April 2, 2005
LAS VEGAS - UNLV took advantage of some wildness on the part of San Diego State starting pitcher Alex Hinshaw and then touched up the SDSU bullpen late in the game as the Rebels recorded a 10-4 win over the Aztecs Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas. The win kept UNLV (13-18, 7-1 MWC) level atop the conference standings with Brigham Young while San Diego State (7-19, 2-3 MWC) fell into fourth place in the league standings.
After the Rebels took a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the second, SDSU tied the game with two of its own in the next inning. Quintin Berry doubled with one out and came home on James Guerrero's single to center. Brock Ungricht's single sent Guerrero to third, and he scored on a balk by UNLV starter Koji Pupo.
The Aztecs took a 3-2 lead with a run in the fifth as a single by Ungricht brought home Berry, who had walked to open the inning.
That lead was short-lived, however, as the home side struck for three in the bottom of the inning. A double and two hit batters loaded the bases, setting the stage for a sacrifice fly by Justin Tellam and a two-out two-RBI double by Chris Bonnell to make it a 5-3 ball game.
That lead was extended in the next frame on a two-run homer by third baseman Mike Cruz, his first of the year. It also marked the end of the day for Hinshaw, who suffered the loss to fall to 1-6. Five of the seven runs allowed by Hinshaw on the afternoon were scored by runners who had reached base either via a walk of hit by pitch.
The Aztecs closed to 7-4 with a run in the seventh as Jordan Swaydan single home Lance Zawadzki from second base. But UNLV added three to their total in the eighth off reliever Joel Matthews to put the game away.
UNLV starter Koji Pupo tossed six innings, giving up three runs (two earned) while striking out four to improve to 3-0 on the season. Right-hander Alex Chalmant, who went the final two frames, picked up his first save.
For San Diego State, Quintin Berry, James Guerrero, Jordan Swaydan and Brock Ungricht recorded two hits apiece. With a double and a single, Berry extended his hitting streak to 15 games, longest on the squad this season.
The Aztecs and Rebels wrap up their three-game series on Sunday (Apr. 3) at 1:00 p.m. in Las Vegas. Junior lefty Ben Coon (1-1, 4.55) will get the start for SDSU with right-hander Derek Rodriguez (1-4, 4.86) expected to go for UNLV.
UNLV 10, San Diego State 4SDSU 002 010 100 - 4 11 2UNLV 020 032 03x - 10 9 3Hinshaw, Douglas (6), Bruckart (7), Matthews (8) and SwaydanPupo, Navarro (7), Chalmant (8) and TellamW - Pupo (3-0)L - Hinshaw (1-6)Sv - Chalmant (1)HR - UNLV: Cruz (1)Time - 3:19Att. - 412