May 6, 2010
Final Stats
LAS VEGAS - UNLV freshman R.J. Arnold broke a tie with a two-run single, reliever Brady Zuniga worked four scoreless innings and the Rebels beat BYU 12-6 to open up their Mountain West Conference series Thursday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Arnold singled to right field, scoring two runs and breaking a six-all tie to propel the Rebels to the victory. The two-run margin would be more than enough for Zuniga, who did not give up a hit, struck out six and walked two in earning the win to move to 5-0 on the year.
The Rebels moved to 25-19 overall and 9-7 in MWC games in winning their fourth in a row, while BYU dropped to 19-25 and 6-10 in league games.
Arnold then gave the Rebels some insurance in the bottom of the eighth, hitting a two-run double with the bases loaded, part of a four-run frame that pushed the lead to six runs at 12-6. It capped a big night for Arnold, who went 3-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and a run scored.
UNLV starter Tanner Peters was cruising early on, giving up a run over the first three innings getting two quick outs to start the fourth before he ran into trouble. He gave up a single and then two walks to load the bases, and then the first run of the inning scored on a wild pitch, making it 3-2. Dane Nielsen then hit a two-run single that gave the Cougars a one-run lead, and Brandon Relf followed with a single that scored a run, making it a 5-3 game.
The Rebels answered in their half of the fourth, pushing three runs across the plate, with the big hit of the inning a two-run triple off the bat of Hunter Beaty that went all the way to the wall. Beaty trotted home on an RBI infield single by Brandon Bayardi for a 6-5 UNLV advantage.
It would be short lived, as the Cougars got to Peters again in the top of the fifth, taking advantage of his wildness to tie the game on a wild pitch, and that inning would be Peters' last. The sophomore right-hander gave up six runs on seven hits, striking out three and walking three in the no decision.
UNLV first baseman Kyle Kretchmer hit a two-run single in the first inning to give his team its first lead of the game, and after the Cougars got a run in the top of the second, the Rebels got another run in the second on a fielder's choice. Kretchmer finished with two hits and Beaty collected a pair as well as the Rebels finished with 13 base knocks overall. BYU had seven hits to score its runs, while the Cougars committed four errors and the Rebels had two errors.
UNLV and BYU continue their series Friday, with the first pitch at Earl E. Wilson Stadium set for 7:00 p.m. (PT) and the Rebels will send Matt Hutchison to the mound opposite of Chris Capper for the Cougars.
