May 18, 2018 Box Score | Mountain West Championship Info
FRESNO, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (33-21, 14-15 MW) knocked off the Fresno State Bulldogs (29-24, 12-17 MW), 7-3, Friday night in Mountain West play at Bob Bennett Stadium. The Rebels broke open a 2-all stalemate in the sixth with a pair of runs and then tacked on three insurance tallies in the eighth en route to a four-run win.
By virtue of its victory and a loss by Air Force, the Scarlet & Gray secured a berth and the No. 4 seed at next week's MW Championship in San Diego. UNR claimed the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed with its 13-3 win over San Diego State, which will be the No. 2 seed. San Jose State earned the No. 3 seed after it defeated Air Force, 6-5. UNLV will open up the double-elimination tournament against UNR Thursday (May 24) at 1:30 pm. SDSU and SJSU will follow that evening at 6:00 pm.
The Rebels fell behind by one in the second inning, but rallied back with two in the third off a sacrifice fly and a two-out RBI single from Bryson Stott and Kyle Isbel, respectively. The Bulldogs drew even at 2-all in the fourth; however, UNLV pushed back ahead off a fielder's choice by Nick Ames, while a groundout by Max Smith upped the lead to two runs at 4-2.
One inning after Fresno State cut the lead to one, the Rebels produced three runs off of three consecutive hits to extend the lead. Isbel got things started with a single, while Rodriguez followed with an RBI single. Ames delivered the knockout blow with a two-run home run to cap the game's scoring.
Rebel starter Trevor Horn (5-5) picked up the win in 6.2 innings of work. Horn struck out five against three runs (two earned) off of seven hits and one walk. Bryan Menendez took over in the seventh and threw the final 2.1 frames to preserve the win and notch his 12th save of the year -- a UNLV single-season record. Additionally, the save was his 17th of his career.
THE TURNING POINT: Horn was work himself out of a jam in the fourth inning moments after Fresno State had knotted the score at 2-all. The Bulldogs had gotten a single, a walk and an RBI single to draw even and put two runners in scoring position. Horn fought back and struck out the next two batters and got the putout to end the inning with a grounder to Ames at first base. Horn followed that frame with a 1-2-3 effort in the fifth, and his offense provided the go-ahead run in the sixth.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Ames had two RBI and scored one run Friday night. His at-bat in the sixth inning -- a fielder's choice -- provided the game-winning RBI, while his final one resulted in a two-run, eighth-inning homer.
STAT OF THE GAME: Fresno State left four of its seven stranded runners in scoring position, with three at third base and one more at second. Horn was able to force the Bulldogs to leave runners at third in the second and third innings by getting two and three straight outs, respectively.
QUOTABLE: "We don't ever want to get in a habit of celebrating just getting into the conference tournament, but after what the kids have been through, the hard work they've put in and the respect we have for the others teams in the league; it's a good feeling," said head coach Stan Stolte. "(Trevor) Horn and (Bryan) Menendez were solid tonight and offensively we had some great at-bats against a couple of really good arms. (Nick) Ames had a key home run after not making a play that we felt he should have defensively. It shows the toughness that he's developed. The team is still hungry and looking forward to playing in San Diego."
REBEL NOTES:
- The Rebels are 19-6 in nonconference contests and 14-15 in Mountain West games.
- The Rebels are 23-7 in home games and 10-14 in road games.
- The Rebels are 11-17 when an opponent scores first.
- The Rebels are 18-18 when scoring seven or fewer runs and 5-3 when scoring exactly seven runs.
- The Rebels are 9-1 when limiting an opponent to three or fewer runs and 10-0 when they allow exactly three runs.
- The Rebels are 26-8 when they allow six or fewer runs in a game, and 4-1 when allowing exactly six runs.
- The Rebels are 5-0 when they tie an opponent in hits.
- The Rebels are 27-9 when they notch 10 or more hits.
- Ames' 17 home runs are the most by a Rebel since Xavier Scruggs had 20 in 2008.
- Ames' 68 RBI are the most by a Rebel since Keith Smith had 71 in 2006.
UP NEXT: UNLV and Fresno State close out the 2018 regular season Saturday at 2:05 pm.
