April 21, 2006
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV junior Keith Smith came through in the clutch once again Friday night, drilling a walk-off home run with one out in the bottom of the 12th inning that lifted Rebel baseball to a dramatic 6-5 win over visiting San Diego State.
After falling behind quickly 0-2 against Aztec reliever Adam Simon, who had allowed just one hit in 3.1 innings of work prior, Smith drilled a letter-high fastball to straight-away center field. He was mobbed at home plate by his teammates as he crossed the plate with the winning run.
The victory snapped a three-game losing streak for the Rebels and came in front of 624 fans at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in the opener of a three-game series between the two clubs.
UNLV improved to 17-22 on the year, 4-7 in the Mountain West Conference while SDSU dropped to 13-28, 6-5 in league play with the loss. Rebel reliever Jabe Beard (2-0) earned the win, working four scoreless innings of relief. Beard was nearly untouchable when he came in from the bullpen in the top of the ninth inning, retiring 11 of the 13 batters he faced, striking out six. Simon (0-5) was charged with the loss.
The Rebels nearly ended the game an inning earlier, loading the bases with one out in the bottom of the 11th with Ryan Kowalski at the plate and speedy pinch runner Troy Harlander on third.
Simon got Kowalski to hit a shallow pop fly down the right-field line in foul territory that SDSU right fielder Curt Mendoza caught as he was moving toward home plate. Rebel head coach Buddy Gouldsmith sent Harlander to the plate and the freshman was thrown out at home on a perfect throw from Mendoza.
Both teams pushed two runs across the board in the opening frame, with SDSU scoring first on a RBI single by Brock Ungricht and then a sacrifice fly by Tim O'Brien that gave the Aztecs a 2-0 lead. UNLV came right back and knotted the game in the bottom half of the frame on a two-run single by Smith.
SDSU regained the lead in the top of the fourth on a solo home run by Mendoza, but that would be it for both teams until the eighth inning as both starters settled into groves.
Chris Saddoris worked 6.2 innings for UNLV, allowing eight hits and the three runs while striking out a career-high seven batters and issuing just one walk. At one point Saddoris retired eight-straight SDSU batters before giving way to Koji Pupo out of the Rebel bullpen. SDSU starter Justin Masterson was just as effective, giving up just the two runs through seven innings of with nine strike outs and two walks.
After a two-run home run by O'Brien in the top of the eighth inning off of Pupo gave the Aztecs a 5-2 lead, Masterson came back out in the eighth inning with a relatively large lead with how the right hander was pitching. UNLV would get to Masterson though in its half of the eighth.
CJ Lang led off the inning with a walk, Smith doubled and then Chris Bonnell drew another walk, bringing Chad Miller to the plate with the bases loaded. Miller hit a ground ball to Ungricht, but the first baseman had the ball slip out of his hand as he was throwing home, making the score 5-3. Blake Gailen then hit a high chopper at Ungricht that scored a run and Braden Walker capped the rally by hitting a sacrifice fly that tied the game at five.
From there Simon and Beard would take over, tossing three scoreless innings between the two of them before Smith eventually ended it in the 12th.
Smith finished the game going 3-6 with three RBI and two runs scored and his home run was his eighth of the season. It was the second game-winning home run for Smith, who hit a dramatic pinch-hit grand slam in the seventh inning against Texas back on March 3 that helped the Rebels come from behind and win 13-12.
The Rebels improved to 2-1 on the year in extra-inning games and Friday night's contest was the second-longest of the season. Back on Feb. 24 the Rebels dropped a 9-7 game to Eastern Michigan in 13 innings at home and then on March 19 UNLV beat The Citadel 8-7 in 10 innings at home again.
UNLV and SDSU continue their series on Saturday, with Kevin Skogley scheduled to take the mound for the Rebels against Lance Sewell of the Aztecs. The first pitch is slated for 2:00 p.m. (PDT) and fans can also listen live on KSHP 1400 AM with Jon Sandler handling the play-by-play.
