Momentum Escapes as UNLV Wins, 13-11

PROVO -- Trent Kitsch's three-run double in the eighth inning Saturday led UNLV to a 13-11 victory and three-game sweep over BYU.

Kitsch had been held in check all afternoon until his one-out double to right center field off closer Nate Fernley turned the Cougars from an 11-9 lead. The Rebels loaded the bases for Kitsch when John Cruz beat out a bunt and Fernley's toss to third baseman Kainoa Obrey was dropped in the tag attempt of pinch-runner Garett Shitanishi.

BYU tried to seize momentum several times during the game. The Cougars had a 2-0 lead after the first inning, increased it to 4-2 after the second and 6-2 after the third. UNLV captured the lead in the fifth when Adam Manley's one-out single drove in a pair of runs.

Tyler Perry's diving stop at second base in the sixth inning sparked the Cougars who rallied in the bottom half of that inning. Kainoa Obrey's bad hop two-run single in the sixth returned the lead to BYU at 10-9, followed by Perry's third RBI of the day to score Matt Carson for the final Cougar run.

Cruz made a diving catch in center field to put out Michael Davies in the eighth inning.

"All seemed to fall apart today," said BYU Coach Vance Law. "We battled well at the plate and played some good defense, but we got some balls up on our pitching. We didn't do a good job of keeping the momentum on our side."

The game was delayed 30 minutes in starting due to rain.

The Cougars are mired in a season-low five-game losing streak with a 22 20 overall record and 10-8 in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV improved to 13-25 and 6-10 with a six-game winning streak.

BYU next travels to the Air Force Academy following final exams to start a three-game series on Friday.

The Automated ScoreBook
                  UNLV Rebels at Brigham Young Univ. (Game 1)
                  Apr 15, 2000 at Provo, Utah (Cougar Stadium)
UNLV Rebels 13 (13-25,6-10 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
OKUDA, Cody 2b...........  5  0  0  0   0  1  2  2   1
CRUZ, John cf............  6  2  2  0   0  0  6  0   2
KITSCH, Trent 1b.........  4  1  2  3   0  1  8  1   0
KAUP, Nate dh............  5  1  1  0   0  2  0  0   0
MANLEY, Adam rf..........  4  3  2  1   1  1  0  0   1
SEYBERT, Denny lf........  4  4  4  3   0  0  2  0   0
STRONG, Zach 3b..........  3  0  2  2   1  1  0  1   2
BEASLEY, Brad c..........  4  0  1  1   0  1  4  1   0
 SHITANISHI, Garett pr...  0  1  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 BETTS, Harold c.........  1  0  1  1   0  0  2  0   0
MALOFF, Brad ss..........  4  1  0  0   0  1  2  3   1
FAIRBANKS, Justin p......  0  0  0  0   0  0  1  2   0
 WATTS, Donnie p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MARTIN, C.J. p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 McCULLOCH, Andy p.......  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
Totals................... 40 13 15 11   2  8 27 11   7
Brigham Young Univ. 11 (22-20,10-8 MWC)
Player                    AB  R  H RBI BB SO PO  A LOB
------------------------------------------------------
WHITLEY, Aaron dh........  6  0  1  1   0  2  0  0   0
PETERSON, Craig 1b.......  2  3  1  0   2  0 15  0   0
DAY, Nick lf.............  3  2  0  0   1  0  0  0   1
DAVIES, Michael c........  3  2  0  1   0  0  7  3   0
CARSON, Matt rf..........  2  1  0  0   3  0  0  0   0
OBREY, Kainoa 3b.........  4  1  3  4   1  1  1  4   1
 JACKSON, DJ pr..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 MATHIS, Nate 3b.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
BELLISTON, Shane cf......  5  1  2  1   0  1  0  0   3
PERRY, Tyler 2b..........  3  1  2  3   0  0  3  2   0
 COUGHLAN, Cameron ph....  1  0  0  0   0  1  0  0   0
KING, Seth ss............  5  0  0  0   0  1  1  6   3
RAY, James p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
 NOORDA, Sean p..........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 FERNLEY, Nate p.........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 REX, Matt p.............  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  0   0
 CRUMP, Todd p...........  0  0  0  0   0  0  0  1   0
Totals................... 34 11  9 10   7  6 27 17   8
Score by Innings                    R  H  E
-------------------------------------------
UNLV Rebels......... 020 340 031 - 13 15  3
Brigham Young Univ.. 222 203 000 - 11  9  4
-------------------------------------------
E - STRONG; BEASLEY 2; PETERSON; DAY; DAVIES; KING. DP - BYU Cougars 1. LOB
- UNLV 7; BYU Cougars 8. 2B - KITSCH; SEYBERT; WHITLEY; OBREY; BELLISTON. 3B
- SEYBERT. HBP - KITSCH; SEYBERT; DAVIES 2. SH - OKUDA; STRONG; MALOFF;
PETERSON. SF - PERRY. SB - SEYBERT; PETERSON; DAY. CS - PETERSON. Reached on
CI - DAY.
UNLV Rebels            IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
FAIRBANKS, Justin...  2.1  4  6  5  4  1 10 16
WATTS, Donnie.......  3.0  2  5  3  3  2 10 16
MARTIN, C.J.........  2.1  3  0  0  0  1 10 10
McCULLOCH, Andy.....  1.1  0  0  0  0  2  4  4
Brigham Young Univ.    IP  H  R ER BB SO AB BF
-----------------------------------------------
RAY, James..........  4.1  8  9  7  1  6 21 24
NOORDA, Sean........  2.2  3  2  1  0  2 11 12
FERNLEY, Nate.......  0.2  2  1  1  0  0  3  4
REX, Matt...........  0.1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1
CRUMP, Todd.........  1.0  2  1  1  1  0  4  6
Win - MARTIN (1-2).  Loss - FERNLEY (0-3).  Save - McCULLOCH (3).
WP - WATTS; RAY; NOORDA. HB - FAIRBANKS; WATTS; RAY; NOORDA. BK - RAY. PB -
BEASLEY. CI - BEASLEY.
Umpires - Home:Mike Andrews  1st:Dale Luker  3rd:Ray Belfiore
Start: 12:32   Time: 3:08   Attendance: 372
Game notes:
Game three of three in Provo
NOORDA faced 2 batters in the 8th.