March 25, 2007
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball used a bases-loaded walk and then outstanding pitching from its bullpen to snap a four-game losing streak and beat No. 21 University of San Diego on Sunday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
With the score tied at two and the bases juiced in the bottom of the fifth, Willie Bowman drew a walk to move the Rebels in front 3-2 much to the delight of the 512 fans in attendance on a warm day. From there Koji Pupo and Adam Moser combined for three scoreless innings of relief to help UNLV move to 11-19 on the year. Freshman starter Matt Hutchison (1-5) earned the first win of his career and Moser picked up his first save in a Rebel uniform. USD dropped to 21-10 on the year and saw its seven-game winning streak snapped with Ricardo Pecina (4-3) taking the loss.
The Rebels got on the board first, scoring a run in the bottom of the second off a USD error with the bases loaded and no out that scored Xavier Scruggs. The inning could have been bigger though but a double-play ground out, followed by a fly out, ended the rally.
USD tied the game in the top of the third but the Rebels countered with a run of their own in the bottom, with Keith Smith singling, moving to second on an error and then later scoring on another Torero miscue for a 2-1 lead. Following a scoreless fourth, the teams traded runs in the fifth with USD scoring on a solo home run by Shane Buschini which UNLV matched when Bowman drew his bases loaded walk. UNLV could do no further damage though as Efren Navarro Jr. grounded out to end the threat.
Stranding runners on base was a problem for both teams on the afternoon, with UNLV leaving 12 and USD failing to drive in seven.
Hutchison had a solid start for the Rebels, giving up just two runs on seven hits while striking out five and waking just two in six innings. He left the game in line to pick up his first win of the season, turning over a 3-2 lead to the Rebel bullpen and reliever Pupo.
Pupo retired the Toreros in order in the seventh and then turned the game over to Moser in the eighth, who got the next six outs to preserve the lead and give UNLV the win. The duo did not give up a hit and struck out a combined four batters to close out the game.
The one-run game was the 19th time this year that the Rebels have been in a game decided by two runs or less and they are 8-11 in those contests.
UNLV wraps up its 10-game homestand when UC Irvine comes into town for a Tuesday night game at Earl E. Wilson Stadium that is slated to start at 6:30 p.m. (PT).
