April 15, 2001
SAN DIEGO - A four-run fifth inning by the UNLV baseball team propelled the Rebels to a 6-3 win over San Diego State on Sunday at Tony Gwynn Stadium.
UNLV improved to 16-23 overall and 7-11 in Mountain West Conference play, while SDSU fell to 23-16 and 12-6 in conference.
The Aztecs jumped on the board first, scoring two runs in the first inning on a two-out bases-loaded single by Chad Redfern that scored shortstop Taber Lee. SDSU first baseman Cody Haven was then hit by a pitch, scoring second baseman Carlo Cota. Rebel starter Courtney Hall got the next batter, Aztec third baseman Pilar Amaya, to ground out to second baseman Garrett Shitanishi, who flipped the ball to shortstop Ryan Ruiz to get UNLV out of the inning.
From that point on, Hall kept SDSU without a run until the seventh inning, when Aztec right fielder Sean Pierce singled in left fielder Andy Litteral.
Pierce extended his hitting streak to 11 games and led the charge offensively for SDSU, going 3-for-5 with a stolen base and an RBI. Both Redfern and Litteral added 2-for-4 efforts, but with the exception of those three, the rest of the Aztec lineup combined to record only two hits in 22 at-bats.
Even in defeat, SDSU's bullpen continued to shine, as Jon Minter, Ben Julianel, Chris Hartshorn and Royce Ring combined to hold the Rebels to two hits and one unearned run in 4 1/3 innings of work. The quartet struck out seven batters without allowing a walk.
The Aztecs take a break from Mountain West Conference play at 3 p.m. this Tuesday, when they go across town to square off with the University of San Diego.