Moneypenny shaken by Nevada

FRESNO, Calif. - It took Nevada until the eighth inning to get a hit off Loren Moneypenny the last time it faced him.

The Pack didn't wait that long this time, roughing up the San Jose State ace for five runs and three hits in 2 1/3 innings en route to a 15-1 victory over San Jose State in the opening round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Thursday afternoon at Pete Beiden Field.

The win, Nevada's eighth straight, moves the Pack into a winner's bracket game tonight at 7 against Hawai'i, an 8-0 winner over Louisiana Tech.

Nevada coach Gary Powers knows his young team will have its collective hands full tonight.

"We have a long ways to go," said Powers after his team collected a season-high 18 hits. "Hawai'i is an experienced team. I'll take this opportunity over the alternative (loser's bracket). Today was a step in the right direction.

"We swung the bat and scored some runs. I've been around this game for a long time. The offensive part of the game is all about momentum, attitude and focus. A lot of our scoring came with two outs and that's how you win games."

The Pack scored eight of their runs after two out. Clutch hits were the norm and not an aberration.

"They had some nice two-out rallies," SJSU coach Sam Piraro said. "It's deadly for the team giving it up. Our pitchers didn't do a great job.

"Nevada hit the ball well today. Any mistakes we made pitching-wise they capitalized. When Loren pitched (against Nevada) the first time, it was one of his best games. He had command of three pitches that night. The last few outings that hasn't been the case."

Nevada hit pretty much anything any of San Jose State's five pitchers got near the strike zone. Of Nevada's 18 hits, 11 went for extra bases, including homers by Shawn Scobee (3-for-4), David Ciarlo (2-for-5), Terry Walsh and Drew Johnson (2-for-5).

The Pack jumped on Moneypenny for a run in the first when Dayton's Matt Bowman (3-for-6) lined a two-out single to right and scored on Scobee's double to the left-field corner.

The Pack made it 5-0 in the third when Moneypenny walked Durrell Williams and Bake Krukow with one out. Bowman doubled home Williams, and Scobee was walked intentionally to load the bases. Walsh (3-for-4) spoiled that strategy with a two-run double to right-center field which sent Scobee to third.

"I definitely don't take it personally," Walsh said. "If I was a manager, I'd do the same thing. Scobee is a great hitter. It's not personal, it's baseball. I just tried to put a good swing on the ball. I hope they keep doing it."

Exit Moneypenny after his shortest starting stint of the season.

Dan Eastham followed with a sacrifice fly off Corey Cabral to score Scobee from third to make it 5-0.

Nevada worked some of its two-out magic in the top of the fifth, scoring five times after two outs.

Scobee started the rally with a double to right-center field. After Walsh walked, Eastham stretched his hitting streak to six games with a run-scoring double to right which sent Walsh to third. Johnson, who hit a homer and drove in three runs last week against New Mexico State, slammed a three-run homer over the left-center field wall to make it 9-0. Two pitches later, Ciarlo ripped his sixth homer of the season for a 10-0 lead.

The Spartans scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the fifth when Raul Campos doubled and scored on David Pierson's single to right-center field. The Spartans put runners on first and second with one out, but Ryan Angel hit into a double play.

San Jose State got only one runner to second over the last four innings against Nevada ace Tim Schoeninger, who fanned six, walked two and gave up eight hits in his route-going 115-pitch effort.

Schoeninger mixed his pitches well. He was especially effective throwing breaking pitches early in the count. Powers was asked what effect Schoeninger throwing the entire game would have.

"We'll see in the long run," Powers said. "It was important to get quality starting pitching.

"I believe at this level that it's important to throw your off-speed pitches for strikes no matter what the count. It helps keep them (hitters) off balance."

Schoeninger, who improved to 5-6, was pleased with his performance and happy that he could help keep the Pack's momentum going.

"Once we got up 8-0, I just put it in cruise control and concentrated on throwing strikes," the Nevada senior right-hander said.

Momentum is certainly in Nevada's favor and their confidence is soaring.

"We're a better team than when we played them before," Powers said. 'We have better team chemistry and better mind frame."

This is a team that has shown tremendous mental toughness, battling back from the tragic death of freshman pitcher Steve Masten and some off-the-field issues.

"It's obvious that we're playing better ball," Powers said. "We've had to deal with a lot of stuff. Playing baseball has been our salvation. We have an opportunity to play for something."

And that something would be a WAC post-season title.