Breanna Denney /Nevada Sagebrush Nevada first baseman Austin Byler attempts to throw out a Cincinnati runner at Peccole Park on Friday, March 20. Aside from strong offense and pitching, the Wolf Pack have been standouts on defense.

After beating New Mexico in two of three games, winning a single game at Sacramento State and sweeping Cincinnati in a four-game series over Spring Break, the Wolf Pack has won seven straight games and has improved to 20-4 (7-2 MW).

On March 13 New Mexico handed Nevada its first home loss of the season in a 3-1 game. The Wolf Pack was held to just four hits, and it lost its second game in a row for the first time in 2015.

Nevada bounced back on March 14. They won 3-1 thanks to exceptional pitching from Senior Jason Deitrich. He threw for 6.1 innings allowing one run off five hits. Head coach Jay Johnson switched the lineup a bit, moving senior Austin Byler up in the order from third to first, and it paid off when Byler hit a home run in the first at bat of the game for the Wolf Pack.

Nevada was held to four runs and six hits in the first two games of the series, but in the rubber match on Sunday, March 15 they scored nine runs off 15 hits and 28 total bases. The 9-2 victory kept Nevada in the top spot in the Mountain West, and it was the fifth straight series they’ve won this season.

The Wolf Pack didn’t take any time off during Spring Break. It played eight games over nine days, winning all but one.

On March 17, Nevada travelled to California where it beat Sacramento State 6-2, then it turned around and came right home because the Pack had a game against Cincinnati the next day.

Cincinnati came into the series with a 6-11 record, and they jumped on the Wolf Pack early. The Bearcats had a 3-1 lead in the sixth before Kewby Meyer and Bryce Greager hit back to back home runs. Nevada took a 5-3 lead and held it with Adam Whitt collecting the save.

Nevada won game two of the series on March 19 via a walk-off double from sophomore Trenton Brooks. Brooks’ two RBI in the bottom of the ninth sealed a huge comeback for Nevada, which scored 10 runs in the final two innings.

The offense didn’t let up after game two. On March 20 and 21 Nevada scored a total of 24 runs en route to a 7-4 victory and 17-6 victory to seal the series sweep. Nevada’s 17 runs in game four were the most it has scored in a game since 2010.

Junior Ryan Howell leads Nevada offensively with a monstrous .427 batting average, eight home runs and 36 RBI — the latter two categories are third most in the country. On the mound, all three starters have an ERA under three and Whitt has a nation-best 10 saves.

Nevada plays at today against Sacramento State, and the Wolf Pack will travel to San Jose this weekend for a three-game conference matchup with the last-place Spartans.

Ryan Suppe can be reached at euribe@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @Uribe_Eric.