Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (8-6, 6-5 MW) lost both ends of its doubleheader to the Air Force Falcons (9-8, 3-5 MW) Saturday. The Falcons swept the twin bill behind scores of 4-3 and 10-7 on day one of the Mountain West series at Falcon Field.
 
GAME ONE RECAP: The Falcons opened the scoring in the third inning off a combination of two hits and three Rebel errors to push across two runs off a sacrifice fly and a single. UNLV answered back in the fifth off a run-scoring singles from Brendan Brooks and Diego Alarcon that brought home two and one runs, respectively. Air Force reclaimed the lead for good in the sixth, getting the tying run off an RBI double and the would-be game-winner off an RBI triple.
 
The Rebels had an opportunity in the ninth to even the score at 4-all; however, Austin Kryszczuk was stranded at second base after initially reaching off a one-out single and advancing 90 feet off a wild pitch uncorked by Air Force reliever Paul Skenes, who eventually earned his third save of 2021.
 
Air Force's C.J. Dornak (2-0) earned the win in one inning of relief, facing four batters and allowing only one hit. UNLV's Josh Sharman (0-2) suffered the loss, throwing 5.2 innings and striking out four against four runs (two earned) and seven hits.
 
GAME TWO RECAP: UNLV got things going early in the second inning against Air Force starter Stevan Fairburn Jr. (3-3), roughing him up for three consecutive, one-out singles from Edarian Williams, Myles Denson and Austin Kryszczuk, the last of which resulted in a run. The contest remained close until the Falcons erupted for eight runs off of eight hits against Rebel starter Bradley Spooner (1-2) and reliever Alex Tisminezky to turn the Rebels' one-run lead into a seven-run deficit at 8-1. Air Force upped its lead to nine, 10-1, off a two-run single in the sixth.
 
UNLV's offense came alive in the seventh when Jason Sharman delivered a pinch-hit, two-run single to plate Eric Bigani and Jordan Andrade after the duo began the frame with a double and single, respectively. An inning later Andrade and Sharman factored in more scoring for the Rebels, as the former reached off a one-out walk and came around to score off Rylan Charles' RBI triple and the latter had an RBI groundout. UNLV wound up loading the bases off three straight walks before A.J. Amelburu laced a single up the middle to score the game's final two runs.
 
Spooner was saddled with the loss after throwing 3.1 innings with three strikeouts against four runs (all earned), seven hits and three walks. Fairburn recorded the win after going 6.0 innings, striking out four and holding UNLV to only one run off four hits.
 
NOTES:
-Austin Pfeifer's team-high hit and reached-base streaks of eight games came to an end in game one of the doubleheader.
-Both Williams and Denson have safely hit and reached base in seven games following Saturday's doubleheader.
 
UP NEXT: UNLV and Air Force close out their three-game, Mountain West with a Sunday matinee at Falcon Field. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00 pm MT (11:00 am PT).