April 23, 2006
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - A rough first inning was just the start of a tough afternoon for UNLV baseball, which lost 16-8 to visiting San Diego State in the final of a three-game series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Sunday.
The Rebels dropped to 17-24 on the year, 4-9 in Mountain West Conference play while SDSU moved to 15-28 overall, 8-5 in league action. UNLV starter Matt Luca (1-4) took the loss as he left with an injury with two outs in the second after giving up four runs, with just one of those earned. Aztec starter Bruce Billings (3-3) was very effective on the afternoon, working seven innings and giving up three runs while striking out five and walking one.
It was an odd beginning for the Rebels, with SDSU pushing three unearned runs across the plate with two outs in the top of the first inning on just one hit.
With runners on the corners and two out, Luca gave up a single to Tim O'Brien that scored a run, giving SDSU a 1-0 lead. Luca then walked Curt Mendoza to load the bases and Jordan Swayden followed with a slow ground ball between first base and the mound. Luca tried fielding the ball but it rolled past him, and Luca continued on to first to take a throw from Chris Bonnell as he was getting to the bag.
Swayden beat out the throw but ran into Luca as they got to the bag, knocking him to the ground and jarring the ball loose, causing O'Brien and Mendoza to take wide turns around second and third. The Rebels had Mendoza in a run down between second and third when O'Brien broke for home. UNLV then seemingly had him caught, but after Rebel catcher Braden Walker threw the ball to third baseman Willie Bowman, he tried tagging out O'Brien but missed, allowing him to cross the plate for a 3-0 SDSU lead.
SDSU added a run in the second inning, which was the last for Luca, who left after just 1.2 innings due to an injury suffered on the collision. The Aztecs scored three more unearned runs in the third to grab a 7-0 lead after three innings and then added four more in the fifth and two in the sixth for a 13-0 advantage.
UNLV broke through against Billings in the bottom of the seventh inning, plating three runs to break the shutout.
Efren Navarro Jr. singled through the right side with one out that scored Keith Smith and then Blake Gailen hit his fourth home run of the year, a two-run shot to right-center field that made the score 13-3.
After the Aztecs scored three of their own in the top of the eighth to go back up by 13, Rebel second baseman CJ Lang hit his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot that made the score 16-5. Three batters later Gailen hit his second home run of the game, a three-run shot that accounted for the final runs of the game. UNLV finished with 11 hits and committed four errors while SDSU pounded out 20 hits and did not make an error.
UNLV will head to the road now for a Tuesday game against UC Riverside with the first pitch slated for 6:00 p.m. (PDT) and that will be the first of an eight-game road trip for the Rebels.
