April 20, 2007

Final Stats

CORVALLIS, Ore. - UNLV baseball gave all No. 9 Oregon State it could handle but the Rebels could not score enough runs to back a strong pitching performance in a 3-1 loss on Friday night.

In front of a sold-out crowd at Goss Stadium the Rebels were up to the task as Craig Heyer (4-6) allowed just three runs in six innings of work to keep his team close. But the Rebels were held to just three hits on the evening in losing for the eighth-straight time to fall to 14-27 on the year. OSU starter Mike Stutes (9-1) kept the Rebel bats at bay, striking out a career-high 12 and giving up just one run on two hits. The Beavers improved to 29-8 on the year.

OSU scored a pair of runs in the bottom on a two-run home run by Mitch Canham to grab a 2-0 lead off of Heyer, but the right-hander settled down from there. He gave up one hit over the next three innings before allowing another run to come across the plate in the fifth.

But while Heyer was dealing so was Stutes, who gave up a single to Michael Brenly in the third inning and then a triple to Chad Miller in the fifth that scored Efren Navarro Jr., who had walked to open the inning. That would be all that UNLV would get off of Stutes.

Miller doubled in the ninth with two out off of Beaver closer Eddie Kunz, bringing Ryan Kowalski to the plate representing the tying run. Kunz got Kowalski to fly out to center field, ending the game and giving Kunz his seventh save of the season.

It was the 14th game this year against an opponent in the top 25 and the Rebels are now 6-8 in those contests.

UNLV and Oregon State continue their series tomorrow with the first pitch slated for 1:00 p.m. (PT).