Photo by Autumn Oaks. The Wolf Pack win three of four games against Air Force.
The Nevada baseball team took on Air Force from April 14-17, winning the series 3-1 in an energetic four game split.
The Wolf Pack took their only loss of the series in the first game. Similar to other losses, the Wolf Pack dug themselves in a hole early on.
Air Force third baseman Jay Thomason hit a two run home run to start off the game, and center fielder Blake Covin followed up with an RBI, run batter in, single in the second. While Nevada was able to tally a run on the board thanks to an RBI single turned fielder’s choice double by designated hitter Jacob Stinson, Air Force would not allow any comeback opportunities.
Nevada only tallied two runs in seven innings against Air Force starting pitcher Paul Skenes. While doing so, Nevada’s starting pitcher, Alejandro Murillo, allowed six earned runs despite pitching one less inning. With the Wolf Pack’s bullpen allowing four more runs to come in while the Air Force only gave up one, Nevada would wind up losing the make-up game 10-3.
Both teams went on a scoring frenzy in the second game of the series.
Similar to game one, Air Force started early with a two run home run from outfielder Gabriel Garcia. This time, Nevada answered back and tallied four runs off of two triples from center fielder Dario Gomez and third baseman Tyler Bosetti, a single from Stinson and a double from Ryan Jackson.
The back-and-forth scoring continued late into the game, as the teams were tied 12-12 going into the final two innings. In the eighth, the Wolf Pack pulled ahead thanks to a fielder’s choice RBI single from pinch hitter and first baseman Landon Wallace and an RBI double from left fielder Anthony Flores. Nevada relief pitchers Tyler Cochran and Kade Morris stalled out the Air Force offense with two three up, three down innings to close the game. The Pack took game two 14-12.
The opposite of what happened in game one occurred in the third game. Once again, Nevada came out the gates swinging and recorded eight runs in the first four innings off of three home runs, two doubles and a triple. Nevada starting pitcher Cam Walty aided this performance by only allowing a walk in the same span.
Air Force tried to stop the bleeding by putting up three runs across the fifth and sixth innings. However, this was all for naught, as the Wolf Pack did not stop scoring runs until the eighth inning. Nevada relief pitcher Russell Hicks gave Air Force some hope and allowed four earned runs in his appearance in the ninth. However, Cochran came in for Hicks to close out the game. The Wolf Pack took game three 14-12.
The final game of the series was more of a defensive showing for the teams. For the third straight game, Nevada took an early lead off of a Stinson RBI sac fly and a three run home run from Bosetti. Air Force did not get on the board until the fourth, where designated hitter Jake Greving hit a solo home run.
After those instances of scoring, neither team tallied runs for the rest of the game. Both teams got hits, as Nevada finished with five and Air Force with nine, but neither team could turn those hits into runs. In the end, the Wolf Pack took game four 4-1.
After the four game series, Nevada sits at a 19-15 record overall and a 12-6 conference record.
The Wolf Pack’s next game will be on Tuesday, April 19, where the team will take on Saint Mary’s at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park in Reno.
Derek Raridon can be reached at kelseymiddleton@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @NevadaSagebrush