RENO -- Nevada catcher Tony Cappuccilli picked an awfully good time to break out of his hitting slump. Cappuccilli was only 1-of-11 this season, but that all changed on Saturday against Santa Clara.
Cappuccilli blasted a two-run homer in the bottom of the 12th inning as the Wolf Pack battled back from a 10-3 deficit to beat the Broncos 12-10 in front of 1,440 fans at Peccole Park.
"A bit of a slump...yeah, I guess you could call it that," said Cappuccilli, who went 1-for-4. "It just feels good to help this team win. Our record's not where we want it to be right now, but I'm just glad I could help the team anyway I can."
With the win, Nevada improves to 7-7 on the season, the second time its been at .500 in what has been an inconsistent start to the season. The Wolf Pack will look to sweep Santa Clara in the last game of a three-game homestand today at 1:05 p.m.
The Broncos (6-10) and their starting pitcher, John Redmond, looked in complete control through most of the game. Redmond scattered six hits in the first six innings before the Wolf Pack eventually got to him.
Nevada's James Holcomb, a Reno High grad, came into the game in the fifth inning with Santa Clara leading 5-4. He struck out his three batters in the fifth, retired the side in the sixth, then ran into trouble in the seventh. That's when the Broncos scored six runs off five hits to take what seemed like a commanding 10-3 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. Holcomb allowed five earned runs and five hits in 2/3 of an inning after only giving up one hit in his first two innings of work.
In the seventh, Chris Dickerson hit an RBI single and Mike Gillies a two-run single as the Wolf Pack closed to within four runs, 10-6. In the eighth, things got a little crazy. Santa Clara reliever, Grant Feichtmeir, struck out JaRell McIntyre, then gave up back-to-back singles. Cappuccilli reached on an error by shortstop by A.J. LaBarbera, who misplayed a routine ground ball that would've resulted into an easy double play.
That loaded the bases for Matt Maguire, whose line drive to the right field was nearly caught by the Broncos' Joey Gomes, but watched the ball bounce under his glove. Maguire ended up with an inside the park homer that tied it at 10.
"I think that just shows how much this team battles," Cappuccilli said of the overcoming the seven-run deficit. "It's easy to roll over, down 10-3. But we fought back."
Wolf Pack reliever Justin Sherman held Santa Clara in the final four innings, allowing only three hits and walking one. Sherman improved to 3-1 on the season while A.J. Ampi (0-1) took the loss.
Nine different players recorded hits for Nevada, which had 16 in the game. Dickerson went 4-for-5 and McIntyre 3-for-6 to lead the Wolf Pack. Jeff Tolotti, a Galena High grad, and Gillies both had two RBIs.
