ABILENE -- Nevada hit three home runs and scored in six of nine innings Friday night as the Wolfpack spoiled the Wildcats' season-opener with a 12-3 win at Crutcher Scott Field.
Austin Byler -- ranked as the top senior player in college baseball by Perfect Game earlier this winter -- hit a towering three-run to highlight a five-run seventh inning that capped the Wolfpack scoring. Also homering for the Wolfpack were Ryan Howell (solo home run following Byler's shot in the seventh) and Trenton Brooks hit a two-run shot to highlight a three-run first inning.
The Wolfpack scored three runs in the first and single runs in the second, third, fourth and fifth innings before putting up a seven-spot in the seventh.
ACU starting pitcher
Thomas Altimont (0-1) was tagged with the loss after making it through five innings and allowing seven runs (five earned) on 10 hits while striking out six Nevada hitters. Four other ACU pitchers combined to allow four hits and five runs over the final four innings of the game.
Nevada did a lot of its damage against the Wildcats with two strikes. Five times the Wolfpack came up with two-strike hits, and three of those drove in runs. Nevada also had a two-strike sacrifice fly that plated a run.
The Wildcats' only offense came in the middle innings as they pushed across a run in the fourth and two more in the fifth to cut Nevada's lead to 7-3.In the fourth, freshman third baseman
Brayden Gomez -- who finished the night 3 for 4 -- got a two-out single, went to second on a single by transfer shortstop
Kyle Carroll and scored on a single to center field by transfer catcher
Alex Copeland to make it 7-1.
Then in the fifth,
Taylor Fajardo reached on an error by Nevada starting pitcher Michael Fain, went to second on a walk by
Jordan Forrester, and then both runs scored on a double into the left-field corner by second baseman
Aaron Draper. But with Draper standing on second and the Wildcats' with a chance to cut further into the lead, new pitcher Cameron Rowland got the next three Wildcats in order to stem the tide.
Rowland (1-0) would three innings of one-hit baseball in relief of Fain to pick up the victory for Nevada.
The teams will continue their three-game series Saturday at 2 p.m. with the series finale set for 1 p.m. Sunday.
