March 5, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball scored four runs in the bottom of the first to take the lead and never looked back in beating Columbia, 14-5, in the opener of a four-game set Friday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
Drew Beuerlein laced a two-run triple in the first-inning rally and the Rebels took advantage of four Lion errors in the game to earn the victory, which moved UNLV to 8-3 overall on the season. Tanner Peters (1-0) picked up the win, allowing four runs on seven hits while striking out six batters and walking just one on the evening. It was the first game of the year for Columbia, as Ivy League teams have a later start date to their season, and Pat Lowery took the loss after he gave up nine runs on nine hits in four innings of work.
Beuerlein's first-inning triple started a big evening for the junior catcher, as he drilled two doubles in a 3-for-5 effort at the plate that saw him drive in three runs and score three times, keying a Rebel offense that collected 15 hits. Rebel left fielder Brandon Bayardi extended his hitting streak to 11 games with a pair of hits and R.J. Arnold hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season as well.
"We are swinging the bats pretty consistently right now," UNLV head coach Buddy Gouldsmith said. "Our young guys are really stepping up and playing well, and Drew Beuerlein is squaring up everything he hits."
Columbia actually grabbed the early lead, scoring two runs off of Peters in the top of the first inning, capitalizing off an error by UNLV first baseman Kyle Kretchmer that extended the inning. The Lions scored twice and would load the bases with one out against Peters, but he got out of the inning by getting a double-play grounder to short.
UNLV answered in the bottom of the frame, as Cash Thomas and Jarred Frierson reached with hits and would then come around to score on Beuerlein's triple, knotting the game at two. Beuerlein would score on a fielding error and Kretchmer crossed the plate for the fourth run of the frame later in the inning on another error.
The lead grew to four runs in the bottom of the third when the Rebels scored twice, the first on a wild pitch that pushed Kretchmer across the plate and another on an RBI single by Richie Jimenez that made it 6-2. Arnold stroked a two-run double as part of a three-run fourth inning, and his solo home run in the sixth pushed the lead to 11-4.
UNLV continued its strong hitting at the plate to start the season, as tonight marked the seventh time in the last nine games that the Rebels reached double figures in runs. Six different Rebels had two hits on the night and five scored two runs or more.
The two teams continue their series tomorrow with a doubleheader that gets underway at 2:00 p.m. (PT) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with the second game between UNLV and Columbia set for 6:00 p.m.
