May 12, 2009

Final Stats

RIVERSIDE, Calif. - UNLV baseball scored seven runs over the final three inning to come back and beat UC Riverside, 8-6, on Tuesday night at the Riverside Sports Complex in the Rebels' final non-conference game of the season.

Trailing by three runs heading into the seventh, the Rebels scored three times to tie the game, another run in the eighth to take the lead, and then three more runs in the ninth to jump out to an 8-4 advantage. Those runs would prove to be valuable, as UCR scored twice and had the tying runs on base before Matt Hutchison got a fielder's choice ground out to end the game.

UNLV moved to 26-27 overall, snapping a four-game losing streak in the process, with Hutchison (2-2) earning the win as he worked the final 2.2 innings of tonight's game. UCR dropped to 29-17 on the year, with Dustin Emmons (1-3) taking the loss, as he gave up the run in the eighth that gave the Rebels the lead.

The teams traded runs in the second inning as UNLV got its run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Scott Berke while UCR picked up its run on a double play the pushed home a runner from third. The Highlanders then took the lead in the third, scoring three runs off of Corey Hales, all of them coming on a three-run home run down the left-field line by Tony Nix that made the score 4-1.

That is where the game stood until the seventh inning, when the Rebels rallied to tie the game at four.

Jesse Wight got the inning started with a bang, drilling a solo home run to center field that cut the margin to two, and then Rance Roundy reached base on a wild pitch that would have been a strike out. A single by Berke put runners on the corners, and Roundy came home on a single by Anthony Morel, pulling the Rebels to within one at 4-3. Following a ground out, Berke scored the game tying run on a throwing error by Emmons on a bunt by Chad Claus.

UNLV took the lead the following inning with a two-out rally that started with a single by Berke and was followed by base hits from Morel and Bryan Resnick, giving the Rebels a 5-4 lead. That advantage ballooned to four runs in the ninth as UNLV loaded the bases with one out and got an RBI single by Roundy for the first run of the frame. Berke then drove in a pair with a grounder up the middle, making it an 8-4 ballgame.

UCR made it interesting in the ninth, loading the bases with two outs against Hutchison, who then walked in a run and a run-scoring fielder's choice before getting the final out of the game.

The Rebels finished with 11 hits and were paced by Berke, who had two hits, drove in three and scored three runs, while Wight scored three times to go along with his round tripper. UCR collected 15 hits on the night, three of those coming off the bat of Michael Hur.

UNLV will now return home to close out its regular season with a three-game set against No. 14 TCU, and the series gets underway Thursday at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. That game will be carried live on 1400 KSHP AM, and Saturday's home game will be Senior Day, and eight Rebel seniors will be honored before the game, which is slated to start at 12:00 p.m.