Ron Kantowski on a series that will prepare UNLV for the meat of its schedule

Monday, Feb. 12, 2007 | 7:17 a.m.

Minutes - now there's a word not often associated with college baseball - after UNLV defeated No. 12 Cal State Fullerton 11-10 to salvage the final game of a weekend series at Wilson Stadium, Rebels coach Buddy Gouldsmith tried to put the victory into perspective before perspective was called on account of darkness. Or at least became shrouded by it.

"Sunday is the most important day in college baseball," he said. "But whether that's a rolling point or not, I don't know."

It took the Rebels 3 hours and 52 minutes - or roughly the time required for Bob Gibson to pitch three complete games back in the day - to reach a potential rolling point against one of college baseball's preeminent programs.

Cal State Fullerton has won the College World Series twice in recent memory and lost in the championship game once. The Titans have been down the road to Omaha so often that the waiters and waitresses know how they like their steaks.

Winning a series against Fullerton, whose fans outnumbered UNLV's by about 2-to-1, is well, in keeping with the meat theme rare. But with a timely hit here or there, the Rebels might have been in position to apply the Worcestershire sauce.

They lost 5-4 Friday, but had the winning run aboard when Keith Smith, arguably their best hitter, bounced into a double play to end the game. Saturday wasn't as close as Fullerton won 13-4 and Sunday started downright ugly for the Rebels.

Their starting pitcher, Kevin Skogley, was roughed up for four runs in just one-plus inning. He walked three, threw two wild pitches and hit two more batters, rekindling memories of Steve Blass, the ex-Pirates ace who took the mound one day only to discover that he had forgotten how to pitch.

It seemed the Rebels were trying to overcome a three-run deficit all day. They trailed 3-0 and 4-1 and, after taking the lead in the middle innings, 10-7.

But this was Sunday - the most important day in college baseball. The Rebels weren't going to go quietly.

After the game, Gouldsmith said he was changing his philosophy. The Rebels aren't going to throw all their eggs into the Friday night basket anymore.

Instead, they threw five goose eggs into the Titans' basket on Sunday, as their relief pitching and left fielder Blake Gailen, who went 5-for-5, kept them in the game. Then UNLV began whittling away like an old man with a pocketknife on the front porch. They scored a run in the first. Three in the third. Two in the fourth. One in the fifth. One in the sixth. Two in the eight. And, finally, two in the ninth.

UNLV scored the winning run on a balk. Fullerton pitcher Bryan Harris, who at the start of the day was a third baseman, failed to pause in his delivery with the winning run perched on third base. At least I think the winning run was on third base, because it was almost too dark to tell.

It wasn't quite as dramatic as Gabby Hartnett's "Homer in the Gloamin' " that carried the Chicago Cubs to the 1938 National League pennant. But if you are one of the 200 or so Rebels fans who cares, it just might be the start of something.