Feb. 9, 2002

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team put together a five-run fifth inning to jump ahead of in-state rival Nevada, Reno en route to a 9-5 victory Saturday afternoon.

Both teams move to 3-2 on the season.

Chad Harris (1-0) picked up the win for the Rebels, pitching just 0.2 innings in relief.

Starter Jared Bonnell pitched four strong innings, but gave up four runs in the sixth before David Seccombe came in as a situational sub to face a single batter.

Jeremy Weinberg and Joe Maruffi combined to close out the game for the Rebels. Weinberg pitched 2.0 innings and Maruffi pitched the final inning. Neither gave up a run.

Wolf Pack reliever Justin Sherman (1-1) took the loss. He pitched 3.2 innings, giving up seven runs, two earned.

The Rebels were down 5-2 heading into the sixth when the Wolf Pack defense broke down. One UNLV hit and three Reno errors gave the Rebels a 7-5 lead into the seventh inning.

UNLV scored a pair of insurance runs in seventh on an Eric Neilsen home run for a 9-5 final. Nielsen, a freshman, finished the game 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Brent Johnson went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three stolen bases. Jason Reuss finished 2-for-3 with one RBI and three runs scored.

Garett Shitanishi and Steve Goldberg rounded out the Rebel offense with a single hit each.

Reno was led by Jeff Tolotti who went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.

UNLV and Nevada, Reno wrap up the three-game set on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.