March 11, 2006
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball scored the final three runs of the game, with Michael Brenly getting the game-winning hit in the Rebels 9-6 win over Cal on Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
With the score knotted at six in a back-and-forth ball game, Brenly hit a double to the gap in left-center field, scoring Keith Smith and giving the Rebels a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Brenly wound up at third on an error by the centerfielder, who bobbled the ball, and then the freshman catcher scored on a single by Ryan Kowalski to make the margin 8-6. Willie Bowman added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly.
Jabe Beard worked the final two innings to pick up his second save and UNLV improved to 8-11 on the year with Koji Pupo (1-1) coming out of the bullpen and getting the win, his first of the season. Cal dropped to 9-7 and Matt Gorgen (1-1) took the loss, giving up two runs, one earned in 1.2 innings of relief.
The Golden Bears scored first on an RBI single, but the Rebels scored the next four runs in the game, grabbing a 4-1 lead. Chris Bonnell hit a sacrifice fly that scored Zach Borba, tying the game in the third and in the fourth the Rebels added three more runs when Mike Cruz hit a bases-loaded double that cleared the bases.
Cal tacked on two runs in the top of the fifth inning, when Josh Satin hit a single that scored one and moved a runner to third base. Satin got caught in a run down and as he was about to be tagged out, he ducked under CJ Lang's glove, allowing another run to score before Satin was eventually tagged out.
Chris Errecart then brought the Golden Bears to within a run, drilling a two-run home run to left field off of Rebel starter Kevin Skogley, making the score 6-5. Cal then tied the game in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Taylor Grigsby but Pupo did not allow a run the rest of the inning, despite having two runners on base and no out.
Beard allowed just one hit in his two innings of work, a one-out single in the ninth that was followed by a game-ending double play. Cruz finished the game going 2-2 with the three RBI, and Brenly was 2-4 with a pair of runs scored and the game-winning RBI.
UNLV and Cal wrap up their three-game series Sunday, with the first pitch slated for 1:00 p.m. (PST) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
