Bub Madrid isn't the likeliest of power hitters for the University of Nevada baseball team.
But Madrid's three-run home run jumped started the Wolf Pack when they needed it the most. And while Madrid wouldn't admit it, the homer had to be sweet since it came against his former teammate at Reed, Joel Fountain.
Madrid's shot helped power Nevada to a 21-10 win over Saint Mary's on Saturday at Peccole Park.
The Wolf Pack are still also searcing for a leadoff hitter and a third baseman and may have found both on Saturday in Dayton's Matt Bowman, who led off for Nevada and played third. Bowman had a solid game as he went 1-for-4 with an RBI double and a sacrifice bunt. He also walked, was hit by a pitch and scored two runs.
Nevada trailed 4-2 in the fourth inning when Madrid took a hanging changeup from Fountain and belted it for a three-run homer to give the Wolf Pack a 5-4 lead. It was all down hill from there for Fountain as Nevada went on to send 16 batters to the plate, scoring 11 runs in the inning to take a 13-4 lead.
Madrid had some inside knowledge of Fountain as he also caught the pitcher during summer action.
"During the game it was a little bit intense but not any hatred or anything like that," said Madrid about his matchup with Fountain and Saint Mary's. "I got to know him pretty well.
"I'm pretty familiar with his pitches and know what he likes to do to get guys out. I got it up in the jet stream and it took off. A guy like me doesn't look to go deep."
After Bowman's sacrifice bunt gave Nevada runners at second and third, Jacob Butler's two-run double gave the Wolf Pack a 2-1 lead in the third. But Cody Nelson's second homer in two days, a three-run shot, gave Saint Mary's a 4-2 lead in the fourth.
But the Wolf Pack broke the game open in the bottom half of the inning. After Madrid's homer, Bowman's RBI double off the base of the right field wall made it 6-4. Another big blow in the inning was Ben Mummy's three-run homer.
Nevada broke the game wide open in the sixth, scoring six runs to take a 19-6 lead on the strength of two-run singles by Brett Hayes and Baker Krukow. Hayes two-run shot gave Nevada a 21-7 lead in the seventh.
Bowman is used to being a leadoff hitter as he filled the role for the Sierra Sun Devils summer team.
"It's kind of exciting," said Bowman, just a freshman. "It definitely feels a lot better to be in there, that's for sure."
"I'm pretty used to it," Bowman also said about leading off. "I've done it quite a bit. The approach is a little different. It's not a big deal."
The leadoff and third base positions are still unsettled. "Hopefully I'll be in there tomorrow, but you never know," Bowman said.
Nevada coach Gary Powers said Eric Newman can also play third and another option is to move Hayes from catcher to third.
"He's going to be in the mix there," said Powers about Bowman. "Matt did a nice job. We're trying to create depth in this team in a lot of spots. We've got three guys I feel comfortable playing there."
Ryan Rodriguez allowed six runs over six innings for the win. After a rough outing against Pacific to open the year, Rodriguez (4-1) has won four straight decisions.
"Something just clicked after the Pacific loss," Rodriguez said. "I didn't pitch my game against Pacific."
Game notes: Saturday's win was Nevada's 300th at Peccole Park... Fernley's Tyler Selden came into the game in the seventh inning for Saint Mary's and went 0-for-2.