April 27, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - With the wind howling out of Earl E. Wilson Stadium, visiting UC Riverside took advantage and hit five home runs in an 18-10 victory over UNLV on Tuesday night in a non-conference game. The Rebels hit three long balls themselves on a night when the winds were sustained at nearly 30 m.p.h.
It was a two-run game heading into the top of the fourth, but the Highlanders scored six in that inning and then four more in the fifth to jump out to a 15-6 lead and they never looked back. Justin Shults hit a solo home run in the fourth and a two-run shot in the fifth, part of a 5-for-6 effort that saw him hit three home runs and two doubles.
UNLV dropped to 21-19 overall in losing its sixth straight, with starter Billy Wardell (1-2) taking the loss, as he gave up two runs on three hits and walked two while getting just one out before being chased. UCR moved to 21-13 on the year, with reliever Mike Wolford (3-1) earning the win, giving up two runs on four hits in four innings out of the bullpen.
Rebel freshman Brandon Bayardi had a big night at the plate, drilling two home runs in going 3-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored, and it was his first career multi-homer game. His second of the night was a two-run shot in the bottom of the ninth inning, and then Kyle Kretchmer followed with a solo home run down the right-field line, capping the scoring. Kretchmer also had three hits and drove in four runs on the night.
UNLV collected 15 hits on the evening, seven of them going for extra bases, while UCR had 19 hits, including 11 extra-base hits.
UNLV remains at home and will host Air Force in a three-game Mountain West Conference series that gets underway Friday night at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, and fans can listen to the game on KSHP 1400 AM. All three games of the series against the Falcons will be part of Air Force weekend, and among the promotions, all military personnel and family are free. Sunday's game will also be Kid's Day at the ball park, and all tickets are just $1.
