Final Stats

UNLV 2, San Jose State 1 | Fresno State 6, UNLV 5

RENO, Nev. (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV baseball (25-30) went through a rollercoaster ride of emotions on the first day of the 2015 Mountain West Baseball Championship. The No. 6 seed Rebels defeated San José State (13-43) 2-1 and then fell to Fresno State (30-26) 6-5 in their second game of the day.

In the first game, UNLV topped the seventh-seeded Spartans to claim the play-in spot and advance to this afternoon's game against the Bulldogs. This was the first time the two teams had ever faced each other in the tournament.

A.J. VanMeetren led the Rebels offensively, going 3-for-4. Edgar Montes and Morgan Stotts logged the team's two RBIs. Brett Bautista shone for the Spartans, going 2-for-3 and bringing home their only run. Both pitchers went well into the game, with UNLV's Kenny Oakley pitching seven innings and the Spartans' Kalei Contrades pitching just an out short of seven.

San José State kicked things off in the top of the first when Andre Mercurio, who reached first with a single up the middle, was driven home by an RBI double from Bautista to the wall in right field. Chris Williams leapt for the toss from short, getting down on the bag in time for the final out and to strand two Spartans on base.

UNLV's bats came alive in the bottom of the fourth, loading the bases thanks to singles from Joey Swanner and A.J. VanMeetren and a walk from Erik VanMeetren. However, Stotts grounded into a 6-4-3 double play and the Rebels left the inning empty handed.

Erik VanMeetren brought another chance for the Rebels with a deep triple to right field in the bottom of the sixth. Montes stepped up to the plate and was able to bring him home with a sacrifice fly, tying the ball game at one. The Rebels then took the lead with a double from the other VanMeetren brother, A.J. and an RBI single from Stotts. Payton Squier lined out to end the inning.

Storms have been forecast for the week, and play was delayed an hour and 35 minutes due to lightening in the area in the top of the eighth.

The second game of the tournament saw two ties and three lead changes, the No. 3 Bulldogs topped the Rebels at Peccole Park.

The contest opened with four and a half scoreless innings and then Fresno State broke the silence with a two-RBI double from Taylor Ward in the bottom of the fifth giving the Bulldogs a 2-0 lead.

UNLV struck back in the top of the sixth, putting runners on the corners with one out. Nick Rodriguez, the freshman shortstop, scored from third on Fresno's second error of the game and brought the Rebels within one 2-1.

In the bottom of the seventh, Fresno State picked up some insurance runs, extending their lead to three at 4-1.

UNLV threatened again in the top of the eighth with runners on first and second with one out. Joey Armstrong stepped up to bat and singled, bringing home Rodriguez for his second run of the game. Joey Swanner picked up an RBI single of his own, which forced a pitching change from the Bulldogs. The senior closer Garrett Mundell took Tim Borst's place on the bump for Fresno State. Erik VanMeetren then singled right up the middle, which brought Armstrong home from third and tied the game up at four with one out. A called balk let Swanner cross the plate and gave UNLV a 5-4 lead.

Fresno State tied it up again in the bottom of the eighth thanks to an RBI single from Pinch hitter Torin Goldstein. Taylor Tempel singled to left field, and Jesse Medrano, the pinch runner for Goldstein, rounded third and headed home. The ball was relayed to VanMeetren behind the plate, he tagged Medrano, but the home plate umpire called the Bulldog runner safe. Fresno State took a 6-5 lead headed into the final frame, which proved to be enough to give them the win.

The Rebels will resume MW tournament play in loser-out action on Thursday at 11:00 a.m. PT as they face the fifth-seeded Air Force Falcons (22-28), who lost 13-1 in seven innings to New Mexico on Wednesday night.