RENO, Nev. – Playing its first set of home games in 377 days, the Nevada baseball team earned two wins Saturday afternoon over Fresno State in a Mountain West doubleheader, winning 7-6 in game one and 20-10 in eight innings in game two.
Saturday was a huge day for the Wolf Pack (6-7, 3-3 MW) offense, which totaled 27 runs on 28 hits between the two games. Every starter for Nevada collected a hit today, and seven players produced three hits or more.
Dario Gomez led the way with five hits on the day, including his team-leading fourth home run of the season, which led to an eight-RBI outing combined between both games.
Peter Mendazona also had a big day as he produced four hits, four RBI and launched his first home run of the season.
On the mound it was a pair of relievers who earned the wins today as
Shane Gustafson was tagged with the win in game one, and
Tyler Cochran earned the win in game two. Both Gustafson and Cochran pitched 1.1 innings of work and did not allow a run. It was a wild day on the mound though as there were 31 walks issued between both teams, 27 of which came in game two.
GAME 1
How It Happened
-Nevada got on the board first in the game, scoring two runs in the bottom of the third.
-Fresno State stormed back in the middle innings, outscoring the Wolf Pack by a 6-1 margin in the 4-6 innings.
-Nevada relievers held the Bulldogs scoreless for the last three innings of the game though, allowing the Pack offense a chance for a come-from-behind victory.
-The Wolf Pack closed the gap in a hurry in the seventh, getting three runs to tie the game at 6-6, with RBIs from Mendazona,
Jacob Stinson and
Joshua Zamora.
-Nevada plated the go-ahead and game-winning run in the bottom of the eighth after
Marco Valenzuela doubled to left field, scoring
Logan Douglas from second for the game's final run.
GAME 2
How It Happened
-In a 30-run game, runs were scored early and often as Fresno State jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first inning, but Nevada grabbed the lead with three runs of its own in the bottom of the first.
-The Wolf Pack posted two big innings in the third and fourth were it scored five runs in each frame to take a 14-3 lead.
-Fresno State began to chip away at the large deficit after a solo home run in the fifth got one run back, but the Bulldogs had a big inning of their own in the sixth plating six runs to make it just a four-run game.
-That was the last set of runs Fresno State would score in the game though as the Pack pitching and defense held the Bulldogs scoreless for the next two innings.
-The Wolf Pack plated six more runs before the end of the game to extend its lead in the later part of the game.
-The game ended after Mendazona singled up the middle in the eighth, scoring
Dawson Martin, which gave Nevada a 10-run lead and put the mercy rule into effect.
-This marks the first time the Wolf Pack has scored 20 or more runs in a game since 2016.
UP NEXT
Nevada and Fresno State will play the final game of the three-game series tomorrow with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
FOLLOW THE PACK
Stay up-to-date on all the happenings with the Nevada baseball program on social media via Twitter (@NevadaBaseball) and Instagram (@nevadawolfpackbaseball).
