LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) — By the time the sun dipped below the Rocky Mountain skyline of the first official night outing at Ram Field, the Rebels had put the game to bed.

UNLV (17-16 overall, 3-5 Mountain West) sheared Colorado State's (17-11, 3-3) bullpen for a 9-6 victory Saturday in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State hosted a grand opening of its renovated venue, which included newly-installed lighting but it was quickly a celebration for the Rebels.

UNLV loaded the bases by the time clean-up hitter Kelsie Kelso put her first foot into the batter's box. Kelso's sacrifice fly led a string of three scoring plays over the next four at-bats. A 3-0 lead turned into a 6-0 bruising when Skyler Shaw's outfield grounder was fumbled by the right fielder for a bases-clearing error.

Alanna Thiede (W, 2-4) shut down the Rams, allowing just two runs on five hits before losing steam in the bottom of the seventh. Hailey Smith hit a two-run blast in the final frame as part of Colorado State's last-ditch efforts, but UNLV's lead was too much to overcome.

The top of UNLV's lineup was stellar once again. Maddie Schmidt reached base for the eighth time in her last 10 at-bats as UNLV's leadoff. April Visser hit 3-for-5 with a home run as part of three trips across the plate. Designated player Ariana Martinez had two hits and walks three times to reach base in all five plate appearances.

Sunday's series finale starts at 12 p.m. PT and will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.