Nevada baseball opens its season against No. 24 Missouri State

The Nevada baseball team, the last of the university’s 16 athletics programs to begin competition in the 2018-19 academic year, will finally get to see how it stacks up against live competition.

The Wolf Pack, coming off a Mountain West regular-season title, opens its 2019 season Friday at a tournament hosted by Texas State. Nevada is scheduled to face No. 24 Missouri State, Texas State and Utah in the event.

The Pack returns three all-Mountain West first-team selections from a year ago — conference freshman of the year Joshua Zamora, pitcher Jake Jackson and catcher Kaleb Foster. Ryan Anderson has been announced as Nevada’s season-opening starting pitcher Friday against Missouri State.

With the baseball team ready to begin its season, here’s a look at the latest news for some other Wolf Pack programs:

Basketball (W)

Last time out: The Wolf Pack lost to one of the Mountain West’s best teams on Saturday, dropping an 85-74 decision at New Mexico.

Freshman Imani Lacy led the Wolf Pack with 20 points; it was her first career 20-point game. She finished 10-of-16 from the field and also grabbed six rebounds.

Nevada’s Camariah King (13 points), Jade Redmon (10) and Da’Ja Hamilton (10) also scored in double-figures. Redmon has reached two-digit scoring in all 19 of her appearances.

The Wolf Pack tied its season-high with eight 3-pointers.

Nevada dropped to 8-14 overall and 4-7 in Mountain West games; New Mexico improved to 19-3, 9-2. The Lobos are battling with Boise State at the top of the MW standings.

Next up: Nevada hosts Wyoming (15-5, 8-3) on Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be part of the school’s National Girls and Women in Sports Day festivities.

Golf (W)

Last time out: Nevada had two top-five individual finishes and wound up in sixth place in the Battle at the Rock in Riverside, Calif., on Monday and Tuesday.

The Wolf Pack’s 284 team total on Tuesday was the only under-par round posted in the tournament. For the event, Nevada totaled an 889, three strokes out of a top-five spot. 

Nevada’s Victoria Gailey and Chaithra Katamneni tied for fifth place individually at 2-over 218. Jenny Krause tied for 15th with a 221 total for the three rounds.

Next up: Nevada will play at the Rebel Beach Invitational at Spanish Trails Country Club in Las Vegas on Monday and Tuesday.

Rifle

Last time out: Nevada finished third at the Patriot Rifle Conference finals in Fairbanks, Alaska, on Feb. 2-3. The Pack’s Mitchell Van Patten won the air rifle title.

Next up: The Wolf Pack will compete against UTEP and Alaska at an NCAA Qualifier event Saturday and Sunday in El Paso, Texas.

Softball

Last time out: The Wolf Pack split its two completed games at the NorCal Kickoff tournament.

Nevada opened its season with a 6-4 win over Santa Clara on Saturday. On Sunday, the Pack was blanked in a 9-0, five-inning shutout loss at Sacramento State.

Earlier Sunday, Nevada’s scheduled games against UC Davis and UC Santa Barbara in Davis were cancelled due to poor field conditions.

On Wednesday, the Pack announced a non-conference doubleheader had been added to its schedule to make up for its missed games in Davis. Nevada will host Marist for two games on March 19.

Next up: The Wolf Pack’s season-opening road journey continues Friday through Sunday at the Houston Classic. Nevada is scheduled to face Nicholls State, Houston, Maryland, and Louisiana-Monroe in the tournament.

Tennis (M)

Next up: The Wolf Pack returns to action for the first time in two weeks with matches at Cal Poly (Saturday) and at Santa Clara (Sunday). Nevada enters the weekend with a 3-2 record in dual matches.

Tennis (W)

Last time out: Nevada lost both its completed matches on its Southern California road trip, falling to UC Santa Barbara, 5-2, on Friday, then losing to Long Beach State on Saturday, 4-0.

The Pack’s scheduled Sunday match at UC Riverside was rained out.

Nevada is 5-2 overall.

Next up: The Wolf Pack is off until March 1, when it will play at Pacific.

Track & field

Last time out: Nevada wrapped up its pre-championship indoor season at the Boise State Team Challenge on Saturday.

The Wolf Pack’s winners were Emily Costello in the 60 meters (7.65 seconds) and Gaby Palmer in the pole vault (12 feet, 10 inches). Nevada placed four runners into the 60-meter finals, along with three in the 60-meter hurdles finals.

Overall, Nevada athletes accounted for 16 personal records at the event.

Next up: The indoor season concludes with the Mountain West Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, Feb. 21-23.