Las Vegas got another loud Saturday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. UNLV gave the crowd a lead, gave them some nerves, and then gave them a finish that felt inevitable once the eighth inning arrived.
UNLV scored seven times in the bottom of the eighth and beat San Jose State 15-8 on Saturday. The Rebels followed Friday’s 18-run outburst with another 15 on 15 hits. As a result, they secured their first Mountain West series win of the season.
How it went down
San Jose State scored first, and it did it without needing much contact. Two runs came home in the first inning on wild pitches, so UNLV was down 2-0 before it even hit.
However, the game flipped in the third. Gunnar Myro singled to start the rally, and then Reggie Bussey was hit by a pitch. Next, Marcos Rosales roped a two-run double to tie it at 2-2. After that, Drew Barragan added an RBI double to push UNLV in front. Cooper Sheff then capped the inning with a two-run double, and the Rebels suddenly led 5-2.
UNLV added another run in the fourth. Ayden Garcia lifted a sacrifice fly, so the lead grew to 6-2. Meanwhile, the Spartans kept chasing. They scored an unearned run in the fifth, and then added another in the sixth, so the margin shrank to 6-4.
Still, UNLV answered right away. In the bottom of the sixth, Garcia drove in a run with an RBI double. Then Jayden Hertel followed with an RBI single, and the Rebels pushed the lead back to 8-4.
Then the game turned again in the eighth. San Jose State rallied to tie it at 8-8, and Alex Fernandes hit a two-run homer to right as the big swing.
Instead of wobbling, UNLV hit back harder. Hertel opened the response with an RBI single. Soon after, Jack Salmon drew a bases-loaded walk. Myro followed with a two-run single, which put UNLV back in control. From there, the Rebels kept stacking runs. Rosales, Barragan, and Garcia each worked a bases-loaded walk, and the inning snowballed into seven runs.
Finally, Colton Sundloff handled the ninth and closed it out.
Vegas-worthy numbers
Rosales is now hitting .365 on the season, and his night did not hurt that mark. He went 2-for-3 with a two-run double, three RBI, and three walks. Myro went 3-for-5 with two RBI, and he delivered the two-run single that separated the game in the eighth. Barragan finished 3-for-5 with two RBI, while Garcia went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Hertel also drove in two, and UNLV had RBIs from seven different players overall.
Up next
UNLV goes for the sweep on Sunday, March 29 at 12:05 p.m. PT vs San Jose State at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
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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.
