April 1, 2007
Final Stats
SALT LAKE CITY - UNLV baseball jumped out to a nine-run lead but could not hold it, giving up eight runs over the final three innings in a 10-9 loss to Utah on Sunday at Franklin Covey Stadium.
The Rebels led 9-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh but the Utes rallied, scoring six runs in that frame and then another pair in the ninth to stun UNLV and snap its four game winning streak. Jesse Shriner singled in the game-winning run off of reliever Adam Moser, who one batter earlier allowed the game-tying run to come in on a double by John Welsh.
UNLV dropped to 14-20 on the year and saw its MWC record evened at 3-3, with Moser (4-2) taking the loss after he gave up two runs in 1.2 innings of work. Utah improved to 10-17, 3-3 in league play, and Stephen Fife (3-1) was the beneficiary of the comeback and earned the win.
The Rebels got off to a quick start, scoring three runs in the first inning on RBI doubles by Blake Gailen and Efren Navarro Jr. and another on an error to grab a quick 3-0 lead. UNLV tacked on another four runs in the fourth, with the big blow in the rally a two-run single by Ryan Kowalski that extended the lead to 7-0.
Kowalski had a strong three-game series against Utah, going 5-for-12 with seven RBI while knocking in the game-winning run in UNLV's first two wins in the series.
Then in the fifth Gailen kept the Rebel offense rolling, hitting a two-run home run that gave UNLV a 9-0 lead midway through the game and it looked like UNLV was on its way to the series sweep. It was Gailen's third home run of the season.
Utah plated a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth on a two-run double by Cory Shimada pulling to within one in the bottom of the seventh inning with a six-run rally that made it 9-8. In the inning UNLV used four pitchers, gave up four hits, committed an error and had a wild pitch. Rebel starter Matt Hutchison had been cruising up until that point, working six innings and giving up just four hits, but he could not make it out of the seventh.
Gailen finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI and three runs scored and Navarro Jr. also had three RBI to go with a trio of hits. UNLV had 15 hits as a team but committed three errors while Utah had 11 hits and two errors.
UNLV will be back in the Beehive State next week, as the Rebels open a three-game series with BYU on Thursday in Provo, Utah.
