May 12, 2007

Final Stats

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - UNLV baseball fought but could not come all the way back, losing 6-5 to New Mexico in the final of a three-game Mountain West Conference series at Isotopes Park on Saturday.

Trailing at one point 6-1, the Rebels scored the last four runs of the game and had the tying run on base in the ninth, but could not come all the way back. The loss dropped UNLV to 18-34 on the year and 7-14 in MWC games, with starter Kevin Skogley (2-5) taking the loss as he gave up all six UNM runs over the first three innings of the game. The Lobos moved to 25-25 overall and 11-10 in league games with Shane Dyer (2-1) earning the win in relief.

UNM jumped on the Rebels early, getting to Skogley for three runs in each of the opening two frames of the game, with Daniel Stovall hitting a two-run home run in the second as part of the rally. Skogley was coming off a 15 strikeout performance in his most recent start, a complete-game win last Sunday against San Diego State.

The Rebels though chipped away at the five-run lead, beginning with an unearned run in the fourth that made it 6-2. Michael Brenly then lead off the fifth and then scored on a ground out by Braden Walker and later in the inning Keith Smith singled in Ryan Kowalski to make it a 6-4 game.

In the seventh Calvin Beamon hit a two-out double and then came around to score on a single by Kowalski, pulling the Rebels to within one at 6-5. That would be as close as UNLV would get though, as the Lobo bullpen retired seven of the next eight Rebel batters. Blake Gailen led off the ninth inning with a single, but UNLV could not get him home to tie the game.

Kowalski and Smith each had a pair of hits for the Rebels, who had seven overall in the game.

UNLV wraps up its regular season at home with a Tuesday game against Southern Utah, which starts at 6:30 p.m. (PT) followed by a three-game series with Air Force that gets underway Thursday.