UNLV notebook: Rebel baseball salvages tie vs. Japanese team

Thursday, March 15, 2001 | 9:37 a.m.

UNLV's baseball team learned firsthand just how good collegiate baseball is in Japan. Hosei University of Tokyo played the Rebels to a 2-2 tie in a hastily scheduled exhibition game Wednesday night at Wilson Stadium.

Hosei pitchers Satoru Fujji and Takayuki Yamamoto combined to strike out 12 Rebels batters in nine innings. Fujji fanned seven in 5 1/3 innings while Yamamoto set down five in 3 2/3 innings of relief.

UNLV head coach Rod Soesbe used the exhibition to work out his bullpen as seven Rebels pitchers took the mound.

Brent Johnson was 2-for-4 with a single and a double for UNLV and Joe Jacobitz went 1-for-4 with an RBI triple.

The Hosei University baseball team, whose head coach is the coach of the Japanese national team, is playing several collegiate teams in the United States this month.

Hosei University is part of the Tokyo "Big Six" University Baseball League, the most popular collegiate baseball league in Japan. Other universities making up the Big Six are Keio, Meiji, Rikkyo, University of Tokyo, and Waseda.

UNLV junior Lorena Diaconescu will compete in three freestyle events at the women's championships, which begins today at the Nassau County Aquatic Center on Long Island, N.Y. Diaconescu will compete in the 100 free, where she is seeded 11th, the 200 free, where she is the eighth seed, and the 500 free.

The Rebels' Piotr Krzyskow, Andrew Livingston, Jacint Simon and Garrett Wood will compete in the men's championships, which will be held March 22-2 at the Recreation Natatorium in College Station, Texas.

Krzyskow will swim in the 50 and 100 free and the 100 butterfly; he is seeded 12th in the 100 free and 14th in the 50 free.

Livingston will compete in the 200 fly, where he is seeded eighth, and the 100 fly. Simon will compete in the 200 and 500 free and Wood will swim in the 50 and 100 free.

Finals in the hammer throw, the long jump and the shot put will begin at 2:30 p.m. on Friday. All other events are scheduled for Saturday, with field events beginning at 10 a.m. and running events at 11 a.m.

Following its home opener, UNLV heads to Palo Alto, Calif., for the Stanford Invitational on March 31 and April 1.

The Rebels (14-11) played Arizona this afternoon and will conclude pool play on Friday at 1 p.m. against Louisiana-Lafayette. Championship bracket play begins Friday night and concludes Sunday.