Feb. 21, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV senior Jarred Frierson drilled three home runs, including an important two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth, and the Rebels outscored Sacramento State 18-13 on Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
The Rebels scored at least one run in seven of the eight innings they hit, collecting 20 hits, including eight extra-base hits that included five home runs, as Hunter Beaty and Kyle Kretchmer added round trippers. The Hornets (2-1) were not short of offense either, getting three home runs and 19 hits, but it was not enough to keep UNLV (1-2) from winning its first game of the season.
The difference in the game was the relief work of Jared Lee, Brady Zuniga and Matt Hutchison for the Rebels, who allowed just run over the final four innings after the Hornets scored six runs in the fifth to go ahead 13-11.
Lee picked up the win, allowing just one unearned run on two hits in 2.1 innings of work, Zuniga tossed 1.2 scoreless innings and struck out four, while Hutchison gave up an unearned run in the ninth. Mike Guglielmo took the loss for Sacramento State, as he allowed four runs on five hits in 2.2 innings of work after the Hornets had taken a 13-11 lead in the fifth after scoring six runs in the frame.
Frierson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to cut the deficit to one, and in the sixth inning Brandon Bayardi hit a run-scoring single to tie the game and Cash Thomas later drove in a run to make it 14-13. Following a scoreless seventh, the Rebels tacked on four runs in the eighth, with the final two coming on Frierson's shot down the left-field line that made it 18-13.
The trio of home runs by Frierson marked the 16th time in school history that a player hit three home runs in a single game, and it was the first time that happened since Xavier Scruggs hit three against San Diego State on April 18, 2008. Frierson matched his career high with four RBI and also scored three times.
Kretchmer had a career day at the plate, going 4-for-5 with five RBI and two runs scored, including launching a two-run home run to left field in the third inning. Nolan Clark also had three hits for the Rebels, and everyone in the lineup had at least one hit on the afternoon.
Derrick Chung and Trevor Paine each drove in three runs for the Hornets, and Jake Chilton had four hits in six trips to the plate as well.
The Rebels continue their eight-game homestand to open up the 2010 season, hosting Southern Utah on Tuesday night, with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
