RENO, Nev. - After playing its first 11 games of the 2021 season on the road, the Nevada baseball team will open the home portion of its schedule this weekend as it hosts Fresno State for three Mountain West contests.

The Wolf Pack and Bulldogs will break up the three-game series into two days, playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday. First pitch on both Saturday and Sunday is scheduled for 1 p.m. from Don Weir Field at Peccole Park.

Saturday will mark the first home game for the Wolf Pack in 377 days. The last time Nevada played a game at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park was March 8, 2020, a 13-4 loss to California Baptist, the Pack's second-to-last game of 2020 before the remainder of the season was canceled. A maximum of 250 fans will be allowed inside the ballpark for the games this weekend, however, tickets are not available to the general public. The fans in attendance will be player guests of both teams only.

The Wolf Pack will be looking to get back on track and snap a four-game slide after losing a single game to Arizona State on March 2 and three games to USC this past weekend. This will be Nevada's first set of Mountain West games since its road series at UNLV to close the month of February. In that series the Wolf Pack went 1-2, winning the series finale by the final of 6-1.

On the mound the Wolf Pack pitchers have been solid to start the season as the Pack ranks third in the Mountain West with a team ERA of 4.56. Starter Owen Sharts has been lights out, striking out 22 batters this season and allowing opponents to hit just .100 off of him in his three starts, which leads the conference. Sean Flowers has proven to be incredibly effective out of the bullpen through his four appearances. In 3.1 innings of work, Flowers has given up just four hits and not allowed a run, while striking out three. Offensively Dario Gomez has been electric for the Wolf Pack, leading the team in nearly every offensive category. Gomez ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in batting average, slugging percentage, doubles, home runs and stolen bases through 11 games.

The Bulldogs are 5-6 overall and own a 3-3 mark in conference games. The Bulldogs have played two conference series' so far, taking two of three from New Mexico and one of three from San Diego State. They were picked to finish in the runner-up spot in the conference standings in the preseason MW poll.

ON THE AIR
Josh Suchon will have the call in Northern Nevada on CBS Sports Radio 94.1 FM and 1450 AM with a 20 minute pregame show prior to first pitch for all three games. Fans can also tune in to listen to Suchon's broadcast online at TuneIn.com or via the TuneIn app.

POP-FLYS
-Nevada played its first 11 games on the road this season
-Nevada ranks third in the MW with a team ERA of 4.56
-Dario Gomez and Landon Wallace both have an active four-game hit streak
-On Sunday's finale at USC, Dillan Shrum went 3-for-3 with three doubles
-Owen Sharts is tied for third in the MW with 22 strikeouts on the year
-Nevada and Fresno State have played 169 games against one another

HOME OPENING WEEKEND
Eleven games into the 2021 season and the Wolf Pack will finally have the opportunity to play a few games at home this weekend against Fresno State. This weekend's three-game conference series versus the Bulldogs will mark the first home game for Nevada in 377 days. The last time the Wolf Pack played a game at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park was March 8, 2020, a 13-4 loss to California Baptist, the team's second-to-last game of the 2020 season.

In program history Peccole Park has been very good to the Wolf Pack as the team sports an all-time record of 563-283 all-time in that ballpark. Under head coach T.J. Bruce the Wolf Pack is 64-43 at home, with its best record coming in 2018 when Nevada went 18-4 in Reno.

GOMEZ ADJUSTING JUST FINE
Newcomer Dario Gomez, a redshirt sophomore transfer from San Joaquin Delta Junior College, has seemingly adjusted to Division I baseball just fine. Gomez has started in center field for the Wolf Pack in all 11 games this season and leads the team in nearly every offensive category.

Eleven games into his Division I career Gomez is batting .409, third-best in the conference. He has collected a team-high 18 hits in his 44 at-bats with four doubles, a triple, a team-high three home runs, eight RBI and nine runs scored. He's been highly effective on the base paths as well with four stolen bases in four chances. His fielding has been perfect through 11 games with 29 putouts and zero errors. Gomez ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in a number of categories as well including slugging percentage, doubles, home runs and stolen bases.

