March 2, 2002

LANCASTER, Calif. - The UNLV baseball team defeated Purdue 11-7 on Saturday afternoon at the Clash of the Conferences Tournament in Lancaster, Calif. The Rebels improve to 8-7 on the season, while the Boilermakers fall to 2-4.

Jared Bonnell (1-1) pitched 6.0 innings to earn the win. He threw eight strikeouts and gave up four runs off seven hits. Purdue starter Billy Lester (0-2) took the loss.

UNLV took control early in the game. The Rebels opened the scoring in the bottom of the first and extended their lead to 6-0 with a five-run second inning.

Garett Shitanishi led the Rebels at the plate, hitting 4-for-5 with two runs scored.

Brent Johnson and Derek Amundsen each went 2-for-3 in the contest. Johnson finished with three runs scored and an RBI.

Eric Nielsen contributed three RBI's, while David Trujillo, Ryan Ruiz and Tony Schuler each added two.

The Rebels continue their back-to-back Saturday schedule, taking on tournament host Cal State Northridge in the next game.