Game 1 - Nevada 11, Northern Colorado 1 (7)
WP: Alessandro Castro (1-2)
LP: Jake Storey (0-1)
Game 2 - Nevada 7, Northern Colorado 6
WP: Logan Saloman (1-0)
LP: Luke Moser (0-1)
SV: Caedon Kottinger (1)
RENO, Nev. - Jack Metcho, a late defensive substitute, saved Nevada's doubleheader sweep of Northern Colorado Saturday making a diving stop and throw to first for the final out with the bases loaded in the 7-6, game two victory.
Coupled with the opening game's 11-1, mercy-rule victory in seven innings, Nevada (6-5) took the lead in the series with a chance to take a second four-game set in as many weekends in Sunday's 12:05 p.m. Finale against the Bears (5-6).
In both contests, the Wolf Pack spotted the Bears an early lead before handling the scoring the rest of the way. Saturday's opener saw the Bears take an early 1-0 lead before Nevada blitzed them for 11 unanswered, walking it off in the bottom of the seventh. In the latter contest, Nevada scored the game's final seven runs, with four in the seventh, to overcome a 6-0 hole.
The Pack had plenty of highlights in the sweep. Lefty
Alessandro Castro went the distance in the first game, allowing just one run on three hits.
Jackson Waller went a combined 6-for-8 with a triple and an RBI, with three hits in each contest.
Jacob Doyle continued his big week with two solo homers, and
Nate Snakenborg hit his first collegiate homer, a two-run shot in the seventh inning of the second game which completed Nevada's comeback from a 6-0 deficit.
Game 1 - Nevada 11, Northern Colorado 1 (7)
Nevada scored 11 unanswered runs, paced by a solo homer from
Jacob Doyle, two RBIs and a double from
Junhyuk Kwon, and a two-hit, three-RBI day from
Donovan Ratfield.
It was more than enough support for starter
Alessandro Castro, who spared the Wolf Pack bullpen by going the complete seven innings with four strikeouts while giving up just a run on three hits.
Kwon, who went 2-for-5, plated
Sean Yamaguchi with a double in the seventh, then scored the winning run on
Billy Ham's single to center, as the mercy rule was activated with the 10-run lead in the seventh.
Ratfield's RBI single in the second opened the Wolf Pack scoring and answered Northern Colorado's tally in the top half. Four runs in the fourth, started with Doyle's homer and boosted by RBI singles from Kwon and
Michael Ball, opened it up for Nevada. The Pack also capitalized on a pair of Northern Colorado errors, scoring three unearned runs over the fourth and fifth innings.
Game 2 - Nevada 7, Northern Colorado 6
After a false finish in the top of the ninth, Nevada escaped a two-out, bases-loaded jam as
Jack Metcho made a diving stop of Jake King's grounder to the right side and fired to first in time.
Nevada thought it had closed the win on a double-play ball, but umpires took a look at the replay and declared that Brandon Sanchez had beaten the throw to first. The inning resumed with two out, Northern Colorado got a double from Carter Monda and loaded the bases on an intentional walk to Kai Wagner.
Caedon Kottinger came on in relief of
Logan Saloman, and got the grounder from King for the one-out save.
Saloman picked up his first win, going 2.2 innings of scoreless relief with two strikeouts.
Northern Colorado jumped on Nevada's by-committee pitching approach to the second game, going up 6-0 on spot starter
Eric Valdez and reliever Daniel Tover over the first four innings.
Kai Wagner's RBI double opened a three-run fourth inning which put the Bears up six and looking in control early.
The Wolf Pack began the fight back in the fifth, starting with Waller's leadoff triple. After Waller scored on Snakenborg's groundout, and
Jake Harvey grounded out, Nevada clawed back two runs with a two-out rally.
Ball reached after being hit by a pitch, and hustled to score from first on Yamaguchi's single into left which was booted by the Bear left fielder. After loading the bases, the Pack forced in a third run as
Billy Ham was plunked.
The pivotal seventh inning was started with
Jayce Dobie's double to left, and he advanced to third on Ham's groundout. Doyle made it a one-run game with a towering homer down the line in left, making it 6-5. Waller singled to bring up Snakenborg, who sent a 1-1 delivery from Bears reliever Luke Moser deep and out to left for the go-ahead score.
