NCAA baseball

UNLV fades late in 13-3 loss at Nevada as Wolf Pack pulls away

UNLV 13-3 loss flipped in the middle innings after the Rebels briefly led in the fourth. Nevada answered with a grand slam, piled on late, and ended it in eight.

by
Mark Hebert
April 25, 2026

UNLV outfielder Reggie Bussey (25) dives back into first base headfirst as the fielder applies a tag at the bag.

UNLV OF Reggie Bussey (25) dives back to first base. Image by Mark Hebert — Dice City Sports

UNLV had first-place Nevada in reach Friday night, then the game got away fast.

The Rebels led after the top of the fourth, but Nevada scored 11 of the final 12 runs and beat UNLV 13-3 in eight innings at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park. The loss dropped UNLV to 23-18 overall and 6-10 in Mountain West play, while Nevada improved to 11-5 in the conference.

Nevada broke it open

UNLV took a 1-0 lead in the second when Nin Burns II scored on a throwing error. Nevada answered with two runs in the bottom half, but Jonny Rodriguez tied it in the third with a solo homer to left.

The Rebels moved back in front in the fourth when Gavin Taylor doubled and scored on Gunnar Myro’s RBI single. That made it 3-2 UNLV, but the lead did not last.

Junhyuk Kwon tied it with a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, and Jake Harvey added an RBI groundout to put Nevada ahead 4-3. One inning later, Sean Yamaguchi delivered the swing that changed the night, a grand slam to left that pushed the Wolf Pack lead to 8-3.

Rebels went quiet late

UNLV had seven hits, but most of the offense came early. Rodriguez finished 2-for-4 with the homer, while Gavin Taylor doubled, walked and scored. Nin Burns II also doubled, and Myro drove in a run.

After the fourth inning, though, the Rebels did not have enough answers. Nevada starter Aidan Brainard held UNLV to three runs, two earned, over seven innings and struck out eight. Dominic Desch handled the eighth, and Nevada finished the game by run rule in the bottom half.

Reno piled on

Nevada kept adding pressure after Yamaguchi’s grand slam. Mikey Cruz Jr. doubled home a run in the sixth to make it 9-3, and the Wolf Pack put it away with four more in the eighth.

Cruz singled home two runs in the final inning, and Kwon followed with a two-run double to end it at 13-3. Nevada finished with 17 hits, including two homers and four doubles.

Barragan still gets the spotlight

Drew Barragan had one hit Friday, but his larger season stayed part of the story.

Yes sir 🫡#BEaREBEL pic.twitter.com/Ildds0CaVc

— UNLV Baseball (@unlvbaseball) April 20, 2026

Barragan was named to the Bobby Bragan National Collegiate Slugger Award Midseason Watch List earlier in the week. He has reached base in all 39 games he has played this season and has a 40-game on-base streak dating back to last season at Western Kentucky.

The redshirt senior entered the week among the national leaders in several offensive categories and remains one of the biggest reasons UNLV’s lineup has stayed dangerous, even on nights like this one.

Standing watch

With 13 regular-season games left, UNLV sits eighth in the Mountain West at 6-10, just behind San José State at 5-8 by winning percentage. Nevada leads the league at 11-5, while Washington State and Air Force are tied behind the Wolf Pack at 10-6. The Rebels still have time to move, but the margin is getting smaller.

Up next

UNLV continues its road series at first-place Nevada on Saturday at 2:05 p.m. PT in Reno. The series wraps Sunday at 12:05 p.m. PT, with both games airing on the Mountain West Network.

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.