April 30, 2005
Final Stats
SAN DIEGO - Rebels Hold Off Aztecs In Game One, Win 4-2 UNLV improves to 12-3 in MWC games.
UNLV (36-16, 12-3 Mountain West Conference) held off San Diego State (23-26, 1-14 MWC) 4-2 in game one at the SDSU Softball Stadium Saturday. The Rebels broke a scoreless tie in the fourth with a run and plated three more in the sixth. The Aztecs broke up Jacque Kerrigan's (24-13) perfect game bid with two runs on four hits in the bottom of the sixth. Kerrigan took the win, which is her 24th of the year.
Through three innings of play, only one base runner had reached in the game. Brittany Freight was the lone runner as she was hit by a pitch in the second.
In the third, Brittany Meade doubled to right field to start the inning. Maggie Livreri followed and reached first on a fly ball to left that was dropped by Tamani Wells. Meade moved up to second on the error. Freight brought Meade home when she placed a single down the left field line just past the reach of short stop Chrissie Markham. Valerie Keeney singled to center to load the bases. SDSU's Celena Velasquez (11-11) was replaced by Cori Janelli to get the final two outs.
After a scoreless fifth, UNLV plated three runs on two hits and help from two SDSU errors. Meade started things off with a single to the short stop gap. Kahaunani Kahananui pinch ran for Meade and advanced to second on a single by Livreri. Following a strike out, Keeney reached on a fielder's choice throwing error by first baseman Kristen Carranza. Carranza overthrew third base in an attempt to force Kahananui at third. Kahananui scored on the errant throw and moved Livreri and Keeney into scoring position. Carranza's adventures weren't over, as she picked up her second error of the game on a ground ball hit by pinch hitter Britney Hillyer. Livreri and Keeney scored on the play to give the Rebels a four-run lead. The Aztecs got a 5-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Kerrigan shut down the Aztecs for six of the game's seven innings. The sixth inning was the only inning that SDSU wasn't sent down in order. Kerrigan lost her perfect game bid in the sixth on a single down the right field line by Danielle Touhey. Wells reached on a fielder's choice as her sacrifice bunt attempt was unsuccessful with Touhey thrown out at second by Meade. Bree Boyer singled to right field to move Wells to second. Carranza and Taryin Casillas plated an RBI each with back-to-back singles. Kerrigan got the final two batters out, following a passed ball that moved Carranza and Casillas to third and second.
Kerrigan finished with six strikeouts and no walks. This is the eighth contest that she has started and walked none. In those eight games she is perfect with an 8-0 record.
Game Notes:
-With her 43rd appearance on the season, Kerrigan moved into seventh-place in appearances. She has 35 starts that put her in a tie for fifth-place with Lori Harrigan's 1991 season. She tied herself for the 10th most complete games in a season with #24. She is in a fourth-place tie with 24 single-season wins. Her seven innings thrown today move her up to sixth with a total of 240.1 on the season.
-Kerrigan moved up to second in career starts category with her 127th in the circle. Her next appearance (#161) will tie Harrigan for the most as a pitcher in UNLV history.
-Morgan Bostwick moved into a third-place tie for most game played in the field. She sits tied with Michele Moreno (1989-92) with 235 games played.
