Pack wins two, will play in championship round
Nevada made short work of Sacramento State and got redemption against Hawaii on Saturday in the third day of the Western Athletic Conference tournament in Ruston, La.
With its wins, Nevada will advance to Sunday’s championship round against Fresno State. The Bulldogs won the regular season championship and are undefeated in three WAC tournament games this weekend. Fresno State will win the championship if it wins one game on Sunday, while the Wolf Pack must win two games against the Bulldogs because of its Friday loss to Hawaii (14-5).
Nevada won with hot-hitting starts and solid starting pitching on Saturday. Mario Rivera threw six innings, allowed five runs and was the pitcher of record in Nevada’s 15-5 early win against Sacramento State. The game ended early in the seventh inning because of the 10-run rule. Jason Sadoian led Nevada bats with a four for four game, four runs and two runs batted in.
The Wolf Pack sent all of its batters to the plate in the first inning, jumping to an early 4-0 lead. The Wolf Pack added three more runs in the fourth, four runs in the fifth and three in the sixth.
Brock Stassi carried the Wolf Pack through game two with seven innings pitched, six hits and four earned runs against Hawaii. Jason Rodriguez was four for five with four RBIs. Terry Walsh added a five for five performance with three runs scored.
The Wolf Pack jumped for five runs in the second inning against Hawaii and added another crooked number in the sixth with four runs. Nevada had 19 hits and worked for six walks in its 12-7 victory against the Rainbow Warriors.
Hawaii lost two games on Saturday, including its early game against Fresno State 11-4.
The win left the Bulldogs perfect (3-0) in the six-team double-elimination tournament. The Wolf Pack (3-1) will be forced to play another doubleheader on Sunday to win the WAC championship. Nevada and Fresno State split the season series at 4-4.
The winner will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional tournament and a chance to play in the College World Series.
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