Fresno rivalry rejuvenated
Bench-clearing brawls, intimidating inside pitches and high emotions are common when Fresno State and Nevada play.“It’s been a rivalry in the past, but there is no rivalry when one team is so used to winning like Fresno State is,” Nevada coach Gary Powers said.
The Wolf Pack went a long way in rejuvenating the rivalry by taking three of four games last weekend and moving within two games of the Bulldogs in the Western Athletic Conference standings.
Before the weekend series, Fresno State was 25-15 against Nevada since the Wolf Pack joined the WAC in 2001.
Fresno State entered its Nevada series with a 10-game WAC win streak, but left Reno with a three-game losing streak.
Nevada is two games behind the Bulldogs with 12 games left.
Catcher cools ‘dogs
Tyson Jaquez’s three-run home run in the eighth inning of game one on Saturday propelled Nevada to a 4-1 victory, giving the Wolf Pack something to celebrate.
“It might be the number one thrill of my baseball career,” Jaquez said.
After the game, Nevada had a little more hop in its step.
The Wolf Pack played pepper by the dugout and had fun as a team.
Nevada carried the momentum into the second game by beating the Bulldogs 7-3 and then taking the series the next day with a game-winning home run by back-up catcher Travis Simas.
“(Fresno State) is on fire,” Powers said. “It’s huge for us to do what we did today because of how well they are playing. It also keeps us in the thick of things (in the WAC standings).”
Turning Two
Nevada’s middle infielders were crucial in dominating the series against the Bulldogs.
“Our fielding up the middle is amazing,” Powers said.
The Wolf Pack turned 13 double plays this weekend.
Second baseman David Ciarlo and shortstop Kevin Rodland led the middle of the infield for Nevada: killing Fresno State rallies with the pitcher’s best friend.
The Wolf Pack was tied for 36th in double plays this season prior to the Fresno State series.
Scurry relieves
Wolf Pack ace Rod Scurry got the save in game four for Nevada.
It was Scurry’s first save opportunity with the Wolf Pack.
“Coach (Powers) said I might be used in that situation at the beginning of the game,” he said.
Scurry allowed six runs and only got two outs in his brief outing in the series opener.
“It was really nice to come out here and get the save today after how bad I pitched in the opener,” Scurry said.
Scurry said it wasn’t that hard for him to come in as a reliever because he was a closer at Galena High School.
Attendance high
Nevada got some local and national attention in its weekend series with the Bulldogs.
The Wolf Pack’s double-header on Saturday was televised on College Sports Television.
Sunday’s game also had 1,390 people in attendance, which was the highest-attended game of the season for Nevada.
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