March 22, 2008
Final Stats
FULLERTON, Calif. - UNLV baseball fell just short for the second time in three games against No. 23 Cal State Fullerton, losing 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at Goodwin Field.
The Rebels opened the series with a 6-5 defeat to the Titans and although UNLV had more hits today than host CSF, they wound up on the wrong side of the final score.
With the loss the Rebels fell to 9-11 overall on the year, with starter Steve Rinaudo taking the loss as he was charged with all four runs in his 3.1 innings of work. Cory Abriso picked up the win, coming within two outs of tossing a complete game, giving up three runs on eight hits in 8.1 innings on the mound. CSF improved to 12-8 overall and Adam Jorgenson got a game-ending double play to earn the save for the second-straight game.
The Titans scored three runs in the first inning on two hits and two walks issued by Rinaudo to grab an early 3-0 lead. Following a walk and a single to put two runners on, Erik Komatsu started the rally with a run-scoring single and then CSF used two RBI ground outs to push two more runs across the plate.
UNLV answer right back in its half of the second, knotting the game at three, with most of the damage coming off the bat of Braden Walker.
Jesse Wight led off the inning with a single and then Walker brought him home, drilling his second home run of the season over the left-field fence to make it a 3-2 game. Abriso got a fly out for the first out of the inning, then gave up singles to Ryan Thornton and Anthony Morel before striking out Jared Frierson for the second out of the inning. Abriso couldn't get out the frame, however, giving up the game-tying single to J.J. Sferra that scored Thornton.
In the bottom of the fourth Rinaudo allowed the first two Titan batters to reach base before he was taken out of the game, as Buddy Gouldsmith brought in Matt Hutchison out of the bullpen. Hutchison got a fly out for the first out of the inning, but then walked the next two batters he faced, giving CSF a 4-3 lead it would not relinquish.
UNLV actually out-hit CSF on the afternoon, 8-5, but could not push enough runs across the board to avoid a fourth-straight loss. Wight and Thornton each had a pair of hits to pace the Rebels at the plate while Komatsu collected two hits for CSF.
UNLV returns home and will host in-state rival Nevada, Reno at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Tuesday night, with the first pitch set for 4:00 p.m. (PDT). Fans can watch the game online via a live streaming feed at www.unlvrebels.com as part of the All-Access feature on the website, or they can follow along live on Gametracker.
