Nevada baseball falls to Fresno State

The University of Nevada baseball team's chance of finishing second in the Western Athletic Conference - and its slim chance of making the NCAA playoffs - appear to be slipping away.

Nevada lost to Fresno State 12-5 on Friday at Beiden Field. Nevada fell to 14-14 in the WAC, falling 1 1/2 games behind the second place Bulldogs, who improved to 15-12.

Carson High graduate Joe Mercer went 1-for-3 with an RBI sacrifice fly and a run scored. He's now hitting .326 (47-for-144) with 42 RBI on the season.

Nevada led 4-0 before the Bulldogs exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third and six runs in the fourth. The Wolf Pack jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first when Brian Gazerro walked and Brett Hayes doubled. Gazerro scored on Jacob Butler's groundout and Hayes scored on Mercer's sacrifice fly.

In the third, Mercer singled and scored on a two-run home run by Chris Gimenez, his 13th of the year. The Wolf Pack closed to within 10-5 in the fifth on Erick Streelman's RBI double. Gimenez led Nevada with two hits.