Feb. 28, 2004

Final Stats

LAS VEGAS - Michigan State baseball dropped its first game of the season in an 8-3 loss to UNLV in Las Vegas Saturday, Feb. 28. The Spartans fell to 1-1 on the season after posting a 7-6 victory over the Rebels to open the season on Feb. 27.

Freshman catcher Sean Walker (Round Lake, Ill.) and junior center fielder Travis Gulick (East Lansing, Mich.) paced the Spartan offensive attack, with each going 2-for-4 at the plate and scoring one run apiece. Walker hit two doubles into the center-field alley. Junior first baseman Erik Morris (Orchard Lake, Mich.) went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer over the right-field fence. Morris started the first game of the series behind the plate but moved to first base with senior Scott Koerber (Harper Woods, Mich.) starting on the mound Saturday. Koerber (0-1), making his first collegiate start as a pitcher, had not pitched since the 2002 season when he made eight relief appearances and worked 7.2 innings.

A 15 mph breeze proved to be one of the toughest opponents of the day as the desert wind kicked up throughout the course of the game.

"We are disappointed with the loss," MSU head coach Ted Mahan said. "The wind was really a factor today. All three of our relievers threw well, so that's encouraging. Offensively, we've just got to work harder to make something happen."

UNLV started left-hander and this week's Mountain West Pitcher of the Week Jake Vose (2-1), who allowed three runs and six hits and struck out four batters in seven innings of work. Right-hander Matt Minor closed out for the Rebels, striking out three in two innings on the mound.

Two errors early in the second allowed the Rebels to put runners in scoring position as they jumped to an early 2-0 lead. UNLV catcher Justin Tellam provided an RBI double and first baseman Eddie Gill got the other run home on a grounder to first base.

Spartan fifth-year senior Adam White (Jenison, Mich.) made his season-debut on the mound in the fourth inning. White surrendered one run on two hits while striking out three in three innings of work.

The Spartans got on the scoreboard in the fifth as left fielder Ryan Basham (Lowell, Ind.) doubled home Walker, who started the rally with a double.

Trailing 8-1, Gulick opened the sixth inning with a single down the left-field line. Morris then stepped to the plate and deposited a 2-and-2 pitch over the right-field fence for his first home run of the season, pulling the Spartans to within five at 8-3. Michigan State Baseball Suffers First Loss Of Season At UNLV, 8-3 - 2

Sophomore Jeremy Dow (Sunfield, Mich.) pitched the seventh inning, striking out one in his first appearance of the season, and freshman Clay Kovac (Mundelein, Ill.) made his collegiate debut in the eighth and fanned two batters.

Michigan State could not find its rhythm in the batters box, totaling just six hits after amassing 10 hits in Friday's season opener.

The Spartans conclude the three-game series against the Rebels Sunday, Feb. 29 1 p.m. PST at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas. The action can be heard live on the Internet at unlvrebels.com.