April 12, 2014
Final Stats
By Paul Delos Santos
Special to UNLVRebels.com
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV junior pitcher John Richy threw his third complete game of the season and fourth of his career, leading No. 17/20 UNLV baseball (25-10/13-4 Mountain West) to a 2-1 victory over San Jose State (10-25/5-12 MW) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Richy (6-2) notched his seventh quality start of the season, as he scattered 10 hits and struck out nine in the game. He did not surrender a walk, and has allowed just one free pass in his past 25 1/3 innings while tallying 30 strikeouts.
With the win, the Rebels, who are ranked No. 17 by Perfect Game and No. 20 by Baseball America, move to 15-1 at Wilson Stadium this season.
UNLV got the scoring started in the fourth inning when Morgan Stotts singled home Erik VanMeetren. San Jose State leveled the game in the top half of the fifth after Andre Mercurio smacked a double down the right field line, allowing Alec De Watteville to score from second.
The Spartans had a prime opportunity to take the lead in the sixth inning with runners on second and third with one out, but Richy worked out of the jam. He struck out Matt Carroll and forced Brett Bautista to fly out to right to end the threat.
San Jose State threatened again in the top half of the eighth with runners on the corners with one out. Richy worked out of the situation, inducing an inning-ending double play.
UNLV reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of the eighth. Patrick Armstrong hit a one-out triple to right center and then Johnathan Torres came in to pinch run for Armstrong. Torres scored two batters later after VanMeetren hit a ground-rule double to left field.
Richy returned to the mound for the ninth inning, striking out the final two batters to secure his sixth victory of the year.
Stotts and VanMeetren each tallied two hits and an RBI apiece to lead the Rebels from the plate.
The two teams will meet again 1:05 p.m. Sunday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, as UNLV will look for the sweep of SJSU. Fans can watch a live stream of the game on UNLVRebels.com. Bryan Bonnell (4-2, 1.61 ERA) is expected to be on the mound for UNLV, while Logan Handzlik (2-1, 4.43 ERA) is scheduled to go for San Jose State.
Fans can purchase their tickets to any home games online and save money. Visit UNLVtickets.com to purchase a ticket for just $5 and select the "Free Will Call" option. The deal expires three hours before the first pitch of every home game. Prices for individual games are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors and $5 for groups of 15 or more (group tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance for the game). Children 12 and under and UNLV students with a valid student I.D. are free.
