RENO, Nev. - An exciting time is upon the Nevada baseball program as it will make its first appearance at NCAA Regionals since 2000 this weekend in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Wolf Pack is headed to the Stanford Regional for the third time in program history, although Nevada only has five NCAA Regionals appearances overall. Other years the Pack qualified for NCAA Regionals besides 2021 and 2000 were 1999, 1997 and 1994. Nevada punched its ticket to NCAA Regionals after it clinched its third Mountain West regular season championship and earned the league's automatic bid last Friday evening following a 16-6 win over San Jose State. It marked the second MW regular season title under head coach T.J. Bruce with the other coming in 2018.

Nevada drew the No. 3 seed in this weekend's four-team regional and will face the No. 2 seed, and the 17th ranked team in the country, UC Irvine.  The Wolf Pack and Anteaters will play the second game of the day this Friday, June 4 at 6 p.m. From there depending on the outcome Nevada will either move to the winner's bracket or loser's bracket and play at either 1 p.m. or 6 p.m. on Saturday.

Nevada and UC Irvine do have a little bit of an extensive history with 29 games between them in program history. The Anteaters hold the upper hand in the all-time series though with 20 wins to the Wolf Pack's nine. The last time these two clubs met was to open the 2018 season with a three-game series. UC Irvine took the series 2-1, but Nevada won the finale 8-1.

The Pack also has a brief history against regional-host Stanford, but has never faced North Dakota State. Nevada is 8-21 all-time against the Cardinal.

ON THE AIR
John Ramey 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 games. Fans can also tune in to listen to Ramey's broadcast online at TuneIn.com or via the TuneIn app.

All games this weekend can be seen on the ESPN family of networks. Friday's game will be live via ESPN3.

POP-FLYS
-This is Nevada's fifth overall appearance in NCAA Regionals and first since 2000
-The Wolf Pack captured its third Mountain West regular season title over the weekend
-Nevada finished the regular season on a 15-game conference win streak
-Dillan Shrum finished the regular season with the national lead in batting average (.479)
-Nevada ranks in the top 10 nationally in batting average, doubles per game, double plays per game and slugging percentage
-Dillan Shrum was named the MW Player of the Week for the final week of the regular season

BOSETTI MAKES HISTORY
In his first at-bat of the game against Arizona State on April 11, Tyler Bosetti connected on his 11th home run of the season, which gave him a home run in nine consecutive games, setting a new NCAA Division I record.
 
Bosetti, who tied the original record of eight games that previous Sunday, broke the record previously held by Duke's Ryan Jackson in 1994, and Georgia Tech's Andy Bruce in 1991. The Vacaville, Calif. native now has 11 home runs on the season, which is tied for the team lead and ranks second in the Mountain West. Bosetti went 4-for-5 in that game against Arizona State, with a home run, a double, three RBI and two runs scored. During his nine-game home run streak, Bosetti is batted .442 with 10 home runs, two doubles, two triples, 19 hits, 21 RBI and 20 runs scored. Bosetti's streak did end the following weekend, ending the streak at nine games.

In addition to his home runs, Bosetti has also been one of the league's best two bag hitters this season. To date he has hit 18 doubles, which ranks second in the Mountain West. His doubles per game average of 0.46 per game is fifth-best nationally.

SHRUM NAMED MW PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After a huge weekend at the plate to close the regular season, Dillan Shrum has been named the Mountain West Player of the Week.
 
Shrum posted a monster weekend at the plate as he batted .800 and slugged 2.067 in the Wolf Pack's four-game sweep over San Jose State. The El Cajon, Calif. native went 12-for-15 at the plate with six home runs, a double, 14 RBI and 12 runs scored. He also added a perfect fielding percentage making 32 putouts and one assist. During the series opener Friday evening Shrum was 5-for-5 with five RBI and two home runs, including the first grand slam of his career. He added a second multi-home run game in game three of the series where he again totaled five RBI.
 
The senior is arguably having the best season of his collegiate career as he currently leads the nation batting an incredible .479 and slugging .992 through his 33 games played. Shrum has totaled 15 home runs, which leads the conference, 15 doubles, one triple, 47 RBI, 35 runs and 58 hits in 121 at-bats. Additionally he has hit at least one home run in eight of his last nine games and in five consecutive contests.

RELIABLE OUT OF THE PEN
In his final season with the Wolf Pack, redshirt senior reliever Shane Gustafson has made the most out of his last ride. The right hander is tied for the team lead with 19 appearances this season and leads all relievers with a 3.00 ERA. He has compiled a 3-2 record and added three saves. In his 42.0 innings of work out of the bullpen, Gustafson has surrendered just 14 earned runs and has struck out 35 batters. Opposing hitters are batting just .216 off of Gustafson as well. In his last seven appearances of the season, which total 24.0 innings, he has allowed just 17 hits and three earned runs.

HISTORIC SEASON CONTINUES
This will be the Wolf Pack's fifth overall trip to NCAA Regionals in program history and its first since the year 2000. Nevada's history in NCAA Regionals includes 2000, 1999, 1997 and 1994. The Pack also has a history of playing in the Stanford Regional as its last two trips to regionals in 2000 and 1999 were held in Stanford.
 
Nevada finished the regular season with a 25-18 overall record and a 22-9 mark in Mountain West play. The Wolf Pack clinched its spot in NCAA Regionals after winning its third Mountain West regular season title on Friday evening. The Silver & Blue is red hot heading into regionals as it finished the regular season winning 15 consecutive conference games dating back to April 24.
 
During the Pack's run towards a Mountain West Championship, the team has been on fire on offense. In its recent 15-0 stretch in conference play, Nevada has compiled a team batting average of .391 and outscored its opponents 162-69. On the mound during that stretch the pitching staff has registered a team ERA of 4.61 and is holding opposing batters to just a .275 batting average. Overall this season Nevada ranks in the top 10 nationally in a few statistical categories including batting average (.321), doubles per game (2.44), double plays per game (1.02), and slugging percentage (.535).

WALTY IN THE MIDST OF A STRONG ROOKIE CAMPAIGN
Cam Walty, a true freshman out of Elk Grove, Calif., is in the middle of a superb rookie season. The right hander has been one of the Wolf Pack's best starting pitchers this season and was recognized for his strong pitching on May 10 when he was named the Mountain West Pitcher of the Week. Walty has made 12 appearances so far this season, with 11 starts, a 5-3 record, and has an ERA of 4.02, which leads Nevada starters and ranks third in the conference. He also ranks in the top 10 in the league in opposing batting average (.243) and is ninth in strikeouts (48). In outings where he has thrown at least 5.0 innings, he has six games where he has given up three earned runs or fewer.