UNLV trailed early Friday night, then spent the rest of the opener making sure Milwaukee could not keep up.
The Rebels beat the Panthers 14-4 in eight innings at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, opening the three-game series with a run-rule win. Milwaukee led 1-0 in the third, but UNLV answered with Gavin Taylor’s two-run homer and eventually blew the game open with 10 runs across the seventh and eighth innings.
Taylor flipped the start
Milwaukee scored first on an unearned run in the third, but the lead lasted only a few minutes.
Jack Salmon singled to open the bottom half, and Taylor followed with a two-run homer to deep left. That gave UNLV a 2-1 lead and started a night where Taylor stayed in the middle of the action. He finished 2-for-3 with a double, a homer, two RBI, three runs scored and a walk.
UNLV added two more in the fifth when Ayden Garcia singled to right to score Taylor and Marcos Rosales, stretching the lead to 4-1.
Milwaukee tied it, then UNLV answered
The Panthers did not go away right away. Milwaukee scored twice in the sixth, then tied it 4-4 with another run in the seventh.
That was the last real opening Milwaukee had. In the bottom of the seventh, Reggie Bussey singled, Rosales walked, and Garcia was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch brought Bussey home, a passed ball scored Rosales, and Nin Burns II added an RBI single to make it 7-4.
Eighth inning ended it
UNLV turned the eighth into a full lineup inning and ended the night early.
The Rebels sent 11 batters to the plate and scored seven runs. Bussey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Rosales added a sacrifice fly, and Drew Barragan broke it open with a two-run single. Burns, Jonny Rodriguez and Cooper Sheff also drove in runs in the inning as UNLV stretched the lead to 14-4 and triggered the run rule.
By the end, eight different Rebels had at least one RBI. UNLV finished with 13 hits, four walks and three hit batters.
Pitching had enough
Parker Dillhoff gave UNLV six innings and struck out 11, though Milwaukee pushed three runs across against him, only one earned. Colton Sundloff ran into trouble in the seventh, but Ryan Marton took over and stopped it.
Marton threw 1.2 scoreless innings, did not allow a hit or a walk, struck out two and earned the win to improve to 2-3.
Lineup spread the damage
Taylor had the loudest swing, but UNLV had help everywhere. Garcia, Burns, Rodriguez, Salmon and Taylor each had two hits. Burns and Garcia each drove in two, while Barragan and Taylor also had two RBI.
Barragan’s eighth-inning single also extended his on-base streak. He has reached base in all 44 games he has played this season and in 45 straight dating back to his time at Western Kentucky.
Up next
UNLV continues the series against Milwaukee on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The series finale is set for Sunday afternoon.
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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.
