San Jose, Calif. - San Jose State University got a six-hit shutout from Max Peterson in game one and plenty of offense in game two in completing the sweep of a Western Athletic Conference baseball doubleheader over the University of Nevada at Municipal Stadium on Saturday, May 17.

The twin killing on a hot and sunny Saturday afternoon puts the San Jose State record at 30-23 overall and 16-14 in the WAC. Nevada falls to 31-23 overall and 18-13 in league play. Having taken Friday night’s series opener, 7-4, the Spartans clinched the series victory.

Saturday’s results also get San Jose State to 30 wins in a season for the 15th time under 21st-year head coach Sam Piraro, and guarantee the Spartans a winning overall record for the third year in a row, as well as an above-.500 WAC ledger for the first time since going 21-9 in 2002, a campaign which marked their last NCAA Championship appearance. San Jose State has also now locked of the No. 4 seed at the 2008 WAC Tournament, which is set to take place at Louisiana Tech University’s J.C. Love Field in Ruston, La., May 22-25. If the Spartans win Sunday’s series finale with Nevada, it will set up a rematch with the Wolf Pack at 7:00 p.m. (CT) on the double-elimination event’s first day on Thursday, May 22. Should Nevada salvage a victory, the Spartans would open against Hawai’i at that same time.

In game one, Peterson scattered six hits and issued just one walk in throwing the second shutout by a Spartan pitcher in 2008. The sophomore left-hander out of San Diego Mesa College struck out five and produced 1-2-3 innings in the first, second, fifth and ninth innings. Even in that ninth frame, he put first-pitch strikes over on all three Wolf Pack hitters, getting a pair of ground ball outs, including a leadoff bunt back to him, and a popout. Peterson retired the first six batters of the game ahead of a leadoff single in the third by catcher Tyson Jaquez.

Peterson set down another six straight between a double by Matt Bowman to start the fourth and a Brian Lloyd single to lead off the sixth, striking out Jaquez and Kevin Rodland in succession after a groundout in the fifth. To get out of the sticky situation following the double in the fourth, Peterson induced groundouts on back-to-back pitches, sprinting to the bag to gather first baseman Danny Stienstra’s flip in time on the latter, before a flyout ended the Pack threat.

With the win, Peterson improves his season record to an even 5-5. All five wins have come against WAC opposition, as he is 5-2 with a 3.69 ERA against league foes. He has not given up an earned run in 16.0 innings of baseball over his last two starts.

Junior rightfielder Alex Sofranac’s solo home run over the wall in right field with two outs in the fourth inning turned out to be all the offense the Spartans needed. It was his team-leading fifth on the year, with all five coming against WAC competition, but first inside Municipal Stadium. It gave San Jose State at least one home run in six straight contests and seven in all in that span.

The Spartans tacked on an insurance run in the seventh as junior catcher Anthony Aguilera doubled down the left field line to lead off, moved to third on a Craig Hertler groundout, and scored on a single to left by sophomore second baseman Karson Klauer.

San Jose State was actually out-hit by Nevada in game one, 6-5, with Klauer finishing 2-for-4 with the RBI. Sofranac was 1-for-3 with the home run, walk, run and RBI, and was robbed of another base hit by first baseman Shaun Kort in the second.

Lloyd collected the first two hits of his Nevada career in his first start for the Pack, and also made the deft grab of a sharp liner by Kyle Bellows for the second out in the first inning with Hertler at third after the freshman leftfielder had reached on an error to begin the game. Senior right-hander Kyle Howe (8-2) matched Peterson’s complete game, allowing two runs on five hits and four walks over 8.0 innings, with two strikeouts.

Freshman catcher Bryson Rahier (2-for-4) highlighted the offensive output in the second game, driving in a career-high four runs on a pair of two-run singles in back-to-back innings as the Spartans struck for four runs in both the sixth and seventh frames to break open a 2-2 game.

Junior John Shaffer, a San Jose native and middle infielder by trade, made his first collegiate start in the outfield in left in game two, and finished 3-for-5 with a double and two runs from his leadoff position, while also gunning down Jason Sadoian trying to stretch a single into a double  for the second out in the seventh. Shaffer’s pellet found the glove of Klauer on the fly, with the sophomore second baseman applying the swipe tag on Sadoian the pinch-hitter.

San Jose State scored twice in the third as Sofranac first reached on a high infield single that Kort could not track down, moved to third on a Shaffer single and came home on an RBI groundout by Klauer. Bellows’ third triple of the season, to deep center, also eluded the grasp of Pack centerfielder Waylen Sing Chow, and made it a 2-0 game.

