March 22, 2009
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - With the wind howling out of Earl E. Wilson Stadium, Air Force was able to out-slug UNLV and come away with an 11-9 victory, as the Falcons hit five home runs while the Rebels got one in the final of a three-game set on Sunday.
Gusts were close to 60 M.P.H. at times throughout the game, which saw the Rebels fall to 13-8, 2-4 in league games while the Falcons improved to 7-11 and 1-5 in MWC action. UNLV starter Brian Gilbertson (0-1) took the loss, allowing four home runs and seven runs in 2.2 innings of work before the bullpen took over. AFA starter Matt Barattino (1-0) earned the win, giving up six runs, three earned, in 6.2 innings, and Aaron Kurcz worked the final 2.1 innings to earn his third save.
The Rebels trailed by three heading into the bottom of the ninth, but got a run on a sacrifice fly and then had the game-tying run at the plate after J.J. Sferra hit a two-out triple down the right-field line. Kurcz regrouped to strike out Scott Berke to end the game and keep UNLV from sweeping the series from Air Force.
UNLV jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Jarred Frierson and then a delayed double-steal that saw Jesse Wight score from home before Frierson was tagged out trying to go to second base.
Air Force used the wind though over the next two innings, getting balls up into the jet stream to hit four home runs, three of them two-run shots, in grabbing a 7-2 lead after three innings. That chased Gilbertson, who gave up seven runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings of work.
Wight doubled to left with one out and came around to score on an error for the Rebels in the bottom of the fourth, but Air Force answered with two runs of its own in the top of the fifth when Addison Gentry hit a two-run single to left, making it 9-3. Another Falcon error allowed Ryan Thornton to score in the bottom of the fifth, and J.J. Sferra would score on a sacrifice fly, making the score 9-5.
Gentry hit Air Force's fifth home run of the game, a solo shot in the top of the sixth inning that moved the lead to 10-6, but after the stretch the Rebels got a long ball of their own to get back in the game.
Trent Fuller led off the bottom half of the seventh with a single, and following a pair of outs, Sferra drew a walk, bringing Berke to the plate. Berk got a ball up into the air and the wind carried it out over the fence in right-center field, cutting the Air Force lead to just two at 10-8. It was the first home run of the season for Berke, part of a 2-for-4 day at the plate for the junior.
Air Force was able to get an insurance run in the top of the ninth before the Rebels nearly rallied in their half of the final frame.
UNLV had 10 hits on the game, with Berke, Wight and Frierson each collecting a pair, and the Rebels did not commit an error in the game. AFA finished with 14 hits on the afternoon, led by Gentry who went 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs scored, which helped the Falcons overcome six errors.
UNLV will now embark on its longest road trip of the season, a seven-game swing that begins Tuesday night at Oklahoma State at 4:30 p.m. (PT) in Stillwater, Okla.
