LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – After winning the first two games of the season series the last two days, the UNLV baseball team (6-1) aimed to close out the weekend with a third and final win over Bradley (1-5) on Sunday. The Hustlin' Rebels would do just that and more in the contest, picking up their first run-rule win of the season after eight innings on a final score of 10-0.
The Scarlet & Gray totaled three home runs in the contest, all coming from the fifth inning on to add insurance runs.
Rylan Charles knocked a ball past the right side of the wall for his second home run of the young season, pushing the Rebels' lead to three in the bottom of the fifth.
Brendan O'Sullivan made his second start of the season, jamming his first homer in a UNLV uniform to pick up a four-run lead in the bottom of the sixth. After
Santino Panaro walked a free trot to first base,
Bailey Seeger closed the home-run tally by jamming a pitch past the left-field fence in the bottom of the sixth inning as well.
O'Sullivan found offensive efficiency all afternoon, swiping four RBI's with only two at bats. Picking up two hits, he would shoot an RBI double through the left side of the field in the bottom of the seventh inning and claim a walk with the bases loaded to bring home
Parker Schmidt in the bottom of the first.
Outside of Schmidt's walk in the first inning that would eventually lead him home, the senior would claim his first triple of the season in the bottom of the fifth before gaining an RBI single in the sixth. His RBI single drove home
Gunnar Myro to earn the Rebels a 7-0 lead.
Junior
Sam Simon performed a second-straight seven-inning appearance on the mound, earning his second shutout performance of the season after facing 27 Bradley batters. The Las Vegas native totaled eight strikeouts overall in the contest, doubling his total from last week at Pacific, including a stretch in the top of the seventh inning where he picked up strikeouts in all three outs of the inning. Freshman
Dylan Rogers came on as relief in the final inning of play and performed at a high level as well, only facing three batters in his second appearance of the season and striking out two of them.
Kade Higgins featured another efficient day at the plate in the fourth spot of the lineup, earning three hits that picked up a run on his stat line. Higgins' run in the bottom of the eighth inning was the game's final play before hitting the run rule,
Austin Kryszczuk sending a double through the left side to drive in both Higgins and
Alex Pimentel.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Rebels' three home runs marks the first time in a single game during the 2024 season the team has had three or more, a feat they reached five times in 2023.
- UNLV's sweep over Bradley now puts the head-to-head all-time series 7-1 in favor of the Rebels.
- The program's 6-1 start to the young season marks their best first-seven games of the year since 2018, that season the Rebels opened the year with an 11-1 record in the first 12 games.
UP NEXT
UNLV will have a quick turnaround for a one-game road trip in the early parts of the week, traveling out to Utah Tech on Tuesday, Feb. 27. The first pitch of that contest in St. George, Utah is scheduled for a 3:05 p.m. PT start.
