RENO, Nev. (UNLVrebels.com) – Coming off last weekend's sweep of Santa Clara, the UNLV baseball team (13-8, 3-4 MW) traveled north to face off against UNR (8-11, 4-3 MW) as part of the Silver State Series, presented by America First Credit Union. The Hustlin' Rebels emerged on top in a ninth-inning rally that forced extra innings, claiming the win on a final score of 3-2 (10 inn.).
UNR held down UNLV's offense to only three hits in the first eight innings of the contest,
Alex Pimentel being the team's farthest baserunner after his double in the top of the eighth inning.
Austin Cates served as the Rebels' starting pitcher on Friday, serving a season-high seven innings with five of them shutting out the Wolfpack.
Down 2-0 in the top of the ninth inning, the Scarlet & Gray's rally kicked off with
Rylan Charles leading off the lineup with a home run to right field, his fourth of the season at the time. The hit to avoid the shutdown helped spark contact with the ball in
JP Hefft, the Rebels picking up two-straight hits off of the junior's single to left field. UNLV's next two batters wouldn't be able to advance Hefft 90 feet, UNR's left fielder holding him through putouts on fly balls and line outs.
Austin Kryszczuk kept the rally alive with placing a ball to the left-fielder that they couldn't catch right away, Hefft finally reaching second base and in prime scoring position of the graduate student's single.
Parker Schmidt would knock in the equalizer in the very next at bat, his ball placed along the left side of the field being just far enough to score Hefft.
After
Jesus Gonzalez took down UNR with ease in the bottom of the ninth on the mound, the two teams moved into the 10th inning of the game. On two outs, Charles took the plate once again with an opportunity to reclaim the lead. The Reno, Nev., native was able to place an awkwardly hit ball to right field, causing UNR's right fielder to dive for the catch. Being just a half-step too short on the play, the ball bounced past the defender and allowed Charles to whirl around the bases, beating the throw to home plate for an inside-the-park home run and the Rebel lead.
The Scarlet & Gray still needed to stay secure defensively, Charles and Higgins each catching fly balls as the first two outs in the bottom of the 10th. With two outs,
Jesus Gonzalez would close out the game at the plate with a strikeout on the final UNR batter, catching him swinging.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Charles' pair of home runs in Friday night's contest marked the first game of his career with more than one in a single game.
- The last time the Rebels picked up an inside-the-park home run was during the 2019 season, Bryson Stott earning one as the Rebels took down Seattle on an 8-5 final score.
- The Rebels have extended their run-streak to 175-straight games of avoiding being shut out, dating back to the 2020 season.
UP NEXT
UNLV will look to continue their three-game win streak with another round against UNR on Saturday, March 23. That game will take place in Reno, Nev., once again with a first-pitch time of 2:05 p.m. PT.
