March 6, 2006
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball was shut out at home for the first time in over a year, losing a 9-0 game to visiting Texas Tech on Monday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in front of 350 fans.
UNLV dropped to 6-10 on the year and starter Ryan Tabor (0-1) took the loss, giving up six runs on five hits through 3.2 innings of work. Texas Tech improved to 12-5 and starter Miles Morgan (3-1) got the win, shutting the Rebels out through seven innings on just four hits.
The shutout was the first time in 30 games that the Rebels were kept off the scoreboard at home with the last shutout at Earl E. Wilson Stadium coming on Feb. 27 against Cal State Fullerton. The Rebels lost that game 8-0 to the Titans.
Texas Tech scored the first run of the game in the second when Matt Smith led off the inning with a double, advanced to third on a wild pitch by Tabor and then Smith scored again on another wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.
The Red Raiders then blew open the game in the fourth as they plated five runs on four hits, chasing Tabor and building a 6-0 lead in the process. James Leverton hit a two-run single and Willie Rueda added a two-run double as well in the rally. Two innings later TT added another three runs to build its lead to 9-0. TT had the leadoff man on base all nine innings Monday night.
On a night where the wind was blowing out, Morgan silenced the Rebel bats, tossing a four-hitter through seven innings. UNLV had a threat in the seventh inning, loading the bases with one out and the heart of the order coming up in Mike Cruz and Keith Smith but Morgan got out of the jam with a fly out and a strike out.
Efren Navarro Jr. and CJ Lang each finished with two hits on the night to account for the Rebel offense with Navarro Jr. hitting a double.
UNLV wraps up its short two-game series with Texas Tech on Tuesday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with the first pitch of the afternoon game scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (PST). That game will put an end of five games in five days for the Rebels, with all five coming against teams from the Big 12 Conference. UNLV just wrapped up a three-game series with Texas this past weekend.
