutive order. Both teams were held scoreless in the sixth inning, as Rowland tallies two strikeouts in his second inning of work.
The Wolf Pack blew the doors open in the seventh inning on back-to-back home runs from Byler and Howell. Byler's first hit of the season was a three-RBI homer to right field. Byler led the Mountain West in home runs last season with 14. Howell followed with a deep homer to left, putting Nevada ahead, 12-3.
Freshman left-handed pitcher Jojo Romero made his Wolf Pack debut in the bottom of the eighth inning, retiring the side in order. The 6-foot-1 native of Oxnard, Calif., struck out the Wildcats 1-2-3 in the bottom of the ninth to preserve Nevada's season-opening win.
The Wolf Pack offense received multi-hit games from freshman Jordan Pearce (3), Howell (2), Brooks (2), Devencenzi (2) and Bridgman (2). Nevada's starting newcomers - Howell, Pearce and Fennell - combined for six hits, four runs and four RBI. Meanwhile, the Wolf Pack's pitching staff of Fain, Rowland and Romero combined to allow just seven hits with 13 strikeouts.
The Wolf Pack and Wildcats will meet again tomorrow, with first pitch set for 12 p.m. (PT) in Abilene. The series finale will be Sunday at 11 a.m. (PT).
