RENO, Nev. - It's back to the road for the Nevada as the Wolf Pack will travel to Albuquerque, N.M. to take on New Mexico in league play this weekend.

The Wolf Pack, which will enter the weekend with a 6-8 record and 3-3 mark in MW play, got a taste of some home cooking last weekend as the team played its first set of home games at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park and took two out of three from Fresno State. Nevada opened the three-game series with two wins in the doubleheader on Saturday, but then dropped the series finale to the Bulldogs on Sunday.

The Wolf Pack pulled out a come-from-behind 7-6 victory in game one on Saturday, and then dominated in a 20-10 win in game two in eight innings. Last Saturday was a huge day for the Wolf Pack offense, which totaled 27 runs on 28 hits between the two games. Every starter for Nevada collected a hit at some point during the day, and seven players produced three hits or more. Dario Gomez led the way with five hits, including his team-leading fourth home run of the season, which led to an eight-RBI outing in game two alone. 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 on Saturday 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.

The Lobos enter the weekend with a 6-10 overall record and are 4-5 in conference games. So far this season New Mexico has had a different outcome in all three of its conference series.' The Lobos opened league play with a sweep over Air Force, but were then swept by UNLV, and in their last set of conference games went 1-2 against Fresno State.

Looking at the head-to-head matchup in the three big areas of play, hitting, pitching and fielding, the Wolf Pack has the overall advantage in two of the three. Nevada currently leads the Mountain West in fielding with a .972 fielding percentage, and ranks second in the league behind UNLV in pitching with a team ERA of 4.72. New Mexico has a slight edge offensively as the Lobos are batting .283 as a team, while the Wolf Pack is just behind New Mexico hitting .266 overall.

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.

Fans can live stream all three games via the Mountain West Network.

POP-FLYS
-Dario Gomez has reached base safely in seven consecutive games
-Nevada leads the MW with a .972 fielding percentage
-Owen Sharts ranks fifth in the league with 27 strikeouts
-Nevada and New Mexico is a fairly new series with just 46 games between them
-Nevada's 20 runs vs. Fresno State last week are second-most in the MW this season
-After this weekend the Pack will have played 14 games on the road, to just three at home

OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION
The Wolf Pack's doubleheader last weekend against Fresno State produced some big numbers offensively for Nevada. In total between the two games the Pack scored 27 runs and collected 28 hits. In game two alone the bats exploded for 20 runs, the most runs scored by the Wolf Pack since it scored 25 also against Fresno State in May of 2016. It was also the second-most runs scored by a Mountain West team in a single game this season. 

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.

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 14 games this season and leads the team in nearly every offensive category.

Fourteen games into his Division I career Gomez is batting .411, third-best in the conference. He has collected a team-high 23 hits in his 56 at-bats with five doubles, a triple, a team-high four home runs, 16 RBI and 13 runs scored. He's been highly effective on the base paths as well with five stolen bases in five chances. His fielding has been perfect through 14 games with 40 putouts and zero errors. Gomez ranks in the top five in the Mountain West in a number of categories as well including slugging percentage, RBI, home runs and stolen bases.

Last week against Fresno State, Gomez collected eight RBI in game two alone. It was the most RBI by a Wolf Pack player in a single game since Mike Echavia posted seven against New Mexico in 2017. It also marked the most by a Mountain West player in a single game this season and second-most in the nation. In that second game against the Bulldogs, Gomez was 4-for-5 with those eight RBI, three runs scored, a double and a home run.

SIT 'EM DOWN
Just four 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 3.20 ERA, which ranks fifth-lowest in the conference. In all four of his starts he has struck out at least five batters in each game, striking out a season-high eight at USC. He has 27 strikeouts this season, which is fifth-most in the Mountain West. Opponents are batting just .123 against Sharts, the top mark in the conference. He's got his name out there nationally as well as he's surrendering just 3.66 hits per nine innings, 23rd-best in the nation.

SCOUTING THE LOBOS
New Mexico enters the weekend with a 6-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in Mountain West play. So far in the Lobos' conference season the team earned a three-game sweep over Air Force, was swept by UNLV and went 1-2 against Fresno State. Prior to the start of the season the Lobos were picked tied for third in the preseason coaches poll.

New Mexico is led on offense by Kyler Castillo, who leads the team batting .357 in 16 games. Castillo and Mack Chambers are the only Lobos with 20 or more hits this season, as Castillo has a slight edge with 25 hits to Chambers' 24. Both Castillo and Chambers also have 10 RBI each and lead the team with seven extra base hits this season. On the mound the Lobos starters are led by preseason All-MW selection Justin Armbruester who currently has an ERA of 2.84 in five starts. Armbruester is 3-1 on the year and leads the Mountain West with 42 strikeouts.

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 return home to Don Weir Field at Peccole Park for a three-game series against Air Force on April 2-3.