Feb. 4, 2001
LAS VEGAS - The Hustlin' Rebels (2-1) rallied in the closing innings but fell one run short for the 7-6 loss to Washington State (2-5) on Sunday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. Freshman Robbie Van (1-0) pitched well in his collegiate debut, but picked up the loss for the Rebels. Van pitched six innings for the Rebels giving up eight hits and seven runs, only three earned.
Washington State jumped out to an early seven run lead through five innings before the Rebel bats came to life. The bottom of the fifth began with a single to left field from Brad Beasley. Zach Strong singled and advanced to third on a Cougar error that scored Beasley. Brad Johnson's sacrifice to right field brought Strong home and gave the Rebels two runs heading into the sixth inning.
UNLV pitching left the Cougars scoreless through the duration of the ballgame. Donnie Watts came in at the start of the seventh inning and saw the Rebels through the ninth before Ben Scheinbaum finished off the final two batters.
UNLV was able to post another run in the sixth off a David Trujillo single up the middle that scored Trent Kitsch, who reached on a double. Kitsch picked up his second triple on the season in the eighth, scoring Tony Schuler who reached on a single. Joe Jacobitz followed with a double to score Kitsch before heading to the ninth inning.
Down two runs, head coach Rod Soesbe sent Garett Shitanishi to the plate for Zach Strong. Shitanishi sent a hard shot to shortstop and beat the throw for a single. Brent Johnson reached first on an error by the short stop that also advanced Shitanishi to second. A Ryan Ruiz sac bunt down the right side advanced the runners. John Cruz grounded out to the second baseman, scoring Shitanishi and advancing Johnson to third. With two outs and the tying run on third, Tony Schuler flew out to center to end the ball game.
Trujillo finished the game 2-for-3 with one RBI, while Kitsch went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Washington State's Jamin Svendsen (1-0) picked up the win for the Cougars. Donnie Davis came in for the save.
UNLV travels to Los Angeles next weekend for another three-game Pac-10 series with UCLA. Friday's game is slated to start at 5:00 p.m.
