May 20, 2010
Final Stats
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - UNLV baseball used a four-run fourth to grab an early lead but San Diego State scored the last six runs of the game for a 8-4 win over the Rebels in the opener of a three-game series at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Thursday night.
The Rebels had a 4-2 lead but would not get another run the rest of the evening in suffering the loss, which drops the team to 27-25 overall and 11-11 in the Mountain West Conference. SDSU evened its record at 26-26 and 11-11 in league play with the win, and coupled with BYU (24-8, 11-11 MWC) winning earlier today, there is now a three-way tie for third with two games left in the regular season. Utah (22-25, 10-12) beat New Mexico (34-18, 13-8), which means the Utes are a game back of the trio in third place, while the Lobos wrapped up second place in the league despite the loss.
UNLV trailed 2-0 entering the fourth inning but used the big rally to jump out into the lead, with Jarred Frierson playing a big role in the frame. Following an RBI double by Richie Jimenez for the Rebels' first run, Hunter Beaty was hit by a pitch, putting two men on for Frierson. The senior laced a double to left center that scored both runners, giving his team a 3-2 lead, and he would move up to third on a throwing error. Frierson would then score on a wild pitch, extending the lead to a pair of runs.
SDSU center fielder Cory Vaughn hit a solo home run to pull his team to within one in the bottom of the fourth, and then the Aztecs regained the lead with a three-run fifth inning. Following an RBI double, Blair Moore hit a two-run single to left field, making the score 6-4. San Diego State would tack on single runs in the seventh and eighth innings for the game's final margin.
Frierson finished the game with a trio of hits while Nolan Clark also had three hits for the Rebels, who collected 11 as a team while they also committed one error. Tanner Peters (6-5) took the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits in five innings of work. SDSU had 11 hits overall, with Mitch Blackburn going 4-for-4 with two RBI and a run.
The Rebels and Aztecs continue their series Friday, with the first pitch from Tony Gwynn Stadium set for 6:00 p.m. (PT).
