April 16, 2002

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team snapped a three-game losing skid with a 10-4 victory over Southern Utah on Tuesday night. The win improves the Rebels to 18-21 on the season, while the Thunderbirds fall to 5-24.

The Rebels recorded eight hits in the ballgame, five of which were home runs. David Trujillo led the barrage with two, while Ryan Ruiz, Eric Nielsen and Tony Schuler each knocked out one.

Starter Courtney Hall (3-5), on a short pitch count to preserve him for this weekend's series at Utah, picked up the win. He pitched 4.2 innings, giving up three runs on five hits with six strikeouts.

Chad Harris relieved Hall, going 2.0 innings and giving up one run on two hits with five strikeouts. Jeremy Weinberg, Jason Guerra and Jake Gann combined to finish the game. It was Gann's first appearance of the year after having arm surgery in the off season. Southern Utah's Shane Perkins (3-6) picked up the loss. He gave up four runs on three hits in 1.2 innings.

Trujillo finished 2-for-4 on the night with four RBIs and two runs scored. Eric Nielsen went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and three runs scored. James Nepa and Steve Goldberg also added a single hit each.

The Rebels and Thunderbirds play again on Wednesday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. First pitch is set for 6:30 p.m.