LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (1-3) picked up its first win of the 2020 campaign Sunday with a 10-8 decision over the Central Michigan Chippewas (3-1) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels owned two seven-run leads in the nonconference finale, but needed some late-inning heroics from Jack-Thomas Wold, Alex Sardina, Austin Kryszczuk and Grant Robbins to claim the final tilt of the season-opening series.
 
The Scarlet & Gray staked itself to an early seven-run lead after the offense was able to notch five hits and two walks, while a CMU fielding error got everything started. The 7-0 lead marked the largest by the Rebels over the weekend as well as the first instance that the home side had scored first in any of the four contests.
 
With one on and two out, Eric Bigani opened the scoring outburst with a double to center to plate Edarian Williams from second base. The Rebels upped their lead to 2-0 with some assistance from another CMU miscue – a throwing error by the catcher – and then go a three-run triple from Robbins and a pair of run-scoring hits from Alex Amelburu and Williams.
 
CMU began to chip away at the deficit scoring once in the third; however, UNLV got the run back off an RBI double from Bigani to lead 8-1 through four innings. Unfortunately, the Chippewas slowly eased themselves back into the affair, scoring three in the fifth, one in the sixth and three more in the seventh, tying it up at 8-all.
 
The Rebel offense, which had been held to one run off of five hits between the second and seventh frames, awoke in the home half of the eighth. Wold led off the eighth with a single, but then watched as the next two batters were retired before Sardina moved him to third base off a single of his own. Kryszczuk and Robbins followed with back-to-back RBI singles to push UNLV back ahead.  
 
TURNING POINT: Moments after CMU evened the game at 8-all and had loaded the bases with two outs in the seventh, Bradley Spooner (1-1) entered to pitch in relief. Spooner got the Rebels out of the jam by inducing a fielder's choice groundout. He continued to silence the Chippewas bats in the eighth and ninth by retiring the side in each frame, with two strikeouts.
 
QUOTABLE: "I'm glad to win a game that was a must-win for us," said head coach Stan Stolte. "CMU was a great challenge to open the season with. They were one of the most relentless teams we've played here in the last few years and I have to give them credit for it. Two freshmen stepped up huge for us in (Josh) Sharman and Kryszczuk. We still have a lot to clean up though."
 
NOTES:
- In the head-to-head series, UNLV leads CMU by five games, 12-7, after Sunday's result.
- Williams led the Rebels in hitting Sunday, going 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run.
- Bigani, Kryszczuk, Robbins and Wold all had two hits, with Robbins knocking in four RBI to Wold's two.
- Sardina and Wold each scored two runs.
- Josh Sharman got the start for UNLV and went 4.0 innings, and allowed four runs (three earned) off four hits and four walks, with five strikeouts.
 
UP NEXT: UNLV stays home to host the Alabama Crimson Tide (3-0) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium next weekend. The three-game, nonconference series gets underway Friday evening at 6:05 pm. Game two is scheduled for 2:05 pm Saturday, while the third and final contest is slated for 10:05 am Sunday.