Nevada bids to host WAC baseball tournament

RENO - Nevada is one of three Western Athletic Conference schools to bid for this year's conference baseball tournament.

Fresno State and Louisiana Tech are the others, according to Jeff Hurd, senior associate commissioner. Hurd said the final decision would be made at the WAC's fall meetings later this month.

Nevada's bid is based on whether it can get lights installed by next May, according to Cindy Fox, the Pack's associate athletic director. The Golden Baseball League is considering putting a franchise in Reno, and the GBL would make capital improvements on Peccole Park that would include putting lights in.

If that happens, Nevada would have a good chance to win the bid. Otherwise, Fresno State would be the leading candidate. Beiden Field, located on the FSU campus, is considered one of the best facilities on the West Coast.

Hurd said one of the stipulations is that a site must have a lighted field. The schedule calls for three games a day (11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m.).

"You have to have the ability to play at night," Hurd said. "You have to be able to handle every situation, even playing at midnight."

Hurd asked the coaches at the recent conference meeting to take a straw vote, and the vote was split evenly among all three candidates. Hurd said the plan was to have an alternate site in case a team doesn't make the playoffs. Of the seven teams in the WAC, six will qualify for the double-elimination tournament.

Hurd indicated that Sacramento showed some interest in hosting the event.

"The hangup is getting the Triple-A park (Raley Field)," Hurd said. "The deal is that the PCL doesn't make out its schedule for the following year until after the final bids are due. We asked them to check it out; find out the cost. It won't happen this year (2006), if it could be a possibility in the future."

Nevada coach Gary Powers said he would love to see Nevada host the event, but added that Raley Field would be a great neutral site.

n Darrell Moody can be reached at dmoody@nevadaappeal.com, or by calling 881-1281