March 27, 2010
Game One Box Score | Game Two Box Score
LOS ANGELES - The UNLV Rebels (20-14) dropped a doubleheader Saturday afternoon in Los Angeles to the #5/6 UCLA Bruins (24-4). UNLV was run-ruled in both contests by scores of 8-0 and 11-3 with each ending in the fifth inning.
Game One After UNLV went down 1-2-3 in the top of the first, UCLA answered with one run off of one hit, while getting a walk and two hit-by-pitches. B.B. Bates led off with an infield single and took second on a sacrifice bunt. Traci Odegard (4-5) then walked and hit the next two batters she faced to load the bases before getting Samantha Camuso looking for the second out. Unfortunately, Odegard plunked Julie Burney to score Bates.
UNLV attempted a rally in the second by getting two runners on after two outs had been recorded. Laura Briones and Alyssia De La Torre reached via an error and a walk, respectively. Tayler Aleman then stepped up, with runners on first and second, and hit a fly to left that Andrea Harrison ran in on to make a shoe-string catch and end the threat.
UCLA added two more scores in the bottom of the second off of two hits. Dani Yudin led off with a walk and was pushed to second on a sacrifice bunt. After moving over to third following a ground out, Yudin scored on an opposite-field single by Monica Harrison. GiOnna DiSalvatore followed with a walk before Andrea Harrison hit a bloop-single up the middle to score another run.
The Bruins picked up one run in the fourth to increase their lead to 4-0 off of three singles. They got back-to-back singles to open the at-bat before a sacrifice bunt moved the runners into scoring position. DiSalvatore then dropped down a suicide-squeeze bunt that scored the run.
UNLV fought back in the fifth with three consecutive singles, but was unable to manufacture any runs. De La Torre, Aleman and Paige Emerson were responsible for the singles. Aleah Macon (7-1) got back in rhythm with her seventh strikeout of the game before throwing a runner out at home for the second out. A fly out to deep left by Jaci Hull ended the inning.
A four-run fifth inning by UCLA ended the game by enacting the eight-run mercy rule.
Macon earned the win in complete-game fashion, as she tossed five innings. She was touched for four hits, while walking one.
Odegard threw 4.2 innings in the loss. She was touched for eight runs on 10 hits. She walked three and struck out two.
Game Two UNLV jumped out quickly with three scores in its first at-bat. Emerson led off with a double to right-center and took third on a bunt base-hit from Tara Bendt. Marissa Nichols stepped up with a double to right to plate Emerson. Hull then cranked a sacrifice fly to right to bring home Bendt for the second run of the stanza. Nichols, who tagged up on Hull's fly out, scored on a wild pitch uncorked by Destiny Rodino.
UCLA made a pitching change to start the second, as Donna Kerr (11-1) replaced Rodino in the circle. Kerr was near flawless in four innings of relief work. She did not allow one hit, while striking out two and walking one.
The Bruin offense, which had left the bases juiced in the first, awoke in the second with a run. After loading the bases following a double, hit-by-pitch and a walk, Bates then hit a sacrifice fly to score Yudin and cut the deficit to 3-1.
An RBI-single in the third by Julie Burney pulled UCLA within one at 2-1.
The game turned in UCLA's favor in the fourth when they strung together five runs on four hits. After the game-tying run scored, Monica Harrison pushed the Bruins ahead with a one-run single, while DiSalvatore followed with a two-run double to add to the scoring.
The Bruins added four more tallies in the fifth to cap the 11-run effort.
UNLV is back in action Friday afternoon (3:00 pm MT/2:00 pm PT) with a road game in St. George, Utah against the Idaho State Bengals.
