Nevada 13, California Baptist 10
Sunday, Feb. 26, 2023
Reno, Nev. - Don Weir Field at Peccole Park

WP - Casey Burfield (1-0)
LP - Nate Hemmerling (0-1)
SV - Kolby Kmetko (2)

RENO, Nev. - A leisurely Sunday stroll for Nevada Baseball turned mildly serious in the later innings, but the Wolf Pack hung in and clinched the series against California Baptist with a 13-10 win at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park.

Nevada (3-4) jumped out to an 8-0 lead after two innings, and was up 13-4 through six. But California Baptist (3-4) put up five runs in the top of the seventh, aided by a two-out, bases-loaded Texas Leaguer from Cole Howarth that turned into a bases-clearing double.

But Jacob Biesterfeld came in for Dorsey Chatham and struck out Josh Paino to staunch the bleeding.

Biesterfeld gave up a solo shot to Jake Skipworth in the eighth, cutting the Wolf Pack lead to 13-10, before Kolby Kmetko came on to get the save in the ninth. Kmetko got the first two batters out, but the Lancers put two on and brought the tying run to the plate before Kmetko struck out pinch-hitter Josiah Bryant to end it.

The Pack bats were hot from the start, and went on to blister eight Lancer pitchers for 13 runs on 13 hits, including three homers. It started in the first, as, after Jaxon Woodhouse's sacrifice fly scored Derek Tenney with the opening run, Seth Sweet-Chick drove in a pair with an RBI single to highlight a four-run first. The Pack chased Lancer starter Nate Hemmerling after just two-thirds of an innings, sending Hemmerling (four ER, four hits, two walks) to his first loss of the campaign.

Sweet-Chick would drive in three on the day, going 2-for-4 as one of five Pack players with a multi-hit day.

Freshman Mason Hirata had an RBI in each of the first two innings, while Nolan Wilson added an RBI double in the four-run second. Nevada would send nine batters to the plate in each of the first two frames.

Matt Clayton, who went 2-for-5 with two RBIs on the day, led off the third with a solo homer, while Jesse Pierce and Derek Tenney each added solo shots in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively.

Casey Burfield went five innings, allowing three runs on five hits, to pick up his first win of the season.

The Pack is scheduled to travel over the pass for a 4 p.m. Tuesday contest at Sacramento State. Follow @NevadaBaseball on Twitter for schedule updates based on weather forecasts.