Box Score

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team got a pair of home runs from Justin Jones and Cody Howard to stake itself to a one-run lead â€" 5-4 â€" through five innings of play, but it was unable to maintain that edge in a Mountain West contest that, ultimately, went to the Fresno State Bulldogs, 11-5, Saturday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.

The Bulldogs (25-21, 13-10 MW) opened the scoring in the second with one run off an RBI single from Ryan Dobson. The lead grew to four runs an inning later after the squad scattered three more RBI singles from Jared Akins, Scott Silva and Carter Bins.

Jones and Howard turned things around in the fourth and fifth, respectively, with the long ball. Ernie De La Trinidad led off the fourth with a triple to left-center field and made his way home five pitches later when Jones smashed an offering from FS' Edgar Gonzalez (4-3) to center field. De La Trinidad and Jones factored in the fifth-inning scoring, as well, as the pair reached via two-out single and walk prior to the three-run blast off the scoreboard in left field.

The trio of De La Trinidad, Jones and Howard combined for six hits, five RBI and five runs. De La Trinidad had two hits and two runs to a perfect 3-for-3 outing from Jones, who also added two RBI and two runs. Howard had three RBI and one run off of one hit.

UNLV starter Garrett Poole (2-6), who had silenced the Bulldogs in the fourth and fifth frames, took the mound in the sixth only to surrender a double to Austin Guibor and a two-run homer to Stone that turned the momentum back to the third-base dugout.

"It's kind of the story of the season; we aren't playing bad baseball, we make a couple mistakes here and there," said head coach Stan Stolte. "We are playing solid baseball. Fresno State is an older, experienced club and they are showing it. Again today, they make game-winning plays, pitches and at-bats at crucial times a lot more than we do."

The Rebels (17-32, 7-16 MW); however, were not able to find an answer to Stone's big hit the remainder of the affair. Gonzalez settled down and threw two scoreless innings before giving way to relievers Fred Schlichtholz and Dominic Topoozian for the eighth and ninth, respectively.

FS tacked on an insurance run in the eighth off an RBI single from Akins, and then added four more in the ninth with help from an RBI double from Korby Batesole, a sac fly from Guibor and another two-run homer from Stone.

Gonzalez was credited with the win in seven innings of work. He was touched for five runs off of 10 hits, and also struck out six against two walks. Schlichthoz and Topoozian combined to strikeout three in their two frames of action.

Poole was on the losing end of the decision after going five. He gave up six runs off of 11 hits while striking out two and walking two.

UNLV and FS close out the three-game, weekend series Sunday with an afternoon matinee that is scheduled to start at 1:05 pm.

NOTES: Ernie De La Trinidad extended his reached-base streak to 42 games with help from two hits … De La Trinidad is currently the second-longest active span in the country, and it only trails the 45 straight by Air Force's Tyler Jones … Jones' run of 45 is the longest streak of the season and surpassed his teammate Bradley Haslam and Murray State's Brandon Gutzler's runs of 44; the latter's was snapped Saturday.