Nevada knotted the game with single runs in the fourth and sixth on RBI doubles by Mike Hale and Terry Walsh off of Spartan starter Scott Sobczak, with Kort scoring both times.

The Spartans had an immediate and emphatic answer, however. Sonny Garza led off the home half of the sixth with a single, and after a pitching change, advanced to second on a wild pitch. Stienstra worked the count full and walked, and Corey Valine bunted both runners into scoring position. Jason Martin reached on an infield error as Garza scored what proved to be the game-winning run, and Sofranac doubled down the right field line on the first pitch of his at-bat to plate Stienstra, ahead of the first of Rahier’s two two-run singles.

Bellows jump-started the seventh by walking with the count full. He had already drawn a nine-pitch base on balls in the first inning against freshman starter Brock Stassi. Garza reached on third baseman Jason Rodriguez’s third error on the day, with Stienstra laying down another successful sacrifice to again put a pair of Spartans in position to score. The veteran duo came across on a wild pitch and a Valine single, respectively, before Rahier’s blooper dropped in between three Nevada fielders in right center to give the Spartans a 10-2 cushion.

A Shaffer single, Klauer double and Garza sacrifice fly accounted for the final run of the day in the eighth, as the visitors narrowly stayed out of the 10-run rule.

Valine and Sofranac had two hits apiece, while Garza, Martin and Sofranac each scored twice.

Christopher McNeil (2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 1 SO) and Trevor Gibson (1.0 IP, 2 H) combined for 3.2 innings of scoreless baseball in relief of Sobczak (5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 2 SO), with McNeil (3-0) earning the win.

Kort was 2-for-5 with a double and two runs. Stassi (3-2) took the loss, giving up three runs on seven hits and one walk before giving way to a trio of relievers.

Defensively for the Spartans, Klauer made a nice play for the second out in the second, sliding to his left, turning and throwing to Stienstra to get Hale. In the top of the third, Sobczak beat Sing Chow to first base to take Stienstra’s throw in time in the middle of the junior right-hander’s second 1-2-3 frame. With Lloyd at first following a leadoff walk in the fifth, Garza charged Travis Simas’ bunt attempt and fired to Bellows to get the lead runner at second. Bellows then robbed Simas to begin the seventh, sliding to reach the ball heading toward the hole, turning all the way around and throwing a strike to Stienstra for the out.

San Jose State will go for the four-game series sweep as both teams conclude the 2008 regular season on Senior Day at Municipal Stadium on Sunday, May 18. First pitch is slated for 1:00 p.m. following a pre-game ceremony honoring Spartan seniors Eric Boyd, Sonny Garza, Brandon Hennessey and Matt Stone, beginning at approximately 12:55 p.m. Piraro is expected to hand the ball to Hennessey (0-0, 8.04 ERA), the only fourth-year senior on the 2008 roster, for his first start of the season and 15th of his career. Nevada’s probable starter is junior right-hander Derek Achelpohl (2-2, 5.96 ERA).

Game 1: San Jose State 2, Nevada 0

Nevada (31-22, 18-12 WAC) 000 000 000 - 0 6 2
San Jose State (29-23, 15-14 WAC) 000 100 10X - 2 5 0

Howe and Jaquez. Max Peterson and Anthony Aguilera. WP - Max Peterson (5-5). LP - Howe (8-2). Save - None. 2B - Bowman (NEV); Anthony Aguilera (SJSU). HR - Alex Sofranac (5) (SJSU). 2 hits - Lloyd (NEV); Karson Klauer (SJSU). Attendance - 378.

Game 2: San Jose State 11, Nevada 2

Nevada (31-23, 18-13 WAC) 000 101 000 - 2 9 2
San Jose State (30-23, 16-14 WAC) 002 004 41X - 11 14 0

Stassi, Miller (6), Bautista (6), Suarez (8) and Simas. Scott Sobczak, Christopher McNeil (6), Trevor Gibson (9) and Bryson Rahier. WP - Christopher McNeil (3-0). LP - Stassi (3-2). Save - None. 2B - Kort, Walsh, Hale (NEV); John Shaffer, Karson Klauer, Alex Sofranac (SJSU). 3B - Kyle Bellows (SJSU). 3 hits - John Shaffer (SJSU). 2 hits - Kort (NEV); Corey Valine, Alex Sofranac, Bryson Rahier (SJSU). 4 RBI - Bryson Rahier (SJSU). Attendance - 378.