COLLEGE BASEBALL / BIG WEST CONFERENCE : Long Beach State Defeats UNLV

Now, that was Long Beach State baseball the way it used to be.

The 49ers stole bases, played smooth defense, got solid pitching and timely hitting Saturday night in a 10-2 victory over Nevada Las Vegas in Big West Conference action in front of 942 at Blair Field.

Long Beach (29-19-1, 15-5 in the Big West) has an eight-game winning streak. After hovering around .500 for much of the season, Long Beach has again found the formula that made it one of the nation’s top programs under Coach Dave Snow.

The 49ers took control Saturday night with five runs in the second inning, highlighted by Will Skett’s grand slam. That was more than enough support for starter Kyle Wilson (10-2).

Wilson, a right-hander, kept UNLV (32-18, 11-9) off balance for seven innings with sharp breaking pitches. He gave up 10 hits but only one for extra bases, Ryan Hankins’ double in the fourth inning.

Skett set the tone by driving a pitch from UNLV starter Dennis DeMartini (7-7) over the left-field wall. It was Skett’s third homer of the season and Long Beach’s third grand slam.

Long Beach sent 10 batters to the plate against DeMartini in the inning. He pitched seven innings, striking out seven and giving up 10 runs on 12 hits.

DeMartini walked seven and hit two batters in the second, including Nic Frank. It was the 29th time Frank has been hit by a pitch in his career, breaking the school record of Lamar Rogers.

Long Beach received great performances from the bottom of its lineup. Frank, who bats ninth, was three for three with three runs batted in and one stolen base.

Jason Knupfer, who bats eighth, was one for two with a single, two walks, two stolen bases and three runs. Jeff Liefer, who bats third, was three for five with a double, two singles and an RBI.

UNLV took a 1-0 lead in the second. Hank Crosby began the inning with a walk, went to second on Ryan Plughoff’s single and scored on Ted Wilkes’ single.

However, the 49ers got off easy. Wilson hit Stacy Kleiner to load the bases and then faced Hankins, who leads the Rebels with a .405 average. Hankins chased a low pitch for the final out.