Box Score

SAN JOSE, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (18-24 overall, 9-11 Mountain West) lost a 5-3 decision to the San Jose State Spartans (14-28, 6-17 MW) at Municipal Stadium Saturday afternoon. The Rebels struck first with a run in the third inning; however, they were outscored by three runs, 5-2, between the fifth and seventh en route to the two-run loss.

With the score knotted at 3-all through six innings, the seventh was a frame that witnessed one team capitalize with runners on base while the other failed to do so. Unfortunately, UNLV was the latter, as it got two on off a pair of two-out singles by A.J. VanMeetren and Payton Squier, but was unable to produce a run before the third out was recorded. SJSU, on the other hand, used back-to-back, two-out RBI singles by Shane Timmons and Josh Nashed to break the deadlock in its half of the stanza. Prior to those run-producing hits, the Spartans had gotten two on via a single (Dillan Smith) and Ozzy Braff (walk).

"We just haven't developed that killer instinct to put a team away or to win a series yet," said head coach Stan Stolte. "We knew San Jose State would compete the final two days of the series, and they played well today. We had too many bad at-bats and we made a couple poor pitches at crucial times, and that usually decides a baseball game. Squier had a great game at the plate. We need more guys to step up."

The Rebels got at least one hit from eight of their nine batters while Payton Squier paced the squad with a 3-for-4 day with two singles and one double.

UNLV got on the scoreboard first with a run off an RBI groundout by VanMeetren. Kyle Isbel scored on the grounder after he initially reached via a one-out triple â€" his sixth of the year.

The home-standing Spartans flipped things around in the fifth with help from four consecutive hits and a sacrifice bunt. Michael Breen started the offensive with a one-out double. After a single by Smith moved Breen to third base, Aaron Pleschner and Joe Stefanki produced a pair of RBI singles to stake SJSU to a one-run lead at 2-1. Braff upped the lead to two runs when he pushed a bunt down the first-base line that produced another score.

The Rebels drew even â€" 3-all â€" in the sixth with one-out, RBI hits from Justin Jones (triple) and Corey Pool (single) after Squier opened the frame with a single.

Matt Brown (2-5), who entered the contest with two on and two out in the sixth, was credited with the win after he allowed only one hit in 2.1 innings of relief. Brown was the third Spartan to pitch in the game, as he followed starter Hilario Tovar and Jonathan Hernandez. Tovar struck out four, but was touched for three runs off of six hits and one walk in six innings. Hernandez entered in the sixth and surrendered two hits against two outs.

UNLV's Kenny Oakley (4-5) was tagged with the loss after seven innings of work. Oakley gave up five runs off of 12 hits. He struck out two and walked one. Cody Roper, who pitched one inning of relief and fanned one batter, followed him to the mound.

The Rebels and Spartans will close out their three-game, Conference series at 1:00 pm Sunday. UNLV will send Dean Kremer (2-4, 4.50 ERA) against Nashed (0-4, 5.64 ERA) in the rubber game.

The Scarlet & Gray will, finally, make its way back to Las Vegas for eight home games with the conclusion of the SJSU series. The lengthy run begins on May 3 against UC Irvine (2:05 pm) and it will be followed by visits from New Mexico (May 6-8), Arizona State (May 10) and Fresno State (May 13-15). Fans should check UNLVTickets.com for upcoming promotions and ticket sales.

NOTES: Squier has a team-best 16 multiple-hit games, which includes five with three hits and one more with four hits … UNLV dropped to 13-7 in games it scores first; 4-5 in two-run games; 4-3 in games it allows the opposition to score 3-5 runs; and 6-10 in games its offense scores between 3-5 runs.