March 29, 2009
Final Stats
LONG BEACH, Calif. - UNLV baseball jumped out to an early lead but could not hold it, losing to Long Beach State, 13-4, Sunday afternoon in the final of a three-game series between the two teams at Blair Field.
With the loss the Rebels saw their record fall to even 13-13, as they have lost six in a row, including the past five on the road. UNLV starter Andrew Beresford (1-2) took the loss, giving up six runs on seven hits over 6.1 innings of work. LBSU improved to 10-12 on the year, with Andrew Gagnon (2-2) earning the win, as he gave up three runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings on the mound.
The Rebels got off to a quick start in the top of the first, as Ryan Thornton doubled to lead off the game, moved to third on a fly out and then he scored on a single off the bat of J.J. Sferra, making it 1-0. Sferra came around to score on a double by Jesse Wight, giving UNLV a 2-0 lead early on.
LBSU got a run of its own in the bottom of the first to make it 2-1, and that's where the game stayed until the bottom of the third, when the Dirtbags scored three times to take a 4-2 lead. The big blow in the rally was a two-run home run by Rylan Sandoval to left field that gave LBSU a lead it would not relinquish.
UNLV cut it to a one-run game in the fourth inning when Anthony Morel singled in Brian Gilbertson with two outs, who had singled to open up the frame and moved up to second on a ground out. Morel was able to get into scoring position following a walk, but the Rebels could not get the game-tying run home, as Thornton grounded out to end the inning.
The Dirtbags blew the game open in the seventh and eighth innings, scoring three runs after the stretch to chase Beresford and give them a 7-3 lead, and then six more the next inning to balloon the margin to 13-3. LBSU used five run-scoring singles as part of the game-changing rally, putting the game out of reach.
UNLV tacked on its final run in the top of the ninth when Sferra singled home Thornton, the final of the team's 11 hits on the afternoon. The Rebels also committed a season-high seven errors, which lead to three unearned runs for the Dirtbags.
The Rebels will wrap up their season-long seven-game road trip by traveling to play Cal State Northridge in a two-game series that gets underway Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. (PT). UNLV is still looking for its first road win of the season, dropping to 0-8 away from Las Vegas following Sunday's loss, compared to 13-5 at home.
