May 10, 2002

Box Score

PROVO, Utah - UNLV gave up four runs to BYU in the third inning and could not recover, dropping a 6-2 decision to the Cougars at the Mountain West Conference Softball Tournament on Friday.

With the loss, the Rebels' (30-34) second of the tournament, UNLV is eliminated from bracket play and ends its 2002 season, the program's most successful run in six years.

BYU (30-22) loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the third and quickly rolled to a 4-0 lead with the aid of a Rebel throwing error and a two-RBI single by Oli Keohohou.

The Cougars' Niki Andersen held the Rebels scoreless through four innings, but was chased in the fifth when Amber Campbell hit a leadoff double and Arica Painter scored her on a line-drive single, cutting the BYU lead to 5-1. That was enough to earn Andersen (9-9) an eight-strikeout victory.

Jackie Kerrigan cruised through the first two innings for the Rebels, but was battered a bit in the third, giving up three hits and allowing the four runs to score. Nicole Truax, pitching in what proved to be her career finale, relieved Kerrigan in the third. She struck out three while scattering five hits and a pair of runs.

UNLV picked up its hitting in the late innings, but it was not enough to overcome the healthy lead the Cougars had established.