Box Score

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (2-5 overall, 1-0 Mountain West) picked up a 2-1 victory in quick fashion â€" a tidy one hour and 47 minutes, to be exact â€" over the San Jose State Spartans (4-7, 0-1) Friday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The contest marked the beginning of Mountain West Conference play for both squads.

The affair was scoreless through 6.5 innings until Kyle Isbel led off the bottom of the seventh with a solo home run to right-center field.

An inning later, SJSU's Shane Timmons and UNLV's Nick Rodriguez cranked a pair of balls over the left-field fence that flipped the momentum from one dugout to the other.

UNLV's Ben Wright (1-1) picked up the win in three innings of relief. Wright struck out one, but allowed one run off of one hit. He was summoned to the mound to replace starter D.J. Myers, who went six innings and struck out seven against three hits and three walks.

The Spartans had their chances to break the game open multiple times in the early going, but Myers and the defense were able to work their way out of jams in four of his six innings. In all, SJSU stranded eight runners, five of which were in scoring position. SJSU had the bases loaded in the third, but was unable to capitalize when the junior hurler ended the threat with a strike out looking.

"We saw three great performances by all pitches on both sides," said head coach Stan Stolte. "D.J. pitching out of the first and third inning situations with no outs may have been the difference in the game. It was a game that easily could have gone either way and we were fortunate to win."

SJSU's Josh Nashed (0-2) threw eight innings and struck out five; however, he was touched for four hits and both runs.

Game two of the three-game series will take place Saturday at 2:05 pm. UNLV's Dean Kremer (0-1, 4.09 ERA) will take the mound against SJSU's Logan Handzlik (1-0, 3.27 ERA).

NOTES: Myers seven strikeouts tie a season- and career-high (at UNLV) … Payton Squier extended his hitting and reached-base streaks to five games apiece with a single in the first inning.