Reno, Nev. - In a slugfest of epic proportions on Monday afternoon, the Tigers came up just short as the Wolf Pack walked off with a 13-12 win in 11 innings to send Pacific to defeat on get-away day in Reno. Pacific (0-11) put together its best hitting performance of the season in the loss while the Wolf Pack (10-1) built upon its program best start to the 2015 season with the victory at Peccole Park.

After 10 games of anemic offense, the Tigers' hitters found their groove as Pacific belted out 18 hits and scored 12 runs on a cold day in Reno that saw snow flurries early. However, it was not to be as the hot hitting Wolf Pack one upped the Tigers' hot day with one of their own as they went toe-to-toe, belting out 18 hits and scoring 13 wins to snatch the victory. In total, the teams combined for 36 hits and 13 extra-base knocks including six home runs en route to their 25-run battle. 

However, in the end, the game of power came down to the execution of the little things as the Tigers were unable to manufacture a run late while the Wolf Pack came through with the big hit when they needed it most. Tied at 12-12, the Wolf Pack got the clutch knock from their biggest star as Austin Byler delivered the walk-off single down the left field line after his teammates had loaded the bases in front of him. Byler finished the game 3-for-5 overall, with his lone RBI coming as the winning run in the game. 

Prior to Byler's walk-off winner the two teams battled back and forth as Pacific put together rally after rally in an attempt to chase down the Wolf Pack who ran out to a big early lead. For seven innings the two heavyweights slugged it out with the Wolf Pack pushing out front while the Tigers tried to reel them back in. Finally for the Tigers it all came into alignment in the top of the eighth when juniors Brett Sullivan and Gio Brusa bombed back-to-back solo home runs to knot the game at 12-12. The home run for Sullivan was his first of the season while Brusa's bomb was his second of the game after going deep in the second inning to get the Tigers on the board for the first time. 

Brusa's first home run of the season and the game came after the Tigers had given up two runs in the bottom of the first on a two-RBI single by Trenton Brooks. The two RBI single by Brooks was the first of two such big hits as the Wolf Pack right fielder delivered again two innings later to kick start a four-run third. In addition to Brooks, the Wolf Pack were helped out by a pair of errors by the Tigers in the field that allowed two to score, giving Nevada a five-run lead at the time.

Down big, the Tigers mounted a four-run rally in the next frame when they strung together six quality at bats that resulted in five hits and an error that allowed the sixth Tiger to reach. Starting everything off was Brusa once again as the big right fielder crushed a line drive off the wall in right for the first of two doubles in the contest. He would score on a single by freshman Nate Verlin. The merry-go-round would continue as the Tigers went base-to-base coming up with RBI singles from freshman Jed Sprague and senior Jimmy Gosano before Nevada was forced to go back to the bullpen. The move would pay dividends as the Tigers hit into a double-play before ending the inning with a second ground ball. 

Back in the game, the Tigers witnessed the first of two mammoth home runs off the bat of Ryan Howell as the big hitting second basemen put the Wolf Pack back ahead by three with two in the bottom half of the fourth. Once again, Pacific rallied, scoring two in the sixth to cut the deficit to just one for the third time when the Sullivan brothers came up with RBIs in the inning. Unfortunately for the Tigers, the tying run was not in the cards when junior J.P. Yakel was thrown out at the plate attempting to score from first on Brusa's double off the wall in left to end the inning.

The mistake would look devastating just a few pitches later when Howell came through with his second two-run bomb of the day. Making matters worse was the fact that Howell had been told to sacrifice himself in the at bat but failed to get the bunt down before getting the sign to swing away. The Wolf Pack added two more in the inning with small ball as they stole two runs on a squeeze play when the Tigers fell asleep in the infield, allowing runners to score from both second and third on the play.

Despite the mistake, the Tigers refused to go away as Pacific mounted yet another comeback, scoring three in the seventh before the two home runs in the eighth tied the game up. In the seventh, the Tigers took advantage of a pair of leadoff walks to get rolling. After loading the bases, the Tigers scored the first run on a wild pitch before Gosano delivered his second RBI single of the game. Following right behind, senior Tyler Sullivan picked up his second RBI of the afternoon with a deep fly ball to left, scoring junior Louis Mejia from third.

In all, the Tigers and the Wolf Pack used 12 pitchers with Nevada calling on eight arms to get them through the game. In the end, freshman Cal Stevenson (1-0) picked up the win after making his way to the mound out of centerfield. Stevenson would make two appearances in the game for the Wolf Pack as he picked up two big outs in the 10th against Pacific's lefties and another huge out in the 11th to end the frame. Fittingly, he also would score the game-winning run in the 11th for his team after doubling to left center to start the inning after previously going 0-for-5 in the contest. The loss was tagged to sophomore John Jaeger (0-1) who threw the final three innings, but ran into trouble he could not get out of in the 11th

Both starters in the contest were roughed up as senior Cory Popham exited the game in the third after he gave up four hits and four runs in 2.0 innings of work. For the Wolf Pack, Michael Fain lasted 3.0 full innings before exiting having given up five hits and five runs.

Offensively, all nine Tiger starters recorded a hit in the game with Brusa going 4-for-6 while T. Sullivan and junior J.J. Wagner each picked up three hits. On the other side, Kyle Hunt, Kewby Meyer, Byler, Howell, and Brooks all came up with multi-hit efforts with Howell finishing 4-for-5 with four RBI and three runs scored. 

The Tigers return home on Friday, Mar. 6 when they host Cal Poly for the first of three games at Klein Family Field. The contest is scheduled for 6:00 pm.