March 23, 2002

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team dropped an 8-6 decision to Utah on Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The loss drops the Rebels to 11-14 on the season, 1-4 in the Mountain West Conference. Utah improves to 13-12, 1-4 in league play.

UNLV starter Jared Bonnell pitched 3.2 innings, but played no hand in the decision. He gave up two runs on one hit with seven walks.

Reliever Giovanni Pupo (1-3) picked up the loss, giving up three runs on six hits in 3.0 innings of work. Jeremy Weinberg, Ben Scheinbaum and Joe Maruffi combined to finish the game.

Utah's Cheyenne Rushton (4-1) earned the win. He pitched 6.1 innings, giving up five runs on 11 hits. Ryan Reisbeck pitched 2.1 innings of one-hit ball, but had to leave the final batter to Mitch Maio after injuring his pitching arm. Maio earned his third save on a single pitch, coaxing Robert VanKirk into a ground out to third base.

Eric Nielsen and Garett Shitanishi each finished the game 3-for-4 at the plate. Nielsen drove in two runs and scored once, while Shitanishi scored three times.

Brent Johnson extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a 1-for-5 effort. David Trujillo and Joe Wickman added a pair of hits each.

UNLV and Utah wrap up the three-game series on Sunday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.