ABILENE – Nevada scored nine runs in the first four innings Saturday afternoon and that's all the Wolfpack would need as they knocked off ACU, 9-6, in the second game of a season-opening three-game series at Crutcher Scott Field.
Nevada first baseman Austin Byler – who blasted a three-run home run to right-center field in Friday night's season-opener – had a three-run shot to left field in the first inning Saturday off ACU starting pitcher
Aaron Mason. The Wolfpack scored another run in the first and tacked on three more in the second to take a quick 7-0 lead on the Wildcats.
Mason left the game after just 1 1/3 innings of work, giving way to a Wildcat bullpen that was excellent over the final 7 2/3 innings of the contest.
Austin Lambright was effective, giving up two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out one over 2 2/3 innings before giving way to
Joe Gawrieh and
Nate Cole over the final five innings.
Gawrieh and Cole were outstanding as they combined to pitch five innings of one-hit baseball, striking out seven Wolfpack batters and giving ACU a chance to get back in the game.
The Wildcats finally got to Nevada starting pitcher Jason Deitrich in the sixth for two runs. After
Aaron Draper reached second on a throwing error by Nevada third baseman Bryce Greager, Hunter Beasley drove him in with a single to left field to make it a 9-1 game.
Russell Crippen followed two batters later with a double to left-centerfield to drive in Beasley and make it a 9-2 game.
Cole replaced Gawrieh to start the seventh and mowed through the Wolfpack lineup with ease, striking each of the first two men he faced and getting a groundout to end the inning in order. The first man he faced was Byler, who struck out looking. Cole continued his solid work in the eighth with two more strikeouts as he worked around a two-out walk, and then in the ninth he set the Wolfpack down in order again, striking out Byler again (his sixth strikeout of the series) to end the top of the ninth.
The Wildcats then went to work on Nevada reliever Alex Lott in the bottom of the ninth as they tried to piece together a rally.
Brayden Gomez led off the ninth with a single and then scored on a
Kyle Carroll triple to right-centerfield to make it a 9-3 game. After an
Alex Copeland double to left field scored Carroll to make it 9-4, Lott retired
Colton Hall and
Marcelle Carter before giving up a run-scoring single to
Aaron Draper that cut the Nevada lead to 9-5.
That was all for Lott, who gave way to Zach Wilkins. But Wilkins was greeted by back-to-back singles from Beasley and
Tyler Eager, the latter of which drove in Draper to make it a 9-6 game. With the tying run at the plate in the form of
Russell Crippen, Nevada head coach Jay Johnson went to the bullpen one last time to bring in closer Adam Whitt.
Whitt and Crippen engaged in a good battle before Whitt got Crippen to hit a sharp ground ball to shortstop Kyle Hunt, who fired across to Byler at first base for the final out of the game.
Deitrich picked up the win for Nevada, while Whitt earned a save and Mason was tagged with the loss. Copeland was 3 for 3 with an RBI for the Wildcats, while Beasley and Eager had two hits apiece.
The final game of the season-opening series will be played Sunday at 1 p.m.
Garrett deMeyere is expected to get the start on the mound for the Wildcats.
