May 23, 2002
PROVO, Utah - The UNLV baseball team took on Mountain West Conference Tournament host BYU and came away with a 13-11 loss. It is the Rebels' first loss in the double elimination format. They will face Utah Friday afternoon in a "loser goes home" contest. UNLV defeated second-seeded Utah on Wednesday night in a come-from-behind 13-9 upset.
The Rebels jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the second inning, with senior Jason Reuss picking up a three RBI double. The Cougars posted five runs in the bottom of the second. Reuss drove in another run in the third on a single to left field, but the Rebels would not score again until the eighth. The Cougars put up seven runs in the middle innings to take a 12-7 lead before the Rebels mounted a comeback and brought the game within a run. BYU added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth for the eventual 13-11 final.
UNLV starter Courtney Hall gave up five runs on seven hits in 1.1 innings of work. He was playing through an illness. Ben Scheinbaum (2-3) is saddled with the loss. He gave up four runs on seven hits in 4.0 innings.
BYU's Scott Koffman (3-4)earned the win in relief of starter Ryan Adams. Koffman gave up only one run on four hits in 5.2 innings of work. Adams lasted only 1.1 innings, giving up six runs on seven hits.
MWC Freshman of the Year Joe Wickman extended his conference-leading hitting streak to 20 games with a 1-for-5 outing.
Freshman Eric Nielsen finished the game 3-for-5 with one RBI and two runs scored. Reuss went 2-for-4 with four RBIs and one run scored. Garett Shitanishi and Brent Johnson added a pair of hits each.
David Trujillo, the hero of Wednesday's game, went 1-for-6 with an RBI and a run scored.
BYU's Cameron Coughlan went 5-for-6 with two RBIs and three runs scored. He was intentionally walked in the eighth inning.
"It was hard to overcome four errors," said UNLV head coach Jim Schlossnagle. "But it is a double elimination tournament and we will be back tomorrow. Both teams had poor starting pitching and it came down to who came out of the bullpen the best. You have to tip your hat to (Scott) Koffman. He pitched a good game.
"Offensively, we did everything you could ask for. We had the winning run at the plate, Trujillo was on it, but (Tyler) Dabo made a good pitch. As much as I would have liked to have won, I am glad we won't be playing at 11 a.m. It will be tough for BYU to come out in less than ten hours and play the best team in the conference."
In game played earlier, New Mexico and Air Force were both eliminated. Utah defeated New Mexico 9-8 for the Lobos' second loss of the tournament, and San Diego State defeated Air Force 9-6. San Diego State and BYU are both undefeated heading into Friday's action."
UNLV will take on Utah at 2 p.m. PST. on Friday.
