UNLV needed a response after Friday’s shutout.
The Rebels delivered one with a thunderclap.
Gunnar Myro went 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, and UNLV erupted for 10 runs in the eighth inning to beat Southern Illinois 16-8 on Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium. As a result, UNLV improved to 11-5 and climbed back into the win column in Minnesota.
Nin Burns II supplied the loudest line. He went 4-for-6 with a season-high five RBI, including his first homer of the year. Gavin Taylor added his first home run as well, a two-run shot during the eighth-inning avalanche.
Early damage set a 5-0 tone
UNLV attacked right away in the first.
Marcos Rosales walked and scored when Burns singled through the left side for an RBI. Then the second inning turned into controlled chaos.
Taylor came home on a wild pitch. Soon after, Rosales doubled up the middle to score Jack Salmon. Rosales later scored on another wild pitch, and Burns kept pouring it on with an RBI double to left.
Just like that, UNLV led 5-0.
Dillhoff was strong, then the game tightened
Parker Dillhoff gave UNLV the stability it needed. He went 6.1 innings and earned the win to move to 2-0. He allowed three runs on five hits, walked two, and struck out six.
For a while, that cushion looked comfortable.
However, Southern Illinois pushed back in the seventh. A two-run triple cut the lead to 5-2. Then a fielder’s choice RBI made it 5-3, and the dugout got loud.
At that point, UNLV had to answer.
The 10-run eighth broke the whole thing open
UNLV responded with its biggest inning of the season.
Burns opened the eighth with a single, and the Rebels kept stacking baserunners. Salmon punched an RBI single through the right side. Next, Myro singled to right to drive in Jonny Rodriguez.
Then the inning turned into a sprint.
Reggie Bussey drew a bases-loaded walk for an RBI. After that, a wild pitch brought home another run. Ayden Garcia lifted a sacrifice fly to make it 10-3.
The haymakers came next.
Burns crushed a three-run homer to left-center for his first of the season. Soon after, Taylor launched a two-run homer to left-center, his first of the year, and the inning ended with UNLV up 15-3.
UNLV tacked on one more in the ninth when Myro scored on a wild pitch.
Closing it out
Southern Illinois did score three runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth, including a two-run homer. Still, the 10-run burst left no doubt.
Rosales finished 2-for-4 with two runs, a double, and an RBI. Salmon went 2-for-4 with two runs, an RBI, and a walk. Barragan added a 2-for-5 day with two runs scored.
UNLV scored 16 runs on 15 hits. Even so, 13 of those runs came in just two innings, the second and the eighth.
Up next
UNLV closes the Cambria Classic on Sunday, March 8 against Northwestern at 12 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.
