LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) — Jasmine Martin made sure Coach Vern earned one more win as UNLV pummeled San Diego 7-1 Saturday at Eller Media Stadium.

UNLV honored the memory of Vern Stephens, a youth coach and pillar of Las Vegas' softball community who passed away in February 2021 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, with a ceremonial first pitch thrown by his daughter, Kayla. 

Martin, who played five years on Stephens' travel ball teams, crouched behind home plate to catch Kayla's pre-game toss, and then hit two home runs to power the Rebels' offense to victory in her finest collegiate outing to date.

"I was really happy I was able to do something for him on the day he was honored," Martin said, "especially in front of Kayla and so many of my friends and family. It was really fun."

Martin hit 2-for-3 with a walk and three RBIs and sparred in a home-run derby with teammate Samantha Diaz, who hit two solo shots in back-to-back at-bats.

"Vern was one of my biggest supporters when I took over the job," UNLV head coach Kristie Fox said. "He really conveyed to me the talent in Vegas and the potential for what we could build here. 

"We miss Vern a lot, and it was really important for his daughter to come out here and be a part of our game today."

We're proud to have Kayla Stephens throw the ceremonial first pitch in honor of her father, Vern, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2021.

Vern Stephens was a pillar of the Las Vegas softball community and even coached some of our Rebels. 😇 pic.twitter.com/FL87R5oz3V

— UNLV Softball (@UNLVSoftball) March 26, 2022

Martin broke an LED panel on the scoreboard after hammering a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the second in her first at-bat. Then Sofia Morales toed the inside left-field line with a two-out RBI single that gave the Rebels a 2-0 advantage.

"She has a lot of hats. We've been wanting to get her in the lineup, offensively, but we've really had to consider her as an important part of our pitching staff."

In the next inning, Martin homered again, scoring Denise Armendariz, who reached on a double, and then Diaz followed with her first home run of the game.

The Toreros snuck a run through in the top of the fourth only to be answered when Armendariz plated April Visser from third on groundout to second.

Diaz led off the fifth by setting sail to an 0-1 offering from McKenna Braegelmann, who had just entered in relief of starter Courtney Rose. 

With a home run in her first plate appearance Friday, Diaz has hit 5-for-7 with three home runs in the series. She moved into UNLV's top 10 for career home runs with 30.

"Sam's doing a really good job of having quality at-bats," Fox said, "We need to keep her approach at the plate staying her ground and trusting that she's able to do what she's capable without guessing."

Jenny Bressler (W, 12-4) was threatened with runners in scoring position in six of her seven innings in the circle, but struck out a season-high 10 batters in a complete-game appearance. 

"Jenny did a really good job battling through the zone and throwing strikes when she needed to. It was a tough game today for her, but for her to compete and battle through that was huge for us."

Rebels' third baseman Lauryn Barker, another Stephens' protege, hit 2-for-3 Saturday. Left fielder Maddie Schmidt was 4-for-5 and Visser hit 1-for-2 with two walks. 

UNLV and San Diego finish the three-game series Sunday at noon.