RENO, Nev. – In thrilling fashion, Joshua Zamora hit a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth to propel Nevada (7-6, 4-1 MW) to a game and series victory over San Jose State (6-8, 0-4 MW). Sophomore Ryan Anderson (1-1) picked up the win the same day his father, Scott, threw out the first pitch on Saturday afternoon.
Zamora leads Nevada with a .438 batting average in conference play and finished his day with three hits and the walk-off RBI. It was the first walk-off victory of the season for the Wolf Pack, who is now 2-0 at home this season.
Junior outfielder Weston Hatten had a busy day for the Pack, getting the nod to start at pitcher as well as hit for himself in the lineup. Hatten finished his day on the mound pitching 4.2 innings with four earned runs, and smacked his second home run in as many days to go along with two hits and two total RBI.
With the Spartans holding a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the fifth, Nevada put together a five-run inning to take the lead for the first time on the afternoon. Freshman shortstop Tyler Bosetti got the scoring started with an RBI-triple, and Dillan Shrum knocked in two to highlight the frame.
With the help of a Nevada error, the Spartans were able to plate two in the seventh and tie the game up.
That lead by SJSU would not last for long, as Keaton Smith lead off the bottom of the eighth with a pinch-hit home run to left field for his second hit of the season. With the freshmen Bosetti and Zamora on base with two outs, senior Mike Echavia singled to right field to score both and increase Nevada's lead to 9-6.
With Anderson pitching the ninth, the Spartans tied the game with an RBI-single and a bomb to left field that drove in two more. Anderson did not give them the lead, however, and set up Nevada for an exciting walk-off victory thanks to Zamora in the bottom of the ninth.
After senior Cole Krzmarzick walked, Kaleb Foster was hit by a pitch and Bosetti walked, the bases were loaded for Zamora to be the hero. The freshman flied out to shallow center field, but the speed of Krzmarzick was more than enough to make it home and for the Wolf Pack to clinch its second consecutive Mountain West series in 2018.
Freshman Jake Jackson will take the mound for the Wolf Pack in tomorrow's series finale at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park. A livestream and live stats will be available and Doug Greenwald can be heard over the radio on NBC Sports Radio 94.1 FM / 1450 AM.
