April 7, 2006

Final Stats

LAS VEGAS - A difficult fifth inning did in UNLV baseball on Friday night as the Rebels allowed seven runs, six unearned in the frame in losing 14-8 to BYU in a Mountain West Conference tilt at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.

The Rebels had just climbed to within a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and trailed 4-3 heading in the top of the fifth when things unraveled for the Rebels and reliever Chris Saddoris in a hurry. BYU started the inning with an error, a balk, a wild pitch and a hit batsman and then added four singles to score its seven runs, six of them unearned.

UNLV lost its second straight at home in falling to 15-19 on the year, 2-4 in league play despite the Rebels hitting three home runs and finishing the night with 14 hits. BYU improved to 13-17 overall, 3-3 in the conference.

BYU jumped all over Rebel starter Matt Luca from the get go, scoring four runs on five consecutive hits with one out in the frame to grab a 4-0 lead. The big hit in the inning was a two-run triple down the right-field line by Cougar designated hitter Kasey Ko. Luca then got two outs to get out of the inning but the right hander, making just his third start of the year, did not return to the game.

It was a slow start to the game for UNLV, as BYU starter Jesse Craig faced the minimum through three innings before the Rebels got to him in the fourth.

Ryan Kowalski led off the inning with a single for the Rebels and after a fly out the speedy center fielder stole second and then scored on a single by CJ Lang to make the score 4-1. Keith Smith followed with a double to right that moved Lang to third and back-to-back run-scoring singles by Chris Bonnell and Chad Miller brought the Rebels to within one at 4-3. Blake Gailen then hit a sharp ground ball to BYU shortstop Marcos Villezcas who started an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.

Saddoris, who came into the game in the second inning, had been pitching effectively, keeping the Cougars off the scoreboard heading into the game-changing fifth inning. But the tough turn of events to start the inning had a snow-ball effect on the Rebels and they were down 11-4 after the top half of the frame.

UNLV did not go away, scoring five more runs in the game, all of them coming by way of the home run. Braden Walker hit a solo home run to start the bottom of the fifth, Bonnell hit a two-run shot to left field in the sixth and then Smith hit a two-run bomb of his own in the eighth inning. But it was not enough though to overcome the deficit.

The middle of the Rebel lineup had a huge night overall, with Lang, Smith and Bonnell combining to go 10-15 with six runs scored and six runs driven in. Luca (1-2) was charged with the loss while Craig (2-5) picked up the win. UNLV and BYU each had 14 hits on the night but the Rebels committed two errors and the Cougars did not commit one.

UNLV and BYU will wrap up their series Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with the first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m. (PDT). Ryan Tabor (1-3) will get the start for the Rebels and Brandon Christiansen (3-1) gets the nod for the Cougars.