Box Score

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (14-20, 7-10 Mountain West) clinched its weekend series against the Air Force Falcons (14-20, 7-10 MW) with its 7-2 victory at Earl E. Wilson Stadium Saturday. The Rebels, who led 2-0 through five innings, broke the game open with five runs in the seventh, while their starter Kenny Oakley silenced the Falcons' offense with nine strikeouts in eight frames of work.

Oakley limited Air Force to only three hits â€" the lowest amount allowed by him this season â€" and in the process improved to 4-3 on the year. He gave up one unearned run, and that runner was the first of two that managed to reach third base against him in the affair. He forced the squad from Colorado Springs, Colo., to strand seven â€" four in scoring position â€" during his stay on the mound.

Offensively, Payton Squier provided one hit in two at-bats and managed to knock in two RBI and score a pair of runs. Nick Ames also had a multiple-RBI game with a two-run single in the later innings. Kyle Isbel paced the Scarlet & Gray with three hits.

"This was good for the team to clinch the series," said head coach Stan Stolte. "Kenny did a great job for seven innings to lead the way. We took some great at-bats, offensively, against a very good pitcher. Squier and Ames squared up two balls in the seventh, which were huge. We need to come ready to play tomorrow because you know Air Force will."

After three scoreless innings, the Rebels broke through with the game's first run. Squier led off with a walk and then stole second base. Squier made his was to third when Andrew Yazdanbakhsh directed a ground ball to the right side and, eventually, scored when AF starter Jacob DeVries (3-4) uncorked a wild pitch during Justin Jones' at-bat.

UNLV added another run to its half of the scoreboard in the fifth when Squier was walked with the bases loaded. A.J. VanMeetren led off the stanza with a single and was later joined on the base paths by Cody Howard (walk) and Kyle Isbel (single). The Falcons went to the bullpen after Isbel's single and brought Nick Biancalana in to pitch. Biancalana got the first batter he faced to pop out, but walked Squier on six pitches.

The Rebel lead ballooned to seven with the five-run seventh that was helped by four singles and a sacrifice fly. Howard and Isbel started things off with back-to-back base hits, while Max Smith reached safely off a fielder's choice. With the bases juiced, Squier sliced an RBI single to left field to up the lead to three, 3-0. Yazdanbaksh extended the cushion to four runs with a deep fly to left. Moments after Jones was walked to load the bases, once again, Nick Ames singled through the right side to plate two more runners.

The Falcons were able to score a run in both the eighth and ninth. The first tally was off of Oakley, while the second was against Cody Roper, who pitched the ninth. Bradley Haslam was credited with an RBI off a fielder's choice in the eighth, while Rob Dau had an RBI double in the final frame.

DeVries lasted only 4.1 innings for the Falcons, and surrendered two runs off of four hits. He struck out three and walked three. His successor, Biancalana, threw 3.2 innings of relief and allowed five runs (four earned) off of four hits. He walked two and fanned one.

UNLV and Air Force close out their three-game, Conference series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium at 1:05 pm Sunday. The Rebels will start Dean Kremer (1-4, 5.60 ERA) against the Falcons' Trent Monaghan (3-1, 5.08 ERA). The day has been billed as "Kids' Day" with bounce houses available for the children pregame, while they have the opportunity to run the bases after the final out.

NOTES: UNLV improved to 6-7 when its offense scores six runs or more in a game … UNLV improved to 8-0 when its holds the opposition to two runs or less … UNLV won for only the second time â€" in 12 tries â€" in games decided by five or more runs … UNLV improved to 11-6 in games that it scores first … Saturday's win is the first by UNLV this season after an 0-8 start.