Box Score

AUSTIN, Texas (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (1-0) rallied from a two-run deficit in its 4-3, 12-inning win over the No. 23 Texas Longhorns (0-1) Friday night at UFCU Disch-Falk Field to kick off the program's 50th season. The Rebels evened the score at 3-all in the eighth off a two-run triple by Cooper Esmay and took its first and only lead of the affair in the 12th with help from a solo home run by Andrew Yazdanbakhsh.

Both of those dramatic moments might not have happened if it were not for junior Dean Kremer, who was making his debut for the Scarlet & Gray. Kremer entered the contest with one out in the fifth and managed to toss 5.2 innings of scoreless relief between the fifth and 10th innings. In all, he faced 19 batters and struck out three against one hit and one walk.

The Rebels pulled even with the Longhorns in the eighth with help from a pair of walks issued to Keyon Allen and Austin Anderson. Esmay, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, laced a deep fly to right field that landed over the head and outstretched arm of UT's Patrick Mathis. Allen and Anderson scored on the play, while Esmay motored to third. Unfortunately, he was left stranded 90 feet from home plate when the third out was recorded.

One year ago, Texas was a perfect 22-0 when it led after seven innings, but only 4-6 when it was deadlocked after eight frames of action. UNLV, on the other hand, was 2-27 when it trailed through seven and 4-4 when it was tied through eight stanzas.

UNLV threatened to take its first lead two innings later, but to no avail, when it got runners on first and second after Yazdanbakhsh was walked and Anderson reached on a fielder's choice to open up the 10th.

Yazdanbakhsh took matters into his own hands in the 12th when he blasted Parker Joe Robinson's (0-1) sixth pitch of the at-bat over the left-field fence and into the bullpen. The homer was the first for the senior.

Blaze Bohall (1-0) earned the win in two innings of relief for the Rebel after he took over for Kremer and maintained the same level of dominance on the mound as his predecessor. The Longhorns were only able to send six batters to the plate against Bohall, who struck out two and held the half dozen hitless.

"Both teams battled like it was a playoff type of game," said head coach Stan Stolte. "I'm proud of the kids, they just kept grinding until a couple of things went out way. (D.J.) Myers, Kremer and Bohall really got after it and never flinched because Texas really had some great at-bats and battled at the plate. It's a great win over a great program. We have to come back tomorrow with the same mind frame. The Longhorns are well coached, it's a great operation and they'll come to play."

Friday night's victory was the third in eight tries for UNLV in the head-to-head series with Texas. Six of the last seven meetings -- four in Austin and three in Las Vegas -- have been decided in the seventh inning or later dating back to the 2005 campaign. The previous three, which were in March of 2006, saw the Rebels claim the first two of the series with a seventh-inning grand slam and a ninth-inning, walk-off single. The Longhorns decided the third outing at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in the ninth.

Texas struck first in the second inning with a pair of run-scoring singles by Jake McKenzie and Tyler Rand off of Rebel starter D.J. Myers. Michael Cantu and Kody Clemens scored on the base hits after they initially reached off of a ground-rule double and a walk, respectively.

UNLV cut its deficit to one run in the third off an RBI single by Corey Pool that scored Nick Rodriguez from third. Rodriguez got the offensive going with a one-out walk before moving from base to base following a wild pitch and a single by Payton Squier.

The Longhorns pushed their lead back to two in the bottom of the third off an RBI single by Cantu.

Myers went 4.1 innings and surrendered three runs (two earned) off of seven hits. He struck out six against one walk.

UT used a total of seven pitchers in the contest with all but one responsible for at least one walk -- 11 total -- in the game. Kyle Johnston got the start for the Longhorns and lasted only four innings after he gave up one run off of three hits. Johnston struck out four, but also issued four base on balls to Rebel batters.

Blake Wellman and Travis Duke were both responsible for one run that came off Esmay's eighth-inning triple.

UNLV and Texas return to the diamond Saturday for a 2:00 pm CT (12:00 pm PT) affair. The Rebels' Kenny Oakley will get the start against the Longhorns' Ty Culbreth. Both hurlers are seniors and had identical 4-5 records last season.

NOTES: With the win, Stolte became only the third UNLV head coach to win his debut, joining Fred Dallimore (1974) and Tim Chambers (2011) ... UNLV is now 3-5 in the head-to-head series against Texas ... UNLV is now 83-58-1 in extra-inning games and improved to 7-5 in those that ended in 12 innings ... UNLV upped its opening-day record to 32-18 ... This the first win and second straight over a ranked opponent since a 7-6 triumph over then-#5 Arizona State on April 7, 2015 ... Making their first appearances in Rebel uniforms Friday were Pool, Nick Ames, Allen, Kyle Isbel, Esmay and Kremer.