After pitching ruled the day Saturday, offense took over in the final game of the weekend series, with Nevada maintaining its offensive production throughout the day to earn an 8-5 victory over Seattle University in baseball action Sunday afternoon at Bannerwood Park.
Nevada (26-21) took the early lead, as Jamison Rowe drew a one-out walk in the first inning, Kewby Meyer followed with a single, and Brett Jones drove in both runners with a double to the right-center field gap. Seattle U starter Garrett Anderson (Kennewick, Wash.) settled down, retiring the next two Wolf Pack batters to end the inning.
Nevada starter Tyler Wells walked three straight Redhawk batters to load the bases with one out in the bottom of the first inning. Bryndon Ecklund's (Elma, Wash.) grounder was mishandled by Nevada third baseman Garrett Yrigoyen, allowing Nate Roberts (Silverdale, Wash.) to score Seattle U's first run. Jace Sloan (Puyallup, Wash.) reached on a fielder's choice that scored Ryan Somers (Sammamish, Wash.) to tie the game at 2-2.
In the second inning, consecutive singles by Carlos Escobar, Joe Kohan, and Jay Anderson gave Nevada a 3-2 advantage. In the bottom of the third inning, a walk by Roberts and singles from Somers and Brian Olson (Black Diamond, Wash.) loaded the bases. Sloan drove in Roberts with a single to left field, and Sean Narby (Auburn, Wash.) followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Somers to pull the Redhawks ahead, 4-3.
Nevada answered right back in the fourth inning, loading the bases with one out on a single by Escobar, a walk drawn by Kohan, and a single by Anderson. Evan Ewing (Spokane, Wash.) came on in relief of Anderson, but he walked Rowe to force in Escobar with the game-tying run. Meyer put the Wolf Pack ahead for good with a sacrifice fly that scored Kohan, giving Nevada a 5-4 lead.
The Wolf Pack added to their lead in the sixth inning, as Escobar singled and advanced to second on a passed ball before Ewing was replaced by Cory Mack (Spokane, Wash.). Mack failed to retire a single batter, walking Anderson and allowing RBI singles by Rowe and Meyer, extending Nevada's lead to 7-4. Blaine Jones (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) came on in relief and retired the next two Nevada batters to end the inning without any further damage.
Wells was lifted in the bottom of the fourth inning for Jayson McClaren, who allowed only two hits in 2 2/3 innings of work, earning his first victory of the season. Bryan Suarez came on to pitch in the seventh inning and struck out the side before notching two more strikeouts in the eighth inning. Meanwhile, Nevada added another run in the top of the eighth inning to stretch its lead to four runs at 8-4.
Nevada closer Matt Gardner came on in the ninth inning, immediately loading the bases with walks to Narby and pinch hitters Steve Kirbach (Kirkland, Wash.) and Michael Tevlin (Billings, Mont.). Nevada was able to turn its third double play of the game on a grounder by Trent Oleszczuk (Beaverton, Ore.), and after another walk, Gardner struck out Somers to end the game.
Anderson, Meyer, and Escobar each finished with three hits for the Wolf Pack, who finished the game with 14 hits. Somers and Sloan led the Seattle U offense with 2-for-4 performances, with Roberts going 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored.
Seattle University (21-20) will head to the Midwest for a week-long road trip, starting with a doubleheader at Central Michigan Wednesday, May 9, beginning at 1:05 p.m. local time (10:05 a.m. Pacific time). The Redhawks will then play a three-game series at Ohio State next weekend, May 11-13, with Dan Giuliani broadcasting every game of the road trip on GoSeattleU.com.