By Ryan Suppe
Over the weekend, Nevada (13-12 (6-4 MW)) clinched a series victory over San Diego State (6-19 (2-7 MW)) with wins in game one and game two at Peccole Park. After starting the season with a .313 winning percentage through 11 games, the Wolf Pack has won eight of its last nine games including six in a row.
Nevada, led by freshman Cole Krzmarzick who was 7-for-12 with three RBIs on the series, beat San Diego State 6-5 on Friday in extra innings and 3-2 on Saturday. Game three was tied 6-6 in the 10th inning when it was postponed due to a travel curfew.
The Wolf Pack won Friday’s game on a walk-off RBI single from junior Trenton Brooks in the bottom of the 10th.
Junior Justin Bridgman was 3-for-5 at the plate and was 10-for-10 on putouts at shortstop.
Senior Christian Stolo started on the mound for Nevada. He allowed three runs on eight hits through 6 1/3 innings. Nevada led 5-3, and Stolo was in line for the win until the top of the ninth when the Aztecs rallied for two runs, giving Stolo the no-decision and sending the game into extra innings.
Junior Ty Pennington pitched a scoreless 10th inning for Nevada. Then sophomore Grant Fennell and senior Justin Hazard were hit by pitches in the bottom half of the inning, and Brooks drove in Fennell from second with a line-drive single into center field to win the game.
On Saturday, junior Trevor Charpie pitched a complete game for Nevada in the 3-2 victory. He allowed two runs in the second inning and then pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up just five hits and two walks.
Krzmarzick was 2-for-4 with an RBI. He scored a run in the bottom of the second to tie the game, then, he drove in senior Bryce Greagor with a line drive into left field that would prove to be the winning run. After the first two games of the series, Krzmarzick became the Wolf Pack’s leading hitter with a .408 batting average and 10 RBIs.
Game three was another close one, but this time it was Nevada who spoiled San Diego State’s lead late in the game. The Aztecs scored four runs in the fourth inning and one run in both the fifth and the eighth. They led 6-4 heading into the ninth.
Nevada had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth with one out when Jordan Pearce hit a ground ball that should have been a game-ending double play, but the throw to first was high. Two base runners scored on the throwing error, and the game went to extra innings for the second time in the series.
For the third time this season Nevada had a game postponed due to traveling rules. The Wolf Pack and Aztecs will complete game three during the two teams’ next series in San Diego on April 29.
Ryan Suppe can be reached at jrieger@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @salsuppe.