Nevada 8, Sacramento State 5
Monday, March 10, 2025
Sacramento, Calif. - John Smith Field
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Billy Ham and
Sean Yamaguchi came up with big hits in the seventh inning, with Yamaguchi's two-run homer capping a three-run frame as Nevada took an 8-5 win at Sacramento State Monday night.
After
Taylor Holder was hit by a pitch by Hornets reliever Dylan Torres to open the seventh, Ham broke a 5-5 tie with a double to center, capping a three-hit night. Yamaguchi, up next, worked the count to full before slamming a Torres offering deep to center and out, giving the Pack a three-run cushion at 8-5.
From there, the trio of
Eddie Tierney,
Caedon Kottinger, and
Ethan O'Neal continued the solid bullpen work started by
Zach Garber. The quartet yielded just one hit and one walk over the final four innings and struck out six. Garber got the win with a scoreless bottom of the sixth, while Tierney struck out four over an inning and two-thirds. Kottinger got the final out of the eighth before O'Neal got three fly balls in the ninth for his third save.
Jackson Waller started the Wolf Pack scoring, hitting a three-run homer in the second for an early 3-1 lead. Sacramento State answered in the bottom of the fourth as Luis Pimentel-Guerrero hit a three-run shot of his own off of Nevada starter
Jayce Dobie, taking a 4-3 lead. The Hornets added a run in the fifth on a JP Smith double to go up 5-3.
Nevada (10-6) capitalized on a Hornet miscue in the sixth, however, to tie things up at 5-5.
Jack Metcho's two-out single was followed by an RBI double to left from
Michael Ball, bring the pack to within a run. And Nevada tied it up when Hornet right-fielder Ryan Christiansen dropped a
Junhyuk Kwon fly ball, the miscue allowing Ball to score the tying run.
Nevada plays a fourth-straight wraparound weekend coming up, opening Mountain West play with three at Fresno State from Friday to Sunday before closing the trip Monday, March 17, at Santa Clara. Friday's series opener at Fresno State is set for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.
