May 24, 2007
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - No. 18 TCU hit three home runs in the first three innings, including back-to-back homers in the bottom of the third, while Jake Arrieta pitched seven scoreless innings to lift the top-seeded Horned Frogs to an 8-1 win over sixth seeded UNLV in the fifth game of the Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Thursday afternoon.
The Horned Frogs, who improved to 44-13 overall, advanced to face second-seeded BYU on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. PT. The Rebels, who saw their five-game win streak snapped, dropped to 23-35, and will play the winner of Thursday night's New Mexico-San Diego State contest on Friday at 11 am in an elimination game.
TCU wasted no time in taking the early lead, as leadoff hitter Clint Arnold hit a solo home run to left field in the bottom of the first. Steven Trout added another run in the inning as he was walked and then later scored off a Rebels' fielding error to make the score 2-0.
Trout was walked again to begin the third inning, and then was brought home by Keith Conlon's two-run blast to centerfield. The very next batter, Austin Adams, knocked in a solo homer of his own, this one also to left field that made the score 5-0.
The Rebels made one serious threat to score in the top of the sixth, as they loaded the bases with no outs following a single, a double, and a hit batter to start off the frame. Arrieta was able to get himself out of the jam however after inducing a pop-up, a flyout, and a groundout. TCU added another run in the bottom of the seventh inning when Conlon singled and came home on Arnold's RBI single for a 6-0 advantage. The final two runs of the game came in the bottom of the eighth, off back-to-back RBI singles from Conlon and Adams.
UNLV scored its one run in the top of the ninth inning, as Keith Smith led off the inning with a single to left field, and was plated by pinch hitter Chris Bonnell's groundout RBI.
Arrieta finished the game scattering four hits over seven innings, and struck out six while no walks to improve to 9-3 on the season. Kevin Skogley (3-6) meanwhile was credited with the loss for the Rebels after allowing five runs, four earned, off four hits in just two innings of action.
Conlon finished 4-5 with three RBI for TCU, while Adams was 3-5 with three RBI as well. For the Rebels, Efren Navarro Jr. was the lone Rebel to have a multi-hit game, as he was 2-of-3.
