Jan. 31, 2003

Box Score

BERKELEY, Calif. - The UNLV baseball team won its 2003 season opener over California 9-6 on Friday afternoon at Evans Diamond. The Bears tied the game 6-6, scoring three runs in both the seventh and eighth innings, only to see the Rebels come back on a lead-off home run by Fernando Valenzuela and a two-run homer by Peter White in the ninth.

Reliever Ryan Braun (1-0) picked up the win for UNLV, pitching 1.3 innings with two hits, no runs and one walk. Mike Padgett (0-1) suffered the loss for the Bears, pitching 1.7 innings with two hits, three runs and one earned run.

Robbie Van started and pitched five solid innings for the Rebels. He kept the Bears scoreless, giving up only two hits with three strikeouts. Adam Lesko threw two innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Shane Clatterbuck pitched two-thirds an inning, allowing two runs on one hit.

Junior Brent Johnson led the Rebels with four hits on the day. He finished 4-for-5 with two runs scored. Patrick Dobson went 2-for-5 with one run scored.

Sophomore Joe Wickman extended his consecutive-game hitting-streak to 23 games with a 1-for-4 effort on the afternoon. His streak dates back to April 17, 2002 against Southern Utah.

Ryan Ruiz, Stephen Ghutzman and Eric Nielsen added a single hit each, Ghutzman homered.

UNLV will face Cal in the second game of the series, Saturday, Feb. 1 at 1 p.m. at Evans Diamond.