LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (14-14, 4-9 MW) continued their 10-game homestand on Friday night as they hosted the Air Force Falcons (11-17, 7-5) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels had a sound performance on both the offensive and defensive end that led to a resound victory on a final score of 11-1.
Austin Cates followed up his career-best weekend with another stellar outing on the mound, the junior tossing a season-high eight innings of work and fanning 11 different Air Force batters with only one run allowed. Cates recorded four different innings where he picked up two or more Ks, including the top of the fifth where every single out recorded for the Rebels was a strikeout.
Jesus Gonzalez came out to close the ninth inning and was on just a hot streak, keeping all three batters faced stuck at the plate with three-straight strikeouts.
The two teams traded blow-for-blow in the game's first five innings, both teams only scoring one run in the second inning. The Hustlin' Rebels broke ahead in the bottom of the sixth inning, but their top inning game in the seventh when they tallied five runs on the Falcons.
UNLV featured several strong hitters on the day,
Alex Pimentel having a breakout game with three hits on four at bats with a walk. His team-leading three RBIs on the day came way both by singles, registering two in that strong seventh inning when his ball to left field drove in
Austin Kryszczuk and
Kade Higgins.
Kryszczuk found three hits of his own in three trips to the plate, walking twice to record a team-high four runs. One of his runs was earned through the game's only home run, his blast over the left-field wall opening the scoring for the team to tie it back in the bottom of the second inning. The program featured a second batter to pick up multiple RBIs in
Chase Ditmar, the redshirt freshman subbing in as the team's third baseman late in the contest and picking up one at bat. Ditmar made his at bat count, pushing a double to left field with the bases loaded on two outs to score both Pimentel and Kryszczuk.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Kryszczuk's four runs in the contest ties a career-high for the graduate student and marks a season-high, reaching the feat last time during the 2022 season in the win over New Mexico.
- Cates' 11 strikeouts on Friday marked the second-straight appearance he's posted double-digits, bolstering his Mountain West-leading count.
- UNLV now moves the all-time record in Las Vegas against the Falcons to 78-10.
- The Rebels extend their streak of 182-straight games with at least one run, dating back to the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
The Hustlin' Rebels will take the field once against Air Force on Saturday, April 6 for the second game of the weekend, continuing the homestand at Earl E. Wilson. The first pitch is set for a 6:05 p.m. PT start time.
