HOUSTON — It doesn’t say so in the scorebook, but Nevada Wolf Pack reliever Zack Basch might have earned his biggest save of the season Sunday.
The Wolf Pack closer actually got credit for the victory with five innings of near-perfect relief in a 6-5 victory over the No. 1-ranked Rice Owls at Reckling Park. Basch’s efforts, though, saved the Wolf Pack’s chances for a Western Athletic Conference title, at least for the moment.
“This game was a two-game turnaround for us,” Wolf Pack coach Gary Powers said. “Instead of losing three games to these guys on the loss side we really only lost one. It was a huge win. We’re still in striking distance.”
Rice, which won the first two games of the series against the Pack, still leads the WAC at 16-2 with the Wolf Pack in second at 10-4. The six teams in the WAC play 30 league games.
Basch entered the game with no outs and runners on first and third in the fifth inning and the Pack trailing, 5-3. The right-hander struck out Craig Stansberry for the first out. Vincent Sinisi was then tossed out on a steal attempt of home by second baseman Ryan Strain for the second out. Basch then ended the inning by striking out Enrique Cruz.
The Owls’ only hit off Basch was a double by Chris Kolkhorst with no outs in the seventh. The Pack reliever threw 35 of his 54 pitches for strikes and didn’t walk a hitter, earning his first victory in a Pack uniform.
“I can’t ask for more out of him than what he did today,” Powers said.
Powers said he had no doubt that Basch could give him five strong innings. “He’s the kind of guy who doesn’t get deep in the count. He throws strikes.”
The Wolf Pack, who ended an eight-game losing streak against Rice, dating back to last season, jumped ahead, 6-5, with three runs in the seventh.
Catcher Brett Hayes’ sacrifice fly scored Chris Dickerson for the first run, cutting Rice’s lead to 5-4. Chris Gimenez then walked with the bases loaded to tie the game at 5-5. Right fielder Mike Hass, facing Rice reliever David Aardsma, then singled in Kevin Kouzmanoff with the go-ahead run.
The Wolf Pack scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the second inning on a run-scoring single by Dickerson. Dickerson, who has struggled all season, had three hits, drove in a run and scored twice off the best pitching staff in the WAC.
Rice, though, took a 3-1 lead in the third inning off Pack starter Eddie Bonine. Paul Janish led off the inning with a home run. Bonine then walked Justin Ruchti and Kolkhorst and allowed a two-run double by Dane Bubela.
Both of the Rice runs in the fifth were also charged to Bonine. Reliever Bryan Johnson relieved Bonine in the inning and allowed two hits without retiring a hitter before Basch came on to shut down the Owls over the final five innings.
Pack shortstop Taylor Pullins also had three hits and scored two runs. Dickerson and Pullins, hitting eighth and ninth in the order, were a combined 6-for-8 with four runs scored.
“A lot of good things happened in this game,” Powers said. “We battled back. After losing the first two games of this series, some teams might have quit in that situation, especially after we lost the lead in today’s game. But we battled. A team with less character would have folded up.”
The Wolf Pack will take on San Francisco Tuesday at Peccole Park (2 p.m.) before resuming WAC play with a three-game series at Fresno State, starting on Friday.
