Pack claws toward regional berth
by Zack Hall, Outpost Staff
With little chance left for the Nevada baseball team to pick up the Big West Conference crown and the automatic bid that accompanies it, the Wolf Pack is putting together a convincing argument that they belong in the NCAA regionals.
The Pack won its eighth straight contest Sunday, completing the sweep of conference foe Cal Poly 7-3, and further solidifying its position as the second place team in the league. Perennial powerhouse Cal State Fullerton holds a three-and-a-half game lead over the Pack
The hapless Mustangs offered little resistance in any of the three contests, losing 12-8 Friday and 15-1 Saturday.
The Pack got a healthy dose of pitching in the three games, allowing Nevada to hold the lead in every inning except for the first inning-and-a-half in Sunday's ballgame.
Sunday was freshman hurler George Moran's day. In seven innings of work, Moran allowed two runs while scattering four hits.
"I just went out there and pretty much just threw and didn't worry about anything else," Moran said. "The slider, that's the pitch that I had working for me. I pretty much had good break on it."
It didn't look as though it would be that easy for Moran in the early going. Bryan Grant, the leadoff hitter for Cal Poly, started the game with a double and then moved to third on a wild pitch. The second man in the order for the Mustangs, Chris Martinez, then knocked him in with a grounder to short.
In the second, Matt Brady hit a solo home run over the left field fence to give the Mustangs a 2-0 lead.
But that would be it for the Cal Poly offense.
"After the second inning, he really got the kinks out," coach Gary Powers said. "He pitched about five innnings after that where he never got in any trouble."
Nevada would do all its damage offensively in the second inning, all with two outs.
Leftfielder Matt Church, was the first to single in the inning with one out, After an Arona Taele flyout, the Pack busted loose.
Ranger Wiens singled to move Church to third and Matt Maguire singled home Church.
As it turned out, the most important play of the day would soon follow. After Mustangs' catcher Mark Riddle allowed a pitch to pass him, Riddle threw to third in an attempt to catch the advancing Wiens. Wiens was called safe, with the umpires saying he slid under the tag, in a controversial call that sent Cal Poly manager Ritch Price out to argue.
The Pack took advantage of the break. With runners at first and third and two outs, Justin Martin, Joe Inglett and Lyle Overbay hit consecutive RBI singles.
With Inglett and Overbay on, red-hot slugger Don Price stepped in and put an exclamation mark on the rally. Price would hit his 22nd bomb of the season with a tape-measure shot over the left field fence.
"It (Price's homer) put the stick in them," Powers said. "We had scored four and if they were able to stop us they would have been down 4-2 at that point, instead it made it 7-2. It took the fight out of them."
It would be all the Pack would score but also all it would need with Moran pitching.
Moran pitched a scoreless third through seventh, throwing the last four innings without giving up a single hit.
Luke Drakulich and Scott Albin pitched the eight and ninth innings, respectively, to close out the game.
Saturday, the Pack rolled over Cal Poly 15-1.
Starter Matt Rainer was able to pitch six strong innings, giving up a run while allowing four base knocks.
Price was the offensive star of the game going 3-for-3 with three RBIs, four runs scored and a two-run shot in the seventh that lead to an ugly scene.
Catcher Matt Ortiz, who bats behind Price in the lineup, went 2-for-3 with five RBIs. After Price's homer, Ortiz stood in and reliever Jeff Wallace threw a fastball behind the head of the Pack slugger. The Peccole crowd sent jeers at the Mustangs' pitcher.
After working the count to full, Wallace threw an off-speed pitch just above the left ear hole on Ortiz's helmet. Although no altercation ensued, tensions ran high. There were five Pack hitters that got beaned in the game.
Friday's score was closer in score, 12-8, then the following two contests but the conclusion was never in doubt.
The Pack jumped on the Mustangs early with seven runs in the first two frames and had an 11-4 lead after the sixth.
Price would be the hero again, hitting two bombs in his 2-for-4 performance. In doing so, Price notched five RBIs and three runs scored.
"It's been fun watching Don Price hit the ball out of the park so much," Ortiz said.
Chad Qualls earned his 11th (11-1) win of the season and got his third complete game in as many games. But it wasn't easy for the junior. With a tiring arm, Qualls had trouble with his breaking stuff and lost velocity on his fastball. The result was four runs by Cal Poly in the final three innings, making the score appear closer than it was.
Nevada is now 32-14 on the season and 17-6 in the Big West. The Pack leads Long Beach State by two games for the second-place spot.
Up next for the Pack, is a rematch with No. 5 Stanford, a team Nevada beat 7-4 at Sunken Diamond in early March.
"Stanford is a great team," Ortiz said. "It is a good test for anybody. We might be in the same regional as them so I would like to send a message to them. A sweep of them sends an even bigger message."
The Cardinal will play Nevada once at Peccole Park on Tuesday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on KOH 630 AM.
Posted May 4, 1999
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