Wolf Pack complete
sweep of RainbowsChris Gimenez leads Nevada's
hitting attack with three home
runs in the WAC series finale
RENO, Nevada >> Hawaii's 16-hit attack was not enough to offset Nevada's long-ball prowess in the final game yesterday of the Western Athletic Conference series between the teams at Peccole Park.
The Wolf Pack (27-19, 15-5 WAC) used four home runs to overcome an early deficit, take the lead, overcome another UH lead, then put the runs on the board that proved decisive.
The second-place Wolf Pack ran their winning streak against the Rainbows (26-22, 7-17 WAC) to 11 with the 13-8 victory and dropped UH back into last place.
The Rainbows return home today and begin their final series at Murakami Stadium on Friday against Louisiana Tech, the fifth-place team in the league standings, a game ahead of UH.
Trailing 2-0, Nevada pulled even on Taylor Pullins's two-run homer in the third. After that, Wolf Pack left fielder Chris Gimenez took over.
He hit a solo homer in the fourth to put Nevada ahead. After a five-run outburst by the 'Bows in the top of the fifth when they took a 7-3 lead, Gimenez cut the deficit in half with a two-run blast in the bottom of the fifth. He then hit a three-run shot to cap a six-run sixth inning as Nevada built an 11-7 lead.
Wolf Pack closer Zachary Basch pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, blanking the 'Bows on two hits to pick up his ninth save of the season, five coming against UH.
Gimenez's last homer came off freshman right-hander Guy McDowell, who experienced his worst day on the mound trying to stem the Nevada offense when starter Keahi Rawlins ran into trouble with two down in the sixth. McDowell did not retire any of the four batters he faced.
"Guy might not have been the right fit, but he's been out there as a closer and this was a closer situation," said Hawaii coach Mike Trapasso. "They teed off on Guy and he has been very good for us this year, but they are swinging the bat well in their park.
"The good thing is we continued to swing the bat well, but just didn't get the job done on the mound. We had 31 hits the last two days and nothing to show for it. The good thing is we will be in more pitcher-friendly parks the rest of the year."
Andrew Sansaver with four hits and Matt Inouye with three hits and four runs batted in were the top guns offensively for the Rainbows.
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WAC standings
x-also has one nonconference tie
WAC games Overall W L Pct. GB W L Rice 19 2 .905 -- 40 7 Nevada 15 5 .737 3 1/2 27 19 Fresno State 9 12 .429 10 24 24 San Jose State 7 13 .350 11 1/2 22 25 x-Louisiana Tech 8 16 .333 12 1/2 16 29 Hawaii 7 17 .292 13 1/2 26 23 Yesterday
Nevada 13, Hawaii 8
Louisiana Tech 12, Fresno State 7
Sacramento State 2, San Jose State 1 (1st)
Sacramento State 2, San Jose State 1 (2nd)
Nevada 13, Hawaii 8
Hawaii AB R H BI Nevada AB R H BI Finegan ss 5 2 2 0 Pullins 2b 5 2 2 2 Sansaver 1b 5 2 4 1 Hayes c 4 1 0 0 Cook 3b 5 1 2 2 Kouzmanoff 3b 4 3 3 2 Mendoza lf 5 1 1 0 Streelman 1b 5 2 2 1 Russo dh 4 0 0 0 Gimenez lf 4 3 3 6 Inouye rf 5 1 3 4 Butler rf 4 0 3 1 Bock c 4 0 2 1 Cappuccilli dh 3 0 0 0 Green rf 4 0 0 0 Mummy ph 0 0 0 0 Omura 2b 4 1 2 0 Strain ph 1 0 0 1 Dickerson cf 4 1 0 0 Marcial ss 4 1 1 0 Totals 41 8 16 8 Totals 38 13 14 13
E--Cook (9). DP -- Hawaii 1 (Omura-Finegan-Sansaver), Nevada 1 (Marcial-Pullins-Streelman). LOB -- UH 7, UN 7. 2B -- Sansaver (11), Mendoza (8), Inouye (8), Omura (8), Butler (7). HR -- Pullins (2), Gimenez 3 (10). CS--Inouye (4).
Hawaii 200 050 100 -- 8 16 1 Nevada 002 126 02x -- 13 14 0
McDowell pitched to four batters in the sixth inning.
Hawaii IP H R ER BB SO Rawlins (L, 4-4) 5 2/3 8 8 6 3 7 McDowell 0 4 3 3 0 0 Cayetano 1 2/3 2 2 2 2 1 Olsen 2/3 0 0 0 0 0 Nevada IP H R ER BB SO Bonine 5 11 7 7 1 6 Johnson (W, 2-0) 1 1/3 3 1 1 0 0 Basch (S, 9) 2 2/3 2 0 0 0 1 WP -- Rawlins (10), Cayetano (5), Bonine (10). HBP-- Dickerson (by Rawlins).
Umpires -- Home: Rick Scarberry. First: Joe Burleson. Third: Tom Chandler. T -- 3:01. A -- 1,819.
