UNLV had a comfortable cushion by the middle innings. Then the ninth turned into a grind.
Still, the Rebels did enough early and did enough late, holding on for a 9-8 win over Austin Peay in Game 1 of Saturday afternoon’s doubleheader at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
Drew Barragan’s go-ahead, two-run homer in the sixth flipped the script. Next, Cody Albright delivered four scoreless innings in relief to put UNLV in position to build separation. Nin Burns II later added a two-run homer in the seventh as the Rebels pushed in front for good.
Austin Peay made it tense at the finish, scoring five runs in the ninth before Jacob Gomberg struck out Zion Taylor for the final out and his first save.
Barragan brings the boom
UNLV struck first in the opening inning. Jack Salmon singled and later scored on Burns’ sacrifice fly to right.
However, Austin Peay answered with a three-run second. The Governors used a sacrifice fly, a bunt single and a sacrifice bunt to take a 3-1 lead.
UNLV chipped back in the third. Ayden Garcia scored an unearned run when Jonny Rodriguez grounded out to short. As a result, the Rebels pulled within 3-2.
From there, the game stayed tight until the sixth. Rodriguez doubled down the right-field line to set the table. Then Barragan launched a two-run homer to deep left, and UNLV moved in front 4-3.
Barragan finished 2-for-4 with a double, a homer and two RBIs. Meanwhile, Burns went 1-for-3 with three RBIs.
Albright delivers the bridge
UNLV needed clean innings after early traffic. Albright delivered them.
After Parker Dillhoff worked four innings and allowed three runs on four hits with three walks and six strikeouts, Albright took over in the fifth. Then he posted four straight scoreless innings, allowing two hits with two walks and three strikeouts to earn the win.
Because of that stretch, UNLV had room to add on. In the seventh, Salmon scored on Garcia’s RBI single through the right side. Next, Burns crushed a two-run homer to left to make it 7-3.
UNLV kept building in the eighth. Barragan doubled, and the Rebels manufactured two more runs, including Salmon’s RBI fielder’s choice and an unearned run that scored on a double play. That pushed the margin to 9-3.
A ninth-inning tightrope
Then the ninth inning turned chaotic.
Cal Barna faced three hitters and did not record an out. He was charged with four runs, and four wild pitches helped Austin Peay surge back into it. Colton Sundloff followed and allowed another run while issuing two walks and hitting a batter.
Austin Peay kept taking bases, and the deficit shrank to 9-8. At that point, Gomberg entered and struck out Taylor to end it.
Salmon went 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and he stole two bases. Garcia reached base four times, going 1-for-2 with three walks, two runs and an RBI.
UNLV improved to 2-0. Austin Peay dropped to 0-2.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