SIT 'EM DOWN
Just three starts into the 2021 season, redshirt sophomore Owen Sharts has been one of the top starting pitchers in the Mountain West. Sharts has a 1-0 record on the year and leads Nevada starters with a 2.30 ERA, which ranks fifth-lowest in the conference. In all three of his starts he has struck out at least seven batters in each game, striking out a season-high eight in his last start over the weekend at USC. He has 22 strikeouts this season, which is tied for third-most in the Mountain West. Opponents are batting just .100 against Sharts, the top mark in the conference. He's got his name out there nationally as well as he's surrendering just 2.87 hits per nine innings, 15th-best in the nation.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
Fresno State, which was picked second in the Mountain West Preseason Poll, enters the weekend with a 5-5 overall record and a 3-3 mark in conference action. The Bulldogs have played two conference series' so far, taking two of three from New Mexico and one of three from San Diego State.

A trio of Bulldogs were named to the Preseason All-Mountain West team with senior catcher Zach Presno, senior pitcher Nikoh Mitchell and junior infielder/outfielder Ryan Higgins all selected. Despite Fresno State only playing 16 games last season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Presno was one of the top hitters in the MW leading the conference in home runs (8) and slugging percentage (.804) to rank third and 10th in the nation, respectively.

Fresno State returns 27 student-athletes from its 2020 roster with 23 appearing in a game last season and four coming off redshirt seasons. The Bulldogs added 12 newcomers, including 10 true freshmen.

NEWBIES
With the unlimited roster size that is permissable this season, the Wolf Pack boasts a large number of returners, but also a large number of newcomers. Nevada will have 22 newcomers on its roster in 2021, including 17 freshmen and five junior college transfers. Of those 22 newcomers eight are either starting or relief pitchers, six are infielders, five play outfield, two are catchers and there is one utility player.

HIGH NON-CONFERENCE STANDARDS
The Nevada baseball team could very well boast one of the best non-conference schedules among Mountain West teams in 2021, and perhaps one of the best in the nation. The Wolf Pack began its season on the road at Cal Poly, which earned wins over No. 1 Vanderbilt and No. 5 Michigan last season, and will also square up against Pac-12 schools such as USC on the road and a home-and-home series with Arizona State. Perhaps the two headline grabbing opponents on this year's non-conference schedule are a single game at No. 2 UCLA on May 18, and a two-game set on the road at No. 9 Texas, slated for mid-May.

The last time the Wolf Pack faced a top 25 opponent was in April of 2019 when Nevada swept a two-game series against then No. 2 Oregon State, the 2018 NCAA National Champions. Both games were set for dramatics as the Pack walked-off for both wins in extra innings, including a walk-off home run in game two. When the Pack faces No. 2 UCLA on May 18 it will be a homecoming of sorts for head coach T.J. Bruce, who served as an assistant coach on the Bruins coaching staff under current UCLA head coach John Savage from 2011-15.

HOWLIN' WITH THE PACK PODCAST
The Nevada athletics department, along with Learfield IMG College, has debuted a new podcast centered around the Wolf Pack baseball program. The podcast, titled 'Howlin' with the Pack,' is hosted by the voice of the Wolf Pack baseball program Josh Suchon and is scheduled to air weekly. Suchon will be joined throughout the season by head coach T.J. Bruce, along with assistant coaches, support staff members and student-athletes to provide a first-hand perspective on the season and other can't miss features on the Wolf Pack baseball program. Special alumni guests are also expected throughout the season. The first episode of the podcast is available now featuring starting pitcher Jake Jackson, along with his father Wade Jackson, who played for the Wolf Pack in the mid-90s. Fans can listen to the podcast on their favorite podcast platform by searching "Wolf Pack Daily" and looking for Nevada Baseball Podcast.
 
UP NEXT
Nevada will hit the road once more for a three-game series at New Mexico next weekend, March 27-28.