April 22, 2007
Final Stats
CORVALLIS, Ore. - UNLV baseball could not overcome grand slams in each game of a doubleheader Sunday against No. 9 Oregon State and the Rebels lost both games by scores of 10-2 and 7-0.
Rain washed out Saturday's game at Goss Stadium, forcing the teams to play a twin bill today and the Rebels were not able to avoid the sweep against the defending College World Series champions. The series with the Beavers marked the third straight season that UNLV has played the defending NCAA champions and it was also the 16th game of the year against a ranked team, and UNLV is now 6-10 against such opponents.
With the pair of defeats UNLV dropped to 14-29 overall on the season and it also extended the Rebels' losing streak to a school-record 10 games. The previous record was nine which occurred during the 1970 season. OSU improved to 31-8 overall on the year and benefited from two grand slams by Mitch Canham.
In the opener Canham's first home run with the bags full of Beavers came in the fourth inning as part of a seven-run rally, breaking open what was a one-run lead to give OSU an 8-0 lead. Michael Brenly and Jarred Frierson had RBI hits in the seventh to put UNLV on the board, but that would be all that the Rebels would get in the game. Joe Paterson (6-4) earned the win for OSU while Rebel starter Matt Hutchison (1-7) took the loss.
Game two was the same story, as the Rebels kept the game close and trailed just 1-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth. Canham though would strike again though, this time coming off the bench to pinch hit grand slam off of Rebel reliever Marc Baca to blow the game open. The Beavers scored a total of five runs in the inning to take a 6-0 lead and would add another eighth in going on to the win.
Offensively the Rebels were held at bay in the second game of the day with only Keith Smith and Efren Navarro Jr. getting hits, with both collecting a pair of hits. OSU starter Jorge Reyes (2-0) earned the win while Kevin Skogley (0-4) was charged with the loss.
UNLV returns home and gets back into Mountain West Conference action this coming weekend with a three-game series against Utah at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
