March 7, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball nearly rallied from an eight-run deficit for the second straight game, bringing the game-tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Columbia got a long fly out and held on for an 8-6 victory Sunday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
On a chilly afternoon that included intermittent rain showers, the Rebels fell behind 8-0 early, used a big fifth inning to cut into the deficit and then scored once in the ninth and had freshman Brandon Bayardi at the plate with a runner on. Bayardi drilled a two-strike pitch off of Lion reliever Tim Giel, but it was to the deepest part of the park, as it settled into center fielder Nick Cox's glove at the warning track for the final out of the game.
UNLV dropped to 10-4 overall, with starter Chad Nading (0-1) taking the loss, as he allowed seven runs on five hits in four innings of work. Columbia earned its first win of the season and is now 1-3, with Roger Aquino (1-0) picking up the win out of the bullpen and Giel recording the save.
Columbia scored three runs in the top of the second and a pair in the top of the third off of Nading to grab an early 5-0 lead, and the margin would balloon to eight in the top of the fifth when the Lions scored three runs. In that inning Columbia took advantage of wildness by Nading and reliever Jared Lee, turning five walks and ground outs into three runs while not registering a hit.
The Rebels got back into the game when they went to bat in the bottom of the frame, plating five runs on five hits, a walk and a hit batter.
Drew Beuerlein singled in the first run of the rally with the bases loaded and Brandon Bayardi knocked in two runs with a double off the right-field wall, making it an 8-3 ball game. After a pop out, Richie Jimenez singled through the right side to score two more runs which made it a three-run deficit and ended the day for Columbia starter Geoff Whitaker.
UNLV then battled in the bottom of the ninth, with Cash Thomas getting hit by a pitch with one out followed by Jarred Frierson lacing a double down the right-field line that scored Thomas and made it 8-6. Columbia brought in Giel to try and get the final two outs of the game and that is what he did, catching a line drive back to him off the bat of Beuerlein and then getting Bayardi to fly out.
Outside of the big fifth inning, the Rebel bats were held in check, as they collected just three hits and one run in the other eight innings of play, and it was just the fifth time in 14 games this season that UNLV did not reach double digits in runs.
Bayardi finished the game with three hits and two RBI, and UNLV collected eight hits on the afternoon, while Nick Ferraresi paced Columbia with three hits as well, and the Lions finished with seven hits.
UNLV remains at home this week, hosting Northwestern in a four-game series that gets underway Thursday evening at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with the first pitch set for 7:00 p.m. (PT).
