April 5, 2002
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The UNLV baseball team had its four-game winning steak snapped with a 7-6 loss to Air Force on Friday afternoon. The loss drops the Rebels to 15-17 overall, 4-6 in Mountain West Conference play. The Falcons improve to 16-16 overall, 4-6 in league play.
UNLV took a 4-1 lead with three runs in the top of the fourth. David Trujillo walked and Tony Shuler singled. Joe Wickman's single scored Trujillo. Shuler scored on a Falcon error by Nick Liegl. Robert VanKirk was hit by pitch and eventually scored on a balk.
AFA battled back and took a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Josh Phifer's second home run of the day tied the game at 4-4. Derck Kasel then reached base on an error and scored on a passed ball.
The Rebels regained the lead at 6-5 in the top of the seventh on a Joe Wickman single to left field scoring Brent Johnson and Eric Nielsen.
Air Force rallied again behind the bat of Phifer who hit a solo homer in the seventh tying the game at 6-6.
Adam Howes led off the bottom of the eighth for Air Force and singled up the middle. Tony Shockley's sacrifice bunt moved him to second. After he stole third during an intentional walk to Phifer, Howes scored on Kasel's single to center field.
Jesper Stubbendorff (2-0) earned his second win of the season. He pitched two innings in relief of starter Erik Fisher, giving up just one hit with no walks and two strikeouts. Paul Pratt pitched the final inning and picked up his second save of the season.
UNLV starter Courtney Hall pitched 4.1 innings, giving up five runs on seven hits. Jeremy Weinberg (1-2) took the loss. He came on in relief of Ben Scheinbaum and gave up one run on two hits with three walks and a strikeout. Scheinbaum pitched 2.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits.
Wickman finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Trujillo also added a pair of hits, finishing the game 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored.
Phifer finished the game 3-for-3, all home runs. His three home runs in a single game tied the schools record. He also had four RBIs and three runs scored.
The Falcons and Rebels play again Saturday, April 6, at noon. The three-game series concludes Sunday at noon at Falcon Field.
