The Hustlin’ Rebels did not stay down for long Tuesday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
After Northern Colorado grabbed an early lead, the Rebels erupted for five runs in the second inning and rolled to an 11-1 win in seven innings at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. As a result, UNLV moved to 10-3 and snapped its one-game skid. Northern Colorado fell to 0-13.
The Rebels scored 11 runs on five hits and did not commit an error. Northern Colorado finished with nine hits and no errors.
The swing inning
Northern Colorado struck first in the second. Ethan Mooser and Sam Pease opened the inning with singles, and Brett Barber followed with an RBI single to center to make it 1-0.
Then the bottom half turned into a free-pass parade.
Nin Burns II walked to start it, and Jack Salmon added a single. Soon after, a wild pitch brought home Cooper Sheff to tie the game. Another wild pitch and more pressure followed, and Jayden Hertel drew a bases-loaded walk to push UNLV ahead 2-1.
After that, a passed ball brought home Gavin Taylor for an unearned run. With the inning still rolling, Drew Barragan delivered the biggest swing of the frame, a two-run single that scored Gunnar Myro and Hertel and made it 5-1.
Northern Colorado starter Lucas Stone took the loss. He lasted 1.2 innings and was charged with five runs, four earned, while issuing six walks.
Piling on with patience
The Hustlin’ Rebels kept forcing the issue in the third. Jonny Rodriguez singled, and the Rebels again leaned on their discipline. Taylor drew an RBI walk to make it 6-1, and then Myro’s double-play ball still brought home Sheff to stretch the lead to 7-1.
In the fourth, Marcos Rosales provided the loudest contact of the night. He homered to deep left for a solo shot that pushed the lead to 8-1.
UNLV put the game away in the fifth with three more runs. Hertel worked another RBI walk to make it 9-1. Next, Rosales singled to left to score Taylor. Barragan followed with a sacrifice fly to center to bring home Myro and finish the scoring at 11-1.
The Rebs drew 15 walks. All nine starters reached via a walk at least once.
Lueck steadied it, bullpen finished
Reese Lueck earned the win after settling in following the early traffic. He threw 5.0 innings, allowing one run on eight hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
After that, LJ Manning handled the sixth with a scoreless inning and two strikeouts. Colton Sundloff worked a clean seventh to close out the run-rule win.
Rosales went 2-for-2 with a homer, a single, two RBI, and two walks. Barragan drove in three with a two-run single and a sacrifice fly. Hertel finished with two RBI without a hit, drawing two bases-loaded walks.
Up next
UNLV will host Northern Colorado again Wednesday, March 4 at 12:05 p.m. PT.
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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.
