April 14, 2001
SAN DIEGO - Sophomore right-hander Rory Shortell improved to 6-1 on the year by allowing only three hits and one run in eight innings of work during San Diego State's 11-1 win over UNLV on Saturday at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
Shortell's effort helped the Aztecs improve to 23-15 on the year and 12-5 in Mountain West Conference play, and dropped the Rebels to 15-23 overall and 6-11 in conference.
With one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth and SDSU leading, 4-0, designated hitter Darrell Bowles scored second baseman Carlo Cota with a sacrifice fly. Third baseman Pilar Amaya then busted the game wide open with a three-run home run to right field, his third of the year. Amaya's blast extended the Aztecs' lead to 8-0.
SDSU added three more runs in the bottom of the seventh to extend its lead to 11-0, before UNLV shortstop Ryan Ruiz ripped a home run over the left-center field fence to help the Rebels avoid the shutout.
Amaya led the offensive charge for the Aztecs, going 2-for-3 with a home run and five runs batted in. Both Cota and first baseman Rielly Embrey went 4-for-5 with an RBI, and right fielder Sean Pierce extended his hitting streak to 10 games by going 2-for-5 with a run scored.
SDSU improved to 5-0 against UNLV this season, and has won seven of the last eight meetings between the two squads, dating back to last season. In the five Aztec-Rebel matchups this year, the SDSU pitching staff has combined to strike out 57 batters in 45 innings (1.27 per inning) and has limited UNLV to 25 hits in 158 at-bats (.158 avg.).
The Aztecs and Rebels will play the series finale at 2 p.m. tomorrow at Tony Gwynn Stadium, with SDSU going for the series sweep.