April 25, 2009
Final Stats
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - UNLV hit six home runs on a windy afternoon and scored in every inning but the first to bounce back and rout Air Force, 20-13, at Falcon Field on Saturday afternoon, evening their Mountain West Conference series.
The Rebels improved to 21-21 overall and 6-8 in league games while picking up their first road win of the season a day after losing 7-5 to the Falcons in the series opener. With the wind howling out to left field, both offenses took advantage as the Falcons hit a trio of home runs and the teams combined for 41 hits. Air Force is now 14-25 overall and 3-8 in league games.
UNLV's 20 runs marks the second time this season it has reached that mark, as the Rebels lit up the Earl E. Wilson scoreboard for 24 runs against Butler on March 7, while the six home runs is the most hit in a game this year.
Following a scoreless first inning, UNLV got on the board first on a solo home run by Kyle Kretchmer that went with the wind over the left-field wall, giving the left his second round tripper of the series. Bryan Resnick singled in a run in the top of the third to make the lead 2-0, but AFA tied it in the bottom of the frame on a two-run home run by Ben Ausbun.
Joe DiMaggio hit his first career home run as a Rebel in the fourth, a two-run shot to left for a 4-2 advantage. The Falcons countered by scoring three runs in the bottom half of the fourth to move ahead, 5-4, but that would be the final time they would lead.
The Rebels loaded the bases in the top of the fifth on three singles and Anthony Morel cleared them with a double to right center, giving UNLV the lead back at 7-5. UNLV then tacked on three more runs in the sixth on a Jarred Frierson run-scoring single and then a two-run jack off the bat of Ryan Thornton, moving the advantage to 10-5.
AFA crept to within three runs on a solo home run by Nathan Carter and an RBI ground out in the bottom of the sixth, but the Rebels answered with four runs the following inning. The first run scored on an error and after J.J. Sferra singled in a run, Resnick capped the rally with a two-run home run. It was the third home run of the series for Resnick, who pounded out two round trippers in yesterday's contest.
Rance Roundy added a run-scoring double in the eighth and then in a five-run ninth, and then the Rebels added five more runs in the ninth, three coming on a home run by Frierson and the last two scoring via a two-run shot by Roundy. The final home run by the Rebels made it 20-10, and Air Force scored three times in the bottom half, with Matt Alexander hitting the final home run of the game, a two-run shot to right-center field.
Rebel starter Andrew Beresford (3-2) benefited from all the offense, as he picked up the win despite giving up seven runs on 11 hits in six innings of work. Alex Truesdale (2-6) took the loss, allowing nine runs on 12 hits over 5.1 innings on the mound.
UNLV and Air Force close out their series tomorrow, with the first pitch between the Rebels and Falcons scheduled for 11:00 a.m. (PT) at Falcon Field.
