SAN JOSE, Calif. (UNLVrebels.com) – After claiming a tight 2-1 victory over the San Jose State Spartans (17-24, 12-11 MW) the day before, the UNLV baseball team (23-19, 10-13) took the field again on Saturday afternoon to rematch SJSU. The two teams would battle back-and-forth, but late rallies overcame the Scarlet and Gray as they fell on a final score of 8-7.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The Rebels were the first to strike in the contest,
Bailey Seeger launching a home run through left field for an early 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning.
- After
Paul Myro IV walked and
Brendan O'Sullivan hit a double to left,
Austin Kryszczuk would shoot a two-RBI single up the middle of the field later in the third inning to push the lead to three.
- The Spartans quickly responded with an RBI-single of their own in the next inning, but
JP Hefft would push the lead back to three runs in the top of the fourth after pushing a ball to left-center field.
- SJSU tallied a run in the bottom of the fifth, hitting a triple off an awkward bounce against the outfield wall.
- The Spartans would erupt in the bottom of the sixth inning, picking up four runs and a 6-4 lead.
- Kryszczuk found a second RBI-hit of the day in the top of the seventh inning, pushing the Rebels' second home run of the game through the left-center fence and tie the game back up at six runs each.
- A home run came right back to haunt the Scarlet & Gray in the bottom of the eighth, picking up a two-run lead.
- Kryszczuk would aim to carry the team through the finish with one final at bat, knocking out his second long ball of the day past left field in the top of the ninth to cut the gap to one run.
- After
Kade Higgins picked up a free base and
Santino Panaro doubled down the right-field line, the Rebels would fall on a third out while the tying run was on third.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kryszczuk's two home runs on Saturday mark his first multi-long ball day of the 2024 season, last doing it against Loyola Maramount during the 2022 season when he hit three in one game.
-
LJ Mercurius' first career start on the mound totaled 4.1 innings of work for the Rebels, fanning five batters at the plate and allowing only one walk.
- Panaro's three hits against San Jose State marked the third time this season he's had three or more hits in one game.
- UNLV's streak of 196-consecutive games of scoring at least one run in a contest continues, a streak stretching back to the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
The two teams will have one more duel to decide the weekend series, that contest taking place on Sunday, April 28. The Rebels'll aim to claim the season series with a first-pitch time of 12:00 p.m. PT.
