Feb. 11, 2007

Final Stats

LAS VEGAS - On a day when both teams combined for 30 hits, a two-out balk in the bottom of the ninth inning brought in Blake Gailen to give UNLV baseball a stunning 12-11 win over No. 9 Cal State Fullerton at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Sunday.

Down to their last out and trailing 11-10 in the ninth, Calvin Beamon and Gailen started the Rebel rally with singles off of Titan pitcher Bryan Harris, who started the game playing third but moved to the mound in the eighth. Rebel rightfielder Keith Smith fought off an inside fastball from Harris through the right side, scoring Beamon to tie the game and moving Gailen to third. Chris Bonnell was brought off the bench to pinch hit but before he saw a pitch, Harris hesitated in getting set, drawing the balk and sending home Gailen with the winning run much to the delight of the 821 fans in attendence.

It capped a wild game in which the Rebels overcame three different three-run deficits in snapping a two-game losing streak and improving to 4-5 on the year. Marc Baca (1-0), the last of six Rebel pitchers used in the game, earned the win. CSF (5-1) saw its season-opening five-game winning streak snapped and Harris had his record evened at 1-1.

With the wind blowing straight out all game long, both teams' offenses took advantage and pounded the ball all around Earl E. Wilson Stadium and a total of seven extra-base hits were hit on the afternoon.

No one had a greater impact on the game than Gailen, who went 5-5 with five runs scored and three RBI in the game. It capped a scorching weekend for Gailen against perennial national power Cal State Fullerton, with the Rebel leftfielder going 11-13 (.846) with eight runs scored and five RBI. In Sunday's back-and-forth affair Gailen played a part in almost every UNLV rally and the native of West Hills, Calif., also came in and faced a hitter in the ninth.

With the Rebels trailing 4-1 heading into the bottom of the third, Gailen singled and scored a run in part of a three-run rally that also featured a two-run single by Efren Navarro Jr. to center field. Gailen then gave UNLV the lead in the fourth, launching a two-run home run to right field for a 6-4 advantage. It was the second of the year for Gailen and the first round tripper in six home games for the Rebels this season. UNLV added another run in its half of the fifth and carried a 7-4 lead heading into the sixth, but the Titans would regain the lead in a hurry.

Rebel reliever Chris Saddoris, who came in for an ineffective Kevin Skogley in the second, had kept the Titans under wraps until that frame, allowing just one run in four innings of work. CSF quickly loaded the bases and then Clark Hardman hit a run-scoring single that chased Saddoris, bringing in Adam Moser from the bullpen. Moser got a strike out for the first out but then gave up a two-run single to Joel Weeks that tied the game at seven. Chris Jones then hit a two-run triple and Nick Mahin had an RBI ground out that gave Fullerton a 10-7 lead.

Those 10 runs would not be enough, as the Rebels battled back once again to tie the game for a third time.

Gailen singled with one out in the sixth, stole second and then scored on a single by Chad Miller to make it 10-8. The Rebels then tied the game in the eighth when Gailen doubled in Beamon and then scored on a double by Smith, who was 3-4 with three RBI and a double.

CSF moved back ahead in the final inning on a RBI single by Hardman but the Titans could not hold onto the lead despite getting the first two outs in the bottom of the ninth.

Navarro Jr. had a strong game, collecting three hits and driving in a trio of runs and Beamon helped set the tone from the leadoff spot with three hits and four runs scored. Mahin finished the game with five RBI for the Titans while Weeks, Hardman and Jones all drove in a pair.

UNLV hits the road this coming weekend for a three-game series with Cal of the Pac-10 Conference, with the first game set for Friday at 1:30 p.m. (PST) in Berkeley, Calif., at Evans Diamond.