As the calendar has turned to July, UNLV Athletics' Top 10 Moments of the Decade summer series rolls on...
Before the 2020-21 school year arrives, UNLV Athletics is taking a look back at each of its teams' Top 10 Moments from the just-completed decade. The (non-scientific) lists will be unveiled through the middle of August.
Below is the fifth in the series: Baseball. We hope you enjoy!
NO. 10: REBELS WHIFF WOLF PACK BEFORE RODRIGUEZ ENDS IT
Nick Rodriguez Wins Rivalry Game In Extras After Rebel Pitching Strikes Out 16 (May 11, 2018)
Alan Strong,
Austin Anderson,
Bryan Menendez and
Blaze Bohall combined to strikeout 16 batters – the third most in program history – in UNLV's 8-7 win over UNR (May 11, 2018). The game came to an end off
Nick Rodriguez's walk-off, RBI single in the bottom of the 11.
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NO. 9: YAZ GOES YARD DEEP IN THE HEART OF TEXAS
Rebel Catcher Hits First Career Homer In Extras To Defeat No. 9 Texas To Open 2016 (Feb. 19, 2016)
Andrew Yazdanbakhsh kicked off the 2016 campaign with a would-be, game-winning home run in the 12th to upset then-No. 23 Texas in Austin (Feb. 19, 2016). The host Longhorns led 3-1 through seven until the Rebels evened the score at 3-all with two runs in the eighth. Yazdanbakhsh gave the Scarlet & Gray its first lead in extras with the one-out shot to left field.
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NO. 8: SMITH'S WALK OFF IN RENO SENDS REBELS TO MW TITLE GAME
Max Smith's Ninth-Inning Homer Eliminates Wolf Pack, Advances Rebels (May 25, 2019)
Max Smith hit the game-winning, walk-off home run to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning to eliminate UNR from the Mountain West Championship. The Rebels defeated the Wolf Pack, 6-5, and advanced to the title game of the 2019 Mountain West Championship in Reno.
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NO. 7: RECORD-SETTING START
UNLV Opens The 2018 Season With Best Mark Through 23 Games (March 23, 2018)
With a 4-3 win over the San Diego State Aztecs on March 23, 2018, UNLV improved to 20-3 on the year, and was off to its best start through 23 games in program history. Coincidentally, that victory over SDSU pushed the Rebels' Mountain West mark to 6-1, which tied for the best record through seven games in conference play.
The 2018 campaign began with a perfect 3-0 start with wins over Indiana State, Oregon and Loyola Marymount. After suffering a loss in the fourth game of the year to ISU, UNLV rattled off a 15-1 run that was ignited by an eight-game win streak and capped off by a seven-game stretch.
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NO. 6: RED, WHITE & BLUE
UNLV's Erick Fedde, Bryson Stott Tabbed To USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team (Feb. 11, 2012)
UNLV's Erick Fedde and
Bryson Stott were selected to play for USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team in 2013 and 2018, respectively. Fedde and Stott join Rebel alums Mel Stottlemyre Jr. (1984), Matt Williams (1985) and Ryan Ludwick (1998) to represent the Red, White & Blue.
Fedde made two starts for the CNT and registered a 3.18 ERA and a 1-0 record in 5.2 innings of work. He struck out eight batters against two runs off three hits and one walk.
Stott played 13 games for the CNT and led the squad in both RBI (seven) and multiple-RBI games (three). Overall, he hit .262 with 11 hits.
Click for more: Fedde | Stott
NO. 5: SEVENTH HEAVEN
T.J. White Has Record-Setting Day Against Highlanders (April 16, 2013)
T.J. White went 7-for-7 with six RBI and five runs in UNLV's 24-11, road win at UC Riverside. White's seven hits – all of which were singles – tied his brother J.C. Sibley's 7-for-7 performance (May 7, 2005) for the most hits in a single game in program history, and rank in a tie for fifth in the NCAA record book behind one 9-for-9 and three 8-for-8 performances.
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NO. 4: REBELS EARN AT-LARGE BID, CLAIM NO. 2 SEED IN CORVALLIS
In Raucous TMC, UNLV Tops Wildcats (May 26, 2014)
By claiming a share of the Mountain West regular-season title and posting a 34-23 record, UNLV earned an at-large berth into the NCAA Tournament – the program's 11th postseason appearance. The Rebels were the No. 2 seed in the Corvallis Regional, which also featured host Oregon State, the tournament's No. 1 overall seed, as well as UC Irvine and North Dakota State.
UNLV suffered a 10-3 loss to UC Irvine in its opening affair, but rebounded with a 2-1 win over NDSU in an elimination contest. Unfortunately, the Rebels run came to an end in a 6-1 defeat to OSU.
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NO. 3: REBELS SWEEP NATIONALLY RANKED CARDINAL
UNLV Traveled To The Bay Area And Took The Three-Game Series Against Stanford, Knocking Off No. 1 Mark Appel In Game One (March 8, 2013)
UNLV traveled to the Bay Area (March 8-10) and swept a three-game, nonconference series against the then-No. 9 Stanford Cardinal for wins six, seven and eight of a nine-game win streak. The Rebels took the opening contest, 3-2, as Erick Fedde outdueled Mark Appel, the first overall pick by the Houston Astros in the 2013 MLB Draft. The Scarlet & Gray won the remaining affairs with ease, notching 12-2 and 5-1 victories in games two and three, respectively.
Rebel starters Fedde, Buddy Borden and John Richy were 3-0 with a combined 1.69 ERA in 21.1 innings of work. The trio struck out 11 batters against four runs (five earned) off 15 hits and five walks. Richy capped off the weekend striking out four and allowing two hits in a complete-game effort.
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NO. 2: REBELS, HUSKERS PLAY IN FRONT OF PACKED HOUSE
UNLV Hosts Nebraska In The First Sellout In Earl E. Wilson Stadium History (Feb. 23, 2015)
UNLV opened the 2015 season against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in front of a sellout crowd – the first in Earl E. Wilson Stadium history – of 3,173, as Las Vegas native Bryce Harper and the Mountain Ridge Little League World Series team was on hand to throw out the ceremonial first pitches. Despite losing the contest, 2-0, to the Big Ten squad, the Rebels fought back to win the nonconference series with victories in games two (5-3) and three (3-0).
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Side Note: Rising sophomore
Austin Kryszczuk, who played right field and saw action in 14 games in 2019, was a member of the Mountain Ridge squad that threw out the first pitch at the season opener.
NO. 1: FIRST ROUND ACTION
UNLV Has Two Drafted In The First Round Of The MLB Draft Only Five Years Apart (Nov. 26, 2011)
Entering the decade, UNLV had only had two players – Matt Williams (1986: Third Overall/Giants) and Donovan Osborne (1990: 13th/Cardinals) – taken in the first round of the Major League Baseball Draft; however, the program saw that figure double with the selections of local products Erick Fedde and
Bryson Stott. Fedde was nabbed by the Washington Nationals with the 18th pick in the 2014, while Stott's name was called five years later when the Philadelphia Phillies took him 14th in 2019.
Click for more: Fedde | Stott
