RENO, Nev. — The Nevada Wolf Pack scored in each of the first five innings off starter Drew Gillespie and reliever Robert Gasser, and UNM’s offense struggled, getting just five hits as Nevada completed a three-game series sweep with a 14-1 win in the final game of a weekend series in Reno.
UNM had a golden chance to jump on starter Jack Jackson in the first inning. With one out, Hayden Schilling walked, and Jared Mang followed with a single. With runners on first and second, Chris Dunn walked at the end of a 10-pitch at bat, and UNM had the bases loaded and just one out, but the Lobos couldn’t cash in. Connor Mang popped up for an infield fly, and Justin Watari struck out to end the threat.
Nevada then answered in the first with a three-run home run by Mike Echavia for a 3-0 lead, and they expounded that to 6-0 in the second on a two-run single by Josh Zamora and another RBI for Echavia. A sacrifice fly in the third made it 7-0 Wolf Pack, and that ended Drew Gillespie’s day after three innings in his first Mountain West start of the season.
Robert Gasser, previously in UNM’s weekend rotation, entered and allowed Grant Fennell’s two-run single in the fourth to make it 9-0. In the fifth, Echavia drove in his fifth of the day to make it 10-0, and Fennell hit another two-run single to make it 12-0. Nevada made it 13-0 after a sacrifice fly, but Nathaniel Garley entered and coaxed a double play grounder to end the inning.
Garley settled in and stabilized the game for UNM, throwing 2.2 innings of scoreless relief. Christian Tripp, UNM’s closer, came in for the eighth to get some work in and allowed an unearned run.
The Lobos got on the board in the sixth when Jeff Deimling, who entered earlier in the game as a pinch hitter, his an infield single, and then Justin Watari pulled a ball into the corner for a run-scoring triple.
The loss dropped UNM to 12-21-1 overall and 6-12 in the Mountain West, and it was UNM’s ninth straight loss. Nevada improved to 20-14 overall and a conference leading 14-4. New Mexico returns home for a four-game homestand which starts Tuesday at 1 p.m. against nationally-ranked Texas Tech. UNM will then host UNLV in its only series with the Rebels at Santa Ana Star Field, with games Friday at 6:30, Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
Lobos Fall to Nevada in Reno
