PHOENIX (UNLVrebels.com) – After completing their Mountain West conference schedule last weekend, the UNLV baseball team (26-25) kicked off their final weekend of the regular season with a neutral matchup against Texas Tech (31-23) on Friday. The Rebels almost mounted a late comeback in the contest, but couldn't hold the Red Raiders in the 13-12 loss.
The Scarlet & Gray pushed three hits out of the ballpark,
Brendan O'Sullivan kicking things off in the top of the third inning with a three-run slap to extend the Rebels' lead to four in the inning. Later in the contest it would be
Austin Kryszczuk going yard, blasting his ticket around the bases past the left-center fence on a three-run shot as well. He'd later hit a second long ball in the top of the eighth inning, closing the Red Raiders' gap to three with a solo shot to right center.
The Rebels also scored in that third inning before O'Sullivan's home run,
JP Hefft leading off the inning with a single and later sitting at third base in time for
Kade Higgins' rough hit to drive him home for the opening run of the contest.
Parker