May 14, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV baseball scored runs in each of the first four innings, including five in the second, to jump out to an early lead and then held on for a 12-11 win over Utah, giving Rebel head coach Buddy Gouldsmith his 200th career victory.
Brandon Bayardi and Kyle Kretchmer each hit a home run during that four-inning blitz which helped the Rebels race out to an 11-2 lead after four innings to the delight of the 513 fans on a warm Friday evening at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. UNLV moved into sole possession of third place in the Mountain West Conference standings with an 11-8 league mark, 27-21 overall on the season. Utah, which nearly staged a remarkable comeback, lost for the eighth consecutive time and is now 19-25 on the year, 7-12 in league games.
Gouldsmith, who is in his seventh season at the helm of the Rebels, became just the second head coach in school history to reach the 200-win plateau, joining UNLV Hall of Famer Fred Dallimore.
"We got off to a fast start, and our philosophy is to score first and we kept scoring," Gouldsmith said. "It is always important to win conference series and getting a win on Friday night puts you in a great position to do that."
UNLV jumped on the Utes in the first inning, pushing three runs across the plate with Kretchmer keying the rally, lacing a two-run double down the right-field line that gave his team a three run lead. It was the start of a big night for the senior, as he reached base five times in the game, going 3-for-3 that included a mammoth solo home run to right in the fourth inning.
The home run capped the 11 runs in four innings for the Rebels, and they would need all of those as the Utes would not go away, including staging a rally in the ninth that nearly tied the game.
Rebel reliever Brady Zuniga started the ninth with a six-run lead at 12-6, but things fell apart quickly for him, giving up five doubles that allowed the Utes to pull within one. The final double was off the bat of pinch-hitter Rick Cornu, and it nearly tied the game, as he hit a deep drive that hit near the top of the wall in center field.
Gouldsmith brought in Glenn DeWeese to preserve the one-run lead, and the senior left-hander answered the call, striking out Devin Walker swinging to end the game. It was the second save of the season for DeWeese, while Tanner Peters (6-3) earned the win after giving up four runs, two earned, on six hits in six innings of work.
Jordan Whatcott (4-8) took the loss for Utah, giving up 10 runs on 10 hits in just 2.2 innings of work, and he was also plagued by a porous Ute defense, which committed six errors on the evening that lead to five unearned runs.
UNLV finished the game with 13 hits on the evening, with Bayardi and Kretchmer each driving in three runs while Cash Thomas scored three times. The Rebel defense committed two errors on the evening as well. Utah collected 14 hits, three by Michael Beltran, who came a home run short of hitting for the cycle.
UNLV and Utah continue their series on Saturday, with the first pitch at Earl E. Wilson Stadium set for 2:00 p.m. (PT) and fans can listen to the game on KSHP 1400 AM.
