April 22, 2009
Final Stats
LUBBOCK, Texas - UNLV and Texas Tech were tied heading into the sixth inning, but a two-out error proved costly for the Rebels, who lost 14-5 to the Red Raiders in a non-conference game Wednesday afternoon at Dan Law Field.
With the scored tied at five, UNLV reliever Corey Hales got two quick outs to open the sixth and after a double, he appeared to be out of the inning on a ground ball to shortstop Anthony Morel, but the senior made a bad throw, extending the frame and allowing the Red Raiders to capitalize. TTU went on to score four runs on four hits in the frame, all of them unearned, for a 9-5 lead for the Red Raiders heading into the final three innings of the game.
The Rebels could not come back and dropped to 20-20 overall on the year, with Hales (2-3) take the loss despite pitching well, giving up five runs, just one earned, on eight hits in 5.1 innings of relief. Texas Tech moved to 20-24 and Lorenzo Douglas (1-2) picked up the win with Louis Head working a perfect ninth to earn his second save of the year.
UNLV senior J.J. Sferra also saw his hitting streak snapped at 28 games as the center fielder went 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts, bring a close to a streak that started in the first game of a doubleheader against St. Peter's College on Feb. 28. During the streak, which is the third longest in school history, Sferra hit .483 (56-116) with 33 runs scored, four doubles and a pair of triples.
Like they did in last night's game, the Rebels jumped out to an early lead, scoring three runs in the top of the first inning on three run-scoring singles that came after a pair of one-out walks. Ryan Thornton, Rance Roundy and Scott Berke collected the base knocks that helped stake UNLV to a 3-0 lead. Texas Tech responded with a big inning of its own, however, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first to take a one-run lead and chase regular closer Marc Baca, who started the game but was only slated to pitch a couple innings.
UNLV used a pair of doubles in the third inning to score two runs and move back out in front, 5-4, the first coming off the bat of Rance Roundy that scored Thornton, who drew a walk to open the inning. Berke followed with a single to put runners on the corners, and although Roundy was picked off at third base, Chad Claus drilled a double to left field that plated Berke and gave the Rebels the lead.
Texas Tech knotted the game at five in the bottom of the fifth inning on an RBI double by Garrett Totten off of Hales, who had come out of the bullpen and not allowed a hit in relief until allowing three hits and run in the fifth.
UNLV was held to a pair of hits over the final three innings and TTU added to its lead in the bottom of the eighth, putting the game out of reach by scoring five runs on five hits, including a three-run home run off the bat of Jeremy Mayo, that made the score 14-5.
The Rebels finished the game with 11 hits and two errors, with Claus leading the way with a trio of hits, while Thornton, Roundy and Berke each collected two on the day. TTU used 15 hits to score its runs and did not commit an error, and Totten finished the game going 4-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored.
UNLV continues its current five-game road trip with a three-game, Mountain West Conference series against Air Force at Colorado Springs, with the first game set for Friday at 1:00 p.m. (PT).
