May 11, 1999
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team lost two out of three games last weekend in a WAC series on Friday-Sunday, May 7-9, at Lobo Field in Albuquerque, N.M. UNLV is now 25-31 overall and 14-13 in the WAC (tied for fourth). New Mexico is 29-26-1 overall and 14-13 in the WAC (tied for fourth).
UNLV defeated New Mexico 8-4 in the series opener on Friday. Senior right-hander Bill Scheffels improved to 4-4 on the season. He pitched 8.1 innings, allowed 16 hits, 4 runs, walked 3 and struck out 7. Senior right-hander Jimmy Smith recorded the final two outs and earned his seventh save and his 14th career. UNLV, trailing 3-1, scored two runs in the fourth inning to tie the game at 3-3. UNLV then took the lead for good with four runs in the fifth. A pair of two-run home runs by junior designated Tony DeMarco and junior first baseman Brian Hertel accounted for the runs. Hertel batted .500 (6-for-12) in the series with 7 runs scored, 4 home runs and 7 RBI.
New Mexico defeated UNLV 15-9 on Saturday. The Lobos offense scored 15 runs and 20 hits off of junior right-hander Andy McCulloch (4-7) and freshman left-hander Ryan Olson. McCulloch pitched 4 innings and allowed 13 hits and 11 runs (6 earned). Right-hander David Young (3-6) recorded the victory for New Mexico. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 9 runs. UNLV, trailing 9-4, scored five runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 9-9. Junior catcher Harold Betts hit his first home run of the season, a two-run shot, to tie the game. The Lobos then scored six unanswered runs to even up the series at 1-1. Third baseman Aaron Sisk led the Lobos with a 3-for-5 performance and 5 RBI.
New Mexico took the rubber game with a 17-14 victory on Sunday. Freshman right-hander Joe Maruffi (3-2) suffered the loss. Right-hander Dan Reardon (5-0) recorded the victory. The slugfest included a combined 31 runs, 37 hits and 10 home runs. UNLV hit four home runs (9 in the series) and collected 20 hits. The Lobos hit six home runs (7 in the series) and collected 17 hits.
The Lobos built a 10-2 lead after three innings and 14-5 after four innings. UNLV then stormed back and scored 7 runs in the fifth to cut the deficit to 14-12. UNLV cut the lead to 14-13 in the seventh on a RBI single by junior outfielder Nate Kaup. He batted .538 (7-for-13) in the series.
The Lobos scored two runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth inning for their final runs. Senior third baseman Chris Gillette, who was 4-for-6, hit his second solo home run of the game in the eighth inning for UNLV's final run.
UNLV will conclude the 1999 regular season with a WAC three-game series at Fresno State on Friday-Sunday, May 14-16 at Beiden Field. Six teams (San Jose State, New Mexico, San Diego State, UNLV, Hawai'i, Fresno State) are still in contention for the final four spots in the WAC Tournament (May 19-22 at Beiden Field). Rice and TCU have already qualified for the tournament. The UNLV-Fresno State series will be broadcast on KSFN AM-1140 radio with Scott Robbs and Scott Taylor.
