March 12, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball got a strong performance on the mound by starter Stephen Singer in winning the second game of a doubleheader against Northwestern, which followed a shaky outing by Rebel pitchers in the first game Friday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
The Rebels dropped the first game by a score of 20-6 but salvaged a split on the day with a 4-3 win in the evening, as UNLV improved its record to 12-5 on the year. Northwestern moved its record to 4-9 overall on the year, capitalizing on the Rebels' wildness to earn a win in game one of the double dip.
UNLV erased an early one-run lead in the night cap, scoring three unearned runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 3-1 lead on Northwestern after two innings of play. Adam Koglin singled in the first run of the rally, and then Cash Thomas drew a bases-loaded walk followed by Jarred Frierson hitting an RBI single.
Singer (2-0) made the lead stand up into the seventh, working 6.1 innings in a solid start in which he allowed two runs on six hits, striking out five and walking just one, leaving in the seventh inning with one out and a runner on second. UNLV went to Brady Zuniga out of the bullpen, and the freshman right-hander got a fly out and then struck out Trevor Stevens to end the threat.
Drew Beuerlein drilled his first home run of the year after the seventh-inning stretch, a solo shot to left field with two outs that gave the Rebels an insurance run in moving the score to 4-2.
Zuniga then worked a scoreless eighth inning and then started the ninth inning, but he allowed back-to-back singles to put two on with no out, and UNLV head coach Buddy Gouldsmith brought in Matt Hutchison to close out the game.
Hutchison got a fly out, but a fielding error by R.J. Arnold on a ground ball loaded the bases, bringing Stevens to the plate, but he went down swinging for the second out of the inning. Hutchison, though, was called for a balk that brought in a run and moved runners to second and third, with Arby Fields at the plate. Hutchison worked the count two 2-2 before ending the game with a strikeout, giving him his fourth save of the season.
Even though UNLV and Northwestern registered the same amount of hits in the first game of the day, what caused the wide margin on the scoreboard was the fact that the Wildcats drew 17 walks on the afternoon. It was the second-most walks issued in a single game all-time by the Rebels, who used seven pitchers to get through the game.
UNLV trailed by a run, 3-2, entering the top of the third inning when Northwestern exploded for eight runs in the frame to move its lead to nine runs, ending the day for Rebel starter Billy Wardell (1-1). The exclamation point for Wildcats in the inning was delivered by Chris Kontos, who slugged a grand slam off the top of the left-field wall to cap the scoring in the inning.
Thomas and Robbie De La Cruz each had a pair of hits in game one for the Rebels, and Brandon Bayardi scored a pair of runs as well.
UNLV and Northwestern conclude their series tomorrow, with the Rebels and the Wildcats scheduled to get game four underway at 1:00 p.m. (PT) at Wilson Stadium.
