May 27, 2005
Final Stats
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah - UNLV baseball exploded for eight runs in the bottom of the sixth inning Friday evening to break open a tie ball game and propel the Rebels past San Diego State 14-3 and into the Mountain West Conference Championship game Saturday against BYU.
Top-seeded UNLV gets another shot at the No. 2 Cougars, who beat the Rebels 7-2 earlier Friday afternoon to earn a spot in the championship round, which starts at 2:00 p.m. (PT) at Franklin Covey Field. UNLV needs to beat BYU twice to win the title while the Cougars need to win only once to claim the crown. If the Rebels win in the first game Saturday, the two teams will play again at 6:00 p.m.
The Rebels improved to 32-27 overall as starter Derek Rodriguez (5-5) limited the Aztecs to just three runs on three hits over eight innings to earn the victory. SDSU wrapped up its season at 26-35, and this will be the first time that the Aztecs will not play for the MWC Championship in the six-year history of the tournament.
Matt Fry started the Rebels' big sixth inning with a two run single that scored Zeke Parraz and Chris Bonnell, igniting the offense in the process. UNLV scored six more runs in the rally on three singles, a sacrifice bunt, a sacrifice fly and a ground out to make the score 11-3.
The big inning came after the Aztecs scored two runs in the top of the inning to tie the game at three. Quintin Berry drove in the first run on an RBI fielder's choice and James Guerrero hit a RBI double that Joseph Scaperotta, knotting the game.
That would be all that Rodriguez would allow, as he set the Aztecs down in order in the seventh and then got a fly out with two men on in the eighth inning to close out his night. Chris Huseman worked the ninth to complete the game for the Rebels.
SDSU scored the first run of the game in the opening inning on a solo home run by Guerrero. UNLV grabbed its first lead of the game in the second inning, scoring two runs in the frame on an RBI ground out by Tyler Beranek and a sacrifice fly by Fry. The Rebels extended their lead to 3-1 in the fifth on a solo home run by Fry.
Fry finished the game with two runs scored and drove in two runs and Bonnell was 3-4 at the plate with two runs scored. Efren Navarro Jr. capped the scoring with a three-run home run in the eighth inning.
UNLV will start left-hander Koji Pupo in its first game against BYU and the sophomore will bring a 5-0 record with a 5.54 ERA and 44 strikeouts.
Quotes From UNLV-San Diego State Game
UNLV Head Coach Buddy Gouldsmith:
"We came off a tough game yesterday, but I think we looked better tonight. We scored a few early runs and then we built on that lead. We will have to be quicker and better prepared for tomorrow."
"We have struggled with and battled BYU all year and we don't want to lose to this team again. We have had a tough time with BYU but we look forward to the challenge tomorrow."
UNLV Senior Pitcher Derek Rodriguez:
"I play better in pressure situations. I was able to work off my other pitches and I was able to execute my other pitches. This was a good experience. I think I thrive in pressure situations and I really feed off the energy. I was a little relaxed after the eight runs, but I really tried to keep my focus."
San Diego State Head Coach Tony Gwynn:
"No excuses, we just didn't get it done. We left a few pitches up tonight and then, bang, they dropped eight runs on us. We weren't the better club tonight. It should be interesting tomorrow. This is probably the best BYU team I have seen and they really look good offensively. UNLV pitching is tough and strong. They (UNLV) will need to turn it up a notch, but I'm not counting them out."
"We couldn't make a pitch tonight. We made 99 errors in 59 games and that basically is our season. Pitching, catching and mistakes were our downfalls this season. We have a lot of work to do but this is a huge challenge and I'm looking forward to it."
