Make that two wins in two games.
Less than two hours after knocking out sixth-seeded San Diego State, No. 3 seed Nevada routed No. 1 seed Fresno State 25-6 in eight innings Friday at Santa Ana Star Field.
The Wolf Pack (36-22) tallied a Mountain West record 27 hits in the win. The 25 runs scored by Nevada is the most by the team since 200. Nevada will play the loser of New Mexico-Air Force at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
“I thought we did a good job,” Nevada head coach T.J. Bruce said. “We faced a heck of a team. We didn’t chase pitches and did some damage on the fast balls.”
Nevada had a healthy lead for most of the game but everything broke right in the eighth inning. The Wolf Pack started off the inning with four consecutive singles to add a run.
Five more players would add hits – four of them doubles – later in the inning, scoring 12 runs in all.
“Just to stay with it. They have a very good team over there,” second baseman Miles Mastrobouni said. “We’re playing like it’s our last pitch.”
Fresno State did have a brief lead to start the game. The Bulldogs scored two runs in the first inning thanks to RBI singles from Kevin Viers and Jesse Madrano.
However, Fresno State’s lead disappeared quickly in the second inning. Nevada answered with a seven-run inning with outfielder Trenton Brooks leading off the romp with a home run to right field. Brooks added a two-run double later in the inning.
After that early lead change, Fresno State (36-22) kept trying to claw back into the game but never did. The closest the Bulldogs got was after cutting the Wolf Pack’s lead to just three runs in the fifth inning.
“We’re very high energy right now,” Mastrobouni said. “Coming into today, we told ourselves to stick to our approach and that’s what we did.”
Mountain West Co-Pitcher of the Year Jimmy Lambert had a rough outing from the start. He lasted just 2 1/3 innings and gave up nine earned runs on 11 hits. All five of Fresno State’s pitchers gave up an earned run in the loss.
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Nevada starter Sam Held fared a bit better going 4 2/3 innings, allowing six earned runs on 11 hits.
Every single Wolf Pack position player earned a hit in the victory. Center fielder T.J. Friedl had a team-high five RBIs after going 3-for-5 on the night. Both shortstop Justin Bridgman and first baseman Jordan Pearce had five hits apiece in the victory.
Thomas Romero-Salas is the culture editor for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @ThomasRomeroS.
