May 10, 2002

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV baseball team produced 20 hits to defeat Air Force 13-1 on Friday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The win improves the Rebels to 26-25 overall, 11-14 in Mountain West Conference play. The Falcons fall to 22-23, 12-12 in league play.

Robbie Van (6-5) pitched a complete game for the Rebels, giving up only one run on eight hits with 11 strikeouts. It is only the second complete game for the Rebel pitching staff this season. Senior Courtney Hall earned a complete game win against New Mexico earlier this season.

Air Force's Matt Kaercher (7-8) picked up the loss. He gave up seven runs on 11 hits in 4.0 innings.

Ryan Ruiz and Eric Nielsen each finished the game 4-for-5 at the plate. Ruiz drove in a run and scored three times, while Nielsen added three RBIs.

Center fielder Brent Johnson went 3-for-6 with one RBI and two runs scored. He picked up a pair of doubles in the game, tying the school record for doubles in a season at 28. He now shares the record with Bill Max who led the nation in 1981 with 28 doubles.

David Trujillo, playing just two days after the removal of a cast on his fractured wrist, went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and one run scored.

Garett Shitanishi, the reigning MWC Player of the Week, went 3-for-5 with three runs scored.

Joe Wickman finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored and improved his season batting average to a team-high .423. He's now hitting .463 in conference games.

The Falcons were led by Bowie Frost, who was responsible for three of the team's eight hits.

UNLV and Air Force continue the three-game series on Saturday afternoon with first pitch set for 2 p.m.