May 1, 2009
Final Stats
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - UNLV held a two-run lead at the halfway point but New Mexico rallied with five runs in the bottom of the fifth to go on to an 8-4 win over the Rebels on Friday afternoon at Isotopes Park in the opener of a three-game Mountain West Conference series.
The Rebels were up 3-1 after the top of the fifth following Anthony Morel's solo home run to center field, but they gave up a big inning in the bottom of the frame to drop to 23-23 overall and 7-9 in league play. UNLV starter Tanner Peters (5-4) took the loss, giving up seven runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings on the mound before turning the game over to the bullpen. The Lobos improved to 32-14 overall and 12-6 in league play with freshman Rudy Jaramillo (3-0) went the distance, giving up the four runs in 12 hits while striking out six and not giving up a walk.
UNM jumped out to an early lead, scoring a run in the bottom of the first inning on an RBI ground out by Rafael Neda, but UNLV responded in the top of the second.
Ryan Thornton and Jesse Wight started the rally with back-to-back singles, and Wight was able to move up to second when the Lobos tried throwing Thornton out at third, bringing Rance Roundy to the plate with a pair of runners in scoring position. The junior right fielder cashed in at the plate, singling back up the middle to drive in Thornton and Wight, giving the Rebels a 2-1 lead. Morel then doubled the lead with one swing of the bat, hitting his third home run of the season which made it a 3-1 in a game that Peters had been in control of through the opening four innings.
New Mexico, the top hitting team in the league, got to the Rebel freshman in the bottom of the fifth to take the lead for good. Following run-scoring singles, Ryan Honeycutt hit a two-run home run to make it 5-3 and then the Lobos added another run on a single by Brian Cavazos-Calvez for a 6-3 lead.
Honeycutt added a run-scoring single in the bottom of the sixth and Adam Courcha capped the Lobo scoring with an RBI single of his own, pushing the margin to 8-3. Roundy hit a one-out triple to left center and then came home to score on Brian Gilbertson's sacrifice fly but then Jaramillo finished off his complete game by getting Morel to ground out.
Roundy had a strong day at the plate, going 4-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, and Morel added three hits to pace a Rebel offense that collected a total of 12, and UNLV also committed two errors in the game. New Mexico had 13 hits with Mike Brownstein going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and Honeycutt had three RBI and a pair of hits.
UNLV and New Mexico continue their series tomorrow, with the first pitch from Isotopes Park set for 12:30 p.m. (PT), and Andrew Beresford is slated to take the mound for the Rebels.
