March 22, 1998

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team defeated ninth-ranked Rice 12-1 on Sunday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium at Roger Barnson Field. Rice took two out of three games in the WAC series. The Owls won 12-6 on Friday and 5-3 on Saturday.

UNLV right-hander Jerimiah Tipton recorded his first career complete game in the 12-1 victory over the Owls. The senior from Las Vegas allowed 6 hits, 1 run, walked 2 batters and tied his career-high with 10 strikeouts. He struck out 10 batters last season against Rice in a no decision. Tipton defeated No. 4 Arizona 6-3 earlier in the week. He was 2-0 with a 1.59 ERA in two games against teams ranked in the Top 10.

UNLV took advantage of five Rice errors and five wild pitches on Sunday. Freshman catcher Ryan Hamill's two-run home run (his eighth) put UNLV ahead 2-0 in the second inning.

UNLV scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to increase its lead to 8-1. The Rebels scored four runs without a hit as Rice committed three errors in the inning.

UNLV scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 12-1 lead. Hamill's two-run double and junior outfielder Nate Smith's two-run double were the key hits. Hamill was 2-for-4 with 4 RBI and Smith was 2-for-4 with 2 RBI.

The victory improved UNLV's record to 22-10 overall and 5-4 in the WAC South Division. Rice is 23-9 overall and 14-1 in the WAC South Division.

UNLV will host Portland State in a nonconference game on Wednesday at 3:05 p.m. at Wilson Stadium. UNLV then will resume WAC play at TCU for a three-game series on Friday-Sunday, March 27-29, at Fort Worth, Texas.