RENO - Nevada outfielder Jacob Butler didn't mince any words.
"I think we're a top-25 team," Butler said. "I think we're good enough."
And, after watching Butler slam two homers and drive in five runs to lift the conference-leading Wolf Pack past San Jose State 9-2 Saturday at Peccole Park for their eighth win in their last 11 games, you might be inclined to agree with the assessment.
The win upped Nevada's record to 19-13 overall and 8-3 in WAC play. The second-place Spartans dropped to 19-14-1 and 8-6 respectively. Nevada goes for a series sweep today at 1.
Save for a couple of recent nonconference losses, Nevada has won seven of its last eight WAC games, and head coach Gary Powers said it's important to make it eight out of nine even though Nevada has already won the series against SJSU.
"I look at it as a two-game swing," Powers said. "If you win you're 2 1/2 games up. If you lose, the lead goes down to a half-game.
"You make plays, the pitcher gets confidence and throws better. We do the right things at the plate and good things happen."
Good things happened for Butler, who struck out and popped to second his first two times up. The senior outfielder, who was ejected Friday in the first inning, atoned for that in the fifth and seventh innings.
San Jose State starter Branden Dewing carried a 2-1 lead into the bottom of the fifth when the game started to get away from him.
After one out, Brett Hayes hit an infield single and moved to second when Matt Bowman walked. Butler followed with a homer to left-center field that got caught in the jet stream and sailed well out of the park to make it 4-2.
That was more than enough for Nevada starter Ryan Rodriguez (8-2), who scattered six hits and threw 117 pitches in his seven-inning stint. After a 29-pitch first inning, Rodriguez was in command the rest of his outing.
"I always think I'm a slow starter," Rodriguez said. "Then I start throwing all my pitches for strikes. I wasn't throwing my slider as good as I can."
"He had a tremendous outing today," Powers said. "I thought he was very consistent throughout the whole day. He located his fastball real well."
Butler gave Nevada more insurance in the seventh. With Bowman at first via a fielder's choice, Butler pounded a first-pitch homer off Dewing to make it 6-2. Nevada scored three more times before the inning ended, two on an Eric Newman single, his second straight two-RBI game.
Butler said he owed his team a little something extra for Friday's emotional outburst that got him tossed. It was his first two-homer game since April 17 of last year against Fresno State.
"I felt I let my team down," Butler said. "I lost my composure.
"The ball is starting to look a little bigger. I'm starting to see more and more fastballs. Early in the season I wasn't seeing that many. With (Ben) Mummy, (Shawn) Scobee and Baker (Krukow) hitting so well it's hard for them to pitch around me. Those guys are crushing the ball, too."
Sam Piraro, SJSU coach, gave Butler his props. He also said the windy conditions do turn fly balls into homers at times.
"When you come here that's the way it is," Piraro said. "He (Butler) did a good job of getting the ball up in the air. I thought Dewing threw well enough to win the game. He didn't get pitches (called strikes) I thought he should have had. He didn't get them and it swayed the count a little.
"They played very well. I'm very impressed with the way they are playing."
Notes: With regular shortstop Robert Marcial back in Southern California with his family after his cousin's death earlier in the week, Powers elected to start the versatile Brett Hayes at short. Hayes had played third for the Pack, but never shortstop. He handled six chances without an error ... Piraro has no idea who will start on the mound today. It's supposed to be Brad Kilby's turn, but Kilby has a pulled muscle near his left underarm and may not be able to go ... Nevada hosts UC Davis Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m.
