MESA, Ariz. » Eleven days ago, San Jose State watched in disbelief as Hawaii scored four runs with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to steal a 9-8 victory.

If the Spartans wanted a chance to atone for that game, they got it.

The Spartans (34-24) rode the arm of all-WAC starter Roberto Padilla to a 5-3 victory over Nevada (23-20) yesterday in the opening game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.

SJSU will play top-seeded Hawaii in today’s final game.

The Rainbows took three of four against the Spartans this season, including a thrilling victory in their final home game.

"Staying in the winner’s bracket is very important," Spartans coach Sam Piraro said.

Padilla took a no-hitter into the sixth, retiring 15 in a row after a leadoff walk to start the game.

The left-hander struck out six in eight innings, allowing three runs on five hits.

Matt Sisto will start for UH against either Esteban Guzman or Blake McFarland.

No. 3 Louisiana Tech 9, No. 6 New Mexico State 3

Joey Ford went 3-for-5 with the game-tying RBI single and a fielding error helped the Bulldogs (33-25) score seven unanswered runs to beat the Aggies (34-23).