Stephen F. Austin
UNLV
'Jacks Drop Series Opener To UNLV
4/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 8, 2008
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The SFA outhit its opponent for the fourth consecutive game on Tuesday, but could not push enough across the plate as the UNLV Rebels scored three runs apiece in both the third and seventh innings to steal a 6-5 win over the `Jacks at Jaycees Field.
SFA (13-17, 3-8) used seven pitchers on the afternoon, six of them after starter Erik Gregersen exited with two outs in the fifth inning. Four `Jacks -Kai Kirby, Justin Roland, Matt Whatley and Alex Moshier - had two hits apiece hits for SFA, but the Rebels' (14-15, 504 MWC) Xavier Scruggs made his only hit of the day a timely one when he smashed a two-run double in the sixth to give UNLV the lead. Michael Brenly singled through the left side one batter later to score Scruggs in what proved to be the winning run.
Kyle Watson faced two batters in the seventh inning and shouldered his second loss of the year. Troy Watson went 2 2/3 innings for UNLV and picked up his second win of the year, while Adam Moser recorded his fourth save of the season.
SFA loaded the bases with less than two outs in both the first and second innings, but could only muster one run apiece in each frame. After Justin Roland had a bases loaded single to score Kirby and give SFA an early lead, UNLV starter Stephen Singer got Noel Trevino to ground into an inning-ending double play on a 1-1 pitch.
The second inning could be deemed even more frustrating as the `Jacks loaded the bases with nobody out when Moshier beat out an intended sacrifice bunt for a single. Jeff Brewer then drove Whatley home from third with a sacrifice fly to right field, but Brian Ferguson was tagged out at third base trying to advance. Kirby would then ground out one batter later and the `Jacks had to settle for a 2-0 lead heading into the third.
Gregersen then struggled in the top of the third after only allowing one batter to reach base in the first two innings. Bryan Resnick and J. J. Sferra had back-to-back singles with one out, but it looked like Gregersen might get out of the inning after striking out Scruggs for the second out; however, Brenly then followed with a walk and Brewer let a grounder off the bat of Braden Walker go through his legs at shortstop that scored a pair of runs and gave UNLV its first lead of the day at 3-2.
SFA manufactured a run to tie it up in the fifth, with Kirby walking to lead off and then promptly stealing second base for his first of two steals on the day. He moved to third on a fly out by Kevin Crabtree and then Sean Meyers drove in the tying run with a groundout to first base.
Erich Lehmann, who entered in relief of Gregersen, got UNLV to sit down in order in the sixth before he was lifted to start the seventh.
Watson then came in and allowed the first two batters he faced to reach base before Scruggs and Brenly delivered the go-ahead blows.
Justin Roland sparked a rally in the eighth for SFA with a one-out single and moved up a base on a wild pitch. After Trevino struck out, Whatley lined a double into the right-field corner to score Roland from second and made the score 6-5 when Brian Ferguson followed with an RBI-single of his own. Unfortunatley for SFA, pinch runner Gabriel Garcia-Serrano was thrown out trying to steal second base with pinch hitter Kevin Croft standing at the plate.
SFA finishes out its series with UNLV on Wednesday with a 1:00 p.m. start time scheduled from Jaycees Field.
-SFA-
