Feb. 14, 2001

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team defeated Lewis-Clark State 9-5 at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Wednesday to take the two-game series. Defending NAIA National Champion Lewis-Clark State falls to 2-2 on the season. UNLV improves to 4-4.

UNLV's Robbie Van (1-2) pitched a solid 7.1 innings for his first win of the season. He gave up four runs on only six hits while striking out three. Lewis-Clark State's Wes Hutchinson picked up the loss in his first outing of the season.

The Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third, but the Hustlin' Rebels countered with a pair of runs before heading into the fourth. Jason Reuss singled, stole second, advanced to third on a failed pick-off attempt by the pitcher and eventually scored on a balk. A Garett Shitanishi single up the middle later scored John Cruz, who reached on a walk.

UNLV took the lead on a five-run fifth inning, thanks in large part to four Lewis-Clark State errors. Reuss, Tony Schuler, Cruz, Dave Denton and Shitanishi all scored.

The Rebels posted an additional run in both the seventh and eighth innings. Trent Kitsch, who reached on a walk in the seventh, made his way around the bases on a Joe Jacobitz hit-by-pitch, a Ryan Ruiz sac bunt and crossed the plate on a wild pitch. Reuss led off the eighth with a hit-by-pitch then stole second and scored on a Shitanishi single down the left side.

Shitanishi finished the game 2-for-5 with one run and two RBIs. Denton also finished with a pair of hits, going 2-for-4 with one run scored. Kitsch scored once and drove in two runs despite only going 1-for-4. Cruz went 1-for-2 with one RBI.

UNLV travels to Albuquerque, N.M. for the Applebee's Baseball Fiesta between the Big12 and Mountain West Conference. The Hustlin' Rebels begin play on Friday with Missouri at 12:30 p.m. Games are also scheduled with Kansas State on Saturday and Nebraska on Sunday.