RENO - Louisiana Tech was in town, and that meant one thing - a big offensive day for the Nevada Wolf Pack.
After scoring 55 runs in a three-game sweep earlier this year in Ruston La., the Wolf Pack (10-9) opened this three-game series with 22 hits en route to an easy 19-3 Western Athletic Conference win over the Bulldogs Friday at Peccole Park.
The win came with a price, however. Carlos Madrid jammed his neck when he dived against the fence near the Bulldogs' dugout to make a great catch of a foul ball in the eighth with the Wolf Pack ahead 19-1. He was taken to the hospital for x-rays, and coach Gary Powers wasn't sure if he would play in today's game (1 p.m. start).
"I hated to see him get hurt," Powers said. "He plays that way (all out) everyday. It's what he's all about. Whether we're up 19-3 or down 19-3. Nobody knows the extent of the injury. We'll have to wait and see what happens.
"Today was one of those days where everything we put the bat on found a place. We've been on the other end of those."
Five players - Robert Marcial, Chris Gimenez, Erick Streelman, Brett Hayes and Brian Gazzero - contributed three hits apiece in the lopsided win. Streelman drove in a career-high five runs and raised his average 17 points to .228, and Gazzero tied a career high with his three-hit game.
Jacob Butler slammed a three-run homer and drove in four runs. The homer, his 14th, put him into ninth place in the school's record book for single-season homers.
"It was a good offensive day," Gimenez said. "We were confident, but you still have to come in and do things the right way.
"We were able to put them in a hole early. We knew if we stepped on their throats and got them down that they would roll over. The bottom line is that we have to do the same thing today (Saturday) and Sunday."
Nevada scored all the runs it needed in the first inning, tallying five against Bulldog starter Mitch Tucker, who lasted just 1 1/3 innings. The big blows were a three-run homer by Butler and a two-run double by Streelman.
Nevada made it 9-0 in the second, scoring four runs on four hits and a wild pitch. Streelman drove in two and Gimenez hit a run-scoring bloop single to right. A wild pitch accounted for the other run.
That was more than enough for Travis Sutton (8-3), who now has four wins and a no-decision in his last five starts and lowered his ERA to 4.10. He scattered seven hits over eight innings, and all three of the Bulldogs' runs came on homers. Jeff Walker led off the fourth with a solo shot, and Steve Soper hit a two-run homer in the eighth.
"It's easy to throw when that (great offensive support) happens," Sutton said. "As long as I hit my spots, I have success. I'm not thinking about it all. I'm just trying to keep us in the game so we have a chance to win."
"Travis did an outstanding job," Powers said. "He didn't walk a guy, and he allowed three runs in eight innings. He did a tremendous job in that wind."
NOTES: Adam Colton ((3-1, 6.62) is Nevada's starter today, and he'll be opposed by Clayton Meyer (4-5, 5.42) ... Nevada has a 13-3 edge over the Bulldogs, and has won six of the last seven contests ... Nevada announced it has signed three pitchers - Reno High's Chris Rickey, Wesley Dorsett of Northeast Community College in Texas and Steve Taylor of San Pedro High in Southern California - to national letters of intent. Rickey is 6-1 with a 2.77 ERA, Dorsett is 2-1 with two saves and a 2.87 ERA and Taylor is 5-1 with three saves and an ERA of 2.10.