SAN DIEGO – San Diego State was victimized by five errors on Saturday in an 8-2 loss to Nevada in the second game of a weekend series at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Despite matching the Wolf Pack with 11 hits, the Aztecs' miscues led to five unearned runs, as the Scarlet and Black dropped to 5-9 on the year and 2-3 in Mountain West play.
Conversely, Nevada banged out five doubles and one triple while turning two double plays defensively to help snap a six-game losing streak and raise its record to 5-7 overall and 1-1 in conference action.
SDSU starter Omar Serrano struck out a season-high seven batters in 6 1/3 innings but was saddled with the loss after giving up six runs (two earned) on seven hits and a trio of walks.
The Wolf Pack never trailed in the contest after plating a pair of unearned runs in the second. Taylor Holder tripled to the base of the wall in right center with two outs, scoring Nolan Wilson, who previously reached on a fielding error at shortstop. Moments later, Holder touched home on Jackson Waller's single to center.
Nevada extended its advantage on back-to-back doubles by JR Freethy and Jesse Pierce to lead off the third, before the Aztecs pushed across a run in the bottom of the inning on Shaun Montoya's RBI single up the middle, which brought in Evan Sipe.
SDSU loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth when Jake Jackson and Tino Bethancourt laced consecutive singles, while Sipe drew a walk. However, Wolf Pack starter Theo Millas extinguished the threat by striking out Xavier Gonzalez.
Leading 3-1, Nevada tacked on two additional markers in the fifth, both of which were unearned. Justin Acal reached on a fielding error during a leadoff bunt attempt, circling the bases shortly thereafter when Holder doubled down the left-field line. Holder promptly took third on Jake Harvey's sacrifice bunt before racing home on Michael Ball's two-out single through the left side.
Facing a 5-1 deficit, the Aztecs stranded a pair of runners at second and third in the sixth when Wolf Pack reliever Casey Burfield kept the host school off the scoreboard with an inning-ending strikeout. Previously, Jackson reached on a fielder's choice, while Bethancourt got aboard thanks to Waller's errant throw to first, which pulled Pierce off the bag following a grounder to third. However, the Scarlet and Black came up empty when Burfield fanned Sipe after a seven-pitch battle.
Nevada gave itself some additional breathing room on Acal's RBI double with two outs in the seventh before tacking on two more markers in the eighth. Freethy knocked in Jake Harvey with a looping single to left and soon advanced to second on an errant run-down. Moments later, Derek Tenney plated Harvey with a double to left, giving the visitors a commanding 8-1 lead.
SDSU then closed out the scoring in the ninth when Bethancourt crossed the plate on a passed ball. Earlier, Bethancourt led off with a single to left and motored around to third on Sipe's base hit to right.
Millas (1-0) posted six strikeouts in five innings to earn the victory, allowing one run on six hits and a pair of walks, while Burfield pitched the final four innings to collect the save, yielding one unearned run on five hits to go with five strikeouts.
Holder led all players with three hits, while Montoya, Bethancourt and Sipe finished with two hits apiece in the loss.
San Diego State and Nevada will square off in the rubber game of their weekend series on Sunday, March 10 at 1 p.m. PT. The Aztecs-Wolf Pack clash will air live on the Mountain West Network.
Aztecs Toppled by Nevada, 8-2
