March 21, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - - In a game that was dominated by pitching, UNLV baseball used a two-out error that allowed the winning run to cross the plate, giving the Rebels a 2-1 victory over Long Beach State on Sunday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
UNLV senior center fielder Jarred Frierson hit a ground ball to the right side that TJ Middelstaedt misplayed, and Richie Jimenez raced home from third, capping a two-run rally that gave his team the win.
It helped the Rebels avoid the sweep and improve them to 14-8 overall, giving Brady Zuniga (3-0) the win after he worked a scoreless top of the ninth inning in relief of Matt Hutchison, who turned in the best performance of his career. The senior, who had been very effective as the team's closer, made his first start of the season and went a career-high eight innings, giving up one run on six hits. He struck out six and did not walk a batter and was the main reason UNLV was in position to win the game in the bottom of the eighth.
"I relied on my defense today, and the biggest thing I wanted to do was to get the team back in the dugout each inning and give our offense the chance to come to the plate," Hutchison said. "I wanted to pitch to contact and try to be efficient with my pitches.
In the bottom of the ninth the Rebels put two runners on base with one out when Nolan Clark was hit by a pitch, R.J. Arnold drew a walk and then Jimenez singled to right against LBSU closer David Brown. He then gave up a run-scoring single to Cash Thomas but Arnold was thrown out at the plate trying to score the game-winning run for the second out of the inning, bringing Frierson to the plate.
The game looked like it was going to extra innings but Mittelstaedt could not glove Frierson's ground ball cleanly, and Brown (2-1) was charged with the loss, as he gave up two hits and two runs in the frame. That took away a win from Branden Pinder, who did not give up a run in his seven innings on the mound, allowing eight hits while striking out six and walking no one as well.
His work on the mound made LBSU's lone run of the game stand up for eight innings, as the Dirtbags used an RBI single in the top of the second to score its run.
But that would be all that Hutchison would allow the rest of the game, allowing just three hits over the next six innings before turning the game over to Zuniga. Hutchison lowered his team-leading ERA to 1.40, and he now has struck out 24 batters and issued just three walks in 19.1 innings of work.
"We talked about needing someone to step up on the mound and Hutchison did that today," UNLV head coach Buddy Gouldsmith said. "I can't say enough about his performance today. That was on gutsy effort."
At the plate Drew Beuerlein went 3-for-4 to pace UNLV, which had 11 hits on the afternoon compared to just seven by Long Beach State.
The Rebels will now hit the road to play a weekend series for the first time this season, traveling to BYU for a three-game set that gets underway Thursday evening in Provo, Utah. It will be the Mountain West Conference opener for UNLV, while BYU kicked off its conference schedule at TCU this past weekend.
