LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team improved to 4-1 overall and in the conference with Saturday's sweep of the New Mexico Lobos to open the three-game, Mountain West series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels hit nine home runs on the day and scored a total of 32 runs en route to the pair of wins over the visiting Lobos (4-5, 3-2 MW).
The Scarlet & Gray opened the day run-ruling UNM 24-8 in seven innings before rallying for a come-from-behind 8-5 victory in game two.
UNLV's offense recorded 32 runs off 30 RBI and combined to hit .408 with 29 hits in 71 at-bats. Moreover, the Rebels notched a .859 slugging percentage, as 14 of their hits went for extra bases with nine home runs and five doubles.
More impressively, 19 of UNLV's 32 runs were scored as a result of home runs, including all eight tallies in game two – off five homers.
UNLV used the same lineup in both games Saturday and every starter recorded three or more hits, with Jack-Thomas Wold leading the squad with five hits in nine at-bats for a .556 average. Additionally, seven of those nine batters had at least one home run on the day, as Brendan Brooks had one third of the total – two in game one and one in game two.
On the mound, Chase Maddux (1-0) and Jimmy Gamboa (2-0) picked up the wins with the former starting game one and throwing 5.0 innings to the latter's 3.0 innings of relief in game two. Maddux struck out three, but allowed seven runs (six earned) off seven hits. Gamboa, on the other hand, struck out four and only surrendered one run off four hits. Neither hurler allowed a walk in their respective games.
GAME 1 RECAP: UNLV jumped out to an early 5-0 lead through two innings and never looked back after it got a two-run single by Edarian Williams in the first and a three-run homer by Brooks in the second. UNM pulled within three after it scored twice in the top half of the third; however, the Rebels answered with six of their own to lead by nine, 11-2. The Lobos were able to score two in the fourth and three in the fifth only to see UNLV counter with three in the fourth – off another Brooks' homer – and a staggering 10 runs in the fifth to put the contest out of reach en route to the 17-run decision.
GAME 2 RECAP: After combining for 31 runs in the opener, the teams got out of the gates slowly in the second affair. It wasn't until the third inning when UNM would stake itself to an early 1-0 lead with help from a passed ball. UNLV turned things around in the bottom of the third off a solo homer from Brooks and a two-run blast from Eric Bigani. The Lobos knotted the score at 3-all in the fourth and took a one-run lead, 4-3, in the fifth off a solo homer of its own until Wold drew even, albeit briefly, in the sixth with a solo homer. Mack Chambers appeared to have put his Lobos in the lead in the seventh with a solo homer, but it was short-lived as Austin Kryszczuk and James Gamble hit a three-run and solo homer, consecutively.
NOTES:
-UNLV improved to 4-0 on Saturdays this season, sweeping doubleheaders against UNR (Feb. 27) and New Mexico (March 6).
-UNLV's 24 runs in game one tied for the eighth most in program history and are the most since the squad scored 25 at New Mexico (May 11, 2019) - 25 are tied for the fifth most.
-Brooks concluded game one with six RBI, five runs and two homers and the last time those figures were achieved in a game came between 2018 and 2020: Kryszczuk had two homers against Creighton (March 1, 2020); Wold scored five runs against New Mexico on May 11, 2019; and Kyle Isbel had six RBI against Columbia (Feb. 24, 2018).
UP NEXT: The Rebels and Lobos return to Wilson Stadium, once more, to close out their three-game, MW series Sunday at 11:05 am.
