March 28, 2017 Box Score
PHOENIX (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (10-17 overall) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead Tuesday night; however, that was all the offense it would muster as the Arizona State Sun Devils (11-12) scored five unanswered runs en route to a 5-4 decision at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.
The Rebels, who are in the midst of a stretch of playing 13 of 17 contests away from Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium, remain on the road with a three-game, nonconference series against the Iowa Hawkeyes in Iowa City, Iowa this weekend. The set begins Friday (4:05 pm CT/2:05 pm PT) at Duane Banks Field and carries through Sunday.
Kyle Isbel, who went 2-for-4 at the plate with one double, two runs and one RBI, paced UNLV offensively Tuesday evening. Isbel led off the affair with a single and quickly moved around the bases with a groundout by Payton Squier moving him up 90 feet while an RBI single from Ernie De La Trinidad brought him home.
UNLV upped its lead to four off an RBI double from Isbel and a two-run single from Squier. With two on and two out, Isbel laced an RBI double down the right-field line; Nick Ames scored on the hit after he and Vince Taormina had reached via one-out singles. After Isbel's hit, ASU went the bullpen and brought Alec Marsh in to relieve starter Zach Dixon. Squier quickly welcomed Marsh to the game with a single that knocked in Taormina and Isbel.
Unfortunately, the Rebels were only able to produce two more hits in the affair -- a single by Ames in the fourth and a double by Cooper Esmay in the fifth -- after they scattered six over the first two frames.
ASU cut its deficit in two in the home half of the second inning off a two-run triple by Gage Canning. A sacrifice fly in the fourth from Zach Cerbo brought the Sun Devils within one, 4-3.
The game turned in the sixth when Tyler Williams hit a one-out, two-run home run to left field off of Blaze Bohall (1-3).
ASU's Connor Higgins (1-1) picked up the win in 4.2 innings of relief. Higgins struck out six and held the Rebels scoreless during his stint on the mound.
Bohall was saddled with the loss in 2.0 innings of action. He was touched for two runs off of three hits with one strikeout and one walk.
The Rebels return to Las Vegas for a quick midweek game on April 4 (6:05 pm) against Utah Valley before they venture back out for four more road contests.
Tickets can be purchased online and in-advance for $5 at UNLVTickets.com. Tickets purchased at the gate are $8 for adults, $6 for senior/faculty/staff, while kids 12 and under as well as UNLV students are free of charge.
NOTES: Squier extended his hitting streak to 17, which is ties the longest streak to-date since Justin Jones had one of the same length during the 2014 campaign ... Squier also extended his reached-base streak to 27 ... De La Trinidad upped his hitting streak to 16 and his reached-base streak to 20 ... Ames' reached-base streak moved to 15 straight.
