UNLV baseball falters vs. UNR

When UNLV designated hitter Trent Kitsch made contact with Nevada-Reno reliever George Mason's 0-1 curveball in the ninth inning, the ball had enough lift on it to give Rebel fans and players hope that it would sail over the rightfield wall.

But just like UNLV's late rally, Kitsch's ball never made it.

UNR freshman starter Mateo Miramontes allowed three hits, three earned runs and struck out seven in seven-plus innings to help the Wolf Pack to a 6-5 win over the Rebels at Earl Wilson Stadium Monday afternoon.

Miramontes struggled early, walking three in UNLV's three-run third inning, before retiring 14 straight batters. Miramontes (4-1) picked up the win while UNLV starter Jared Bonnell (2-2) got the loss.

"Their kid did a good job, kept us out of rhythm," UNLV coach Rod Soesbe said. "We hit him early because he didn't have his command, but we let him get off the hook.

"After he got out of those first couple of innings, he pitched really well. He was changing speeds well, locating, and we didn't make real good adjustments to him offensively."

UNLV second baseman Garrett Shitanishi was the only Rebel who had multiple hits. He was 3-for-4 with two runs scored.

Down 6-3 entering the ninth, the Rebels staged a brief comeback.

Soesbe inserted George Fletcher to pinch-hit for Brad Beasley to start the inning and Fletcher singled. After a groundout, Shitanishi singled and Brent Johnson walked. David Trujillo singled in Fletcher and Shitanishi with Kitsch on deck. Kitsch ripped Mason's pitch high into the air, but it wound up in the glove of the rightfielder.

"I hit it well, but it was a curveball so it had that topspin on it," Kitsch said. "I didn't drive through it to create that backspin for the home run.

"And it just went up and down, and I just went back hoping it would go out."

The loss snapped UNLV's five-game winning streak. The Rebels fell to 11-12 overall, while UNR improved to 10-12.

archive