Baseball rallies in Las Vegas


By From staff and wire reports
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday, April 15, 2004

The Wildcat baseball team rallied from a six-run deficit to edge UNLV 10-9 yesterday in Las Vegas, earning a two-game sweep of the Rebels.

Sophomore first baseman Jordan Brown continued his hitting onslaught, going 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a home run in the sixth inning to ignite the Wildcats' seven-run rally.

Brown led off the sixth with a solo shot to cut UNLV's lead to 9-4. Sophomore catcher Nick Hundley's one-out single drove in sophomore outfielder Trevor Crowe later in the inning to pull Arizona (18-15-1, 5-4 Pacific 10 Conference) to within four.

The Wildcats scored another pair in the seventh, as a one-out RBI single by Brown plated John Hardy, and an error by Rebel shortstop Peter White plated third baseman Brad Boyer to close the gap to 9-7.

Arizona completed its rally in the eighth. Infielder Moises Duran followed a Hundley leadoff triple with a pinch-hit RBI single, and a double by Hardy and two-out single by junior right fielder Jeff Van Houten drove in the game's final two runs. Van Houten went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a stolen base.

The Wildcats overcame a poor outing by Kevin Guyette. The sophomore lasted just four innings, yielding six earned runs on eight hits and three walks.

Sophomore Luis Cortez (3-3) picked up the win by pitching a hitless seventh. Junior Derek Rodriguez notched his sixth save of the season, holding the Rebels (22-13) scoreless in the final two innings.

Rebel reliever Ben Scheinbaum (2-3) picked up the loss. Scheinbaum gave up four runs - three earned - in two innings of work.

After the Wildcats enjoyed a 3-2 lead after 2 1/2 innings, UNLV scored a run in the bottom of the third to tie the game. The Rebels took the lead with a pair of runs in the fourth and plated four more in the fifth to take a 9-3 advantage.

Crowe, Hundley and freshman leftfielder Bill Rhinehart tallied two hits apiece for Arizona, which out-hit UNLV 15-14. The Wildcats grabbed five extra-base hits, including a pair of doubles by Crowe and a triple by Hundley.

Arizona comes back home for a three-game series with UT Pan-American. Game one is tomorrow night at 7 at Sancet Stadium.