Feb. 23, 2008
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball grabbed an early lead but could not make it stand, as the Rebels lost 3-2 to Central Michigan at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
After giving up two runs in the first inning, CMU starter Steve Teno (1-0) settled in and did not allow another run in working a complete game for his squad's first win of the season in three games. UNLV saw its record evened at 1-1, with reliever Troy Watson (0-1) taking the loss after he gave up the go-ahead run in the sixth inning.
As it did in the opener last night, UNLV jumped out to an early lead on Saturday, taking advantage of triples by J.J. Sferra and Xavier Scruggs to score two runs in the bottom of the first. Sferra started the game by lacing a liner into the corner down the right-field line and following a strike out, he then trotted home on Scruggs' triple to the same corner. Senior catcher Braden Walker then hit a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing Scruggs to score for a 2-0 lead.
That is how the game stayed through the next four innings, as Rebel starter Corey Hales had a strong outing in his Rebel debut, as the junior transfer worked into the fifth inning. He finished the game with five strikeouts and five walks, giving up two runs, one earned, on three hits. Hales worked out of a pair of jams in the opening two innings of the game, wriggling off the hook of a bases-loaded situation in the first and then allowed two runners to get on base in the second. Both times the Rebels kept the Chippewas off the board, preserving their lead.
The Chippewas finally got to Hales in the fifth, largely due to wildness from the big right hander.
Brendan Emmett reached on a fielder's choice, moved all the way to third on an errant pick-off throw, then scored on a wild pitch by Hales. CMU then took the lead in the sixth, scoring a pair of runs off of Hales and Watson on just one hit, as CMU took advantage of two walks that preceded a double by Casey Ingle.
Rebel third baseman Steve Rinaudo played a strong all-around game, going 4-for-4 at the plate for half of UNLV's eight hits on the day, as well as starting a pair of double plays.
UNLV and CMU wrap up their three-game series tomorrow, with the first pitch slated for 12:00 p.m. (PST) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with the game being carried live on KSHP 1400 AM.
