March 17, 2001

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team fell 8-4 to Mountain West Conference rival San Diego State on Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels fall to 11-14 overall, 3-2 in MWC play. The Aztecs improve to 13-9, 3-2 in league play.

UNLV's Robbie Van (1-4) picked up his fourth loss of the season. He pitched 5.2 innings, giving up five runs on eight hits with six strikeouts. Jared Bonnell pitched the middle 1.2 innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Ben Scheinbaum finished the final 1.2 innings. He faced four batters with three ground outs and a pop fly.

SDSU's Rory Shortell (3-1) earned the win. He pitched six innings with no earned runs and seven strikeouts.

UNLV jumped out to a two-run lead in the first inning. Brent Johnson scored Garett Shitanishi on a sac fly to right field. Shitanishi reached on an error by the first baseman. Trent Kitsch followed with a solo homerun, his seventh of the season, to right center.

The Rebels held a 2-2 tie through five innings before the Aztecs took control, scoring three in both the sixth and eighth innings. Jason Reuss hit a two-run homerun in the eighth, but it was all the Rebels could muster in the eventual 8-4 loss.

Shitanishi, who went 1-for-4, extended his hitting streak to a team-high eight games. Reuss, hitting .500 (8-for-16) in league play, finished 2-for-3 with two RBIs and one run scored.

UNLV and San Diego State wrap up the three-game series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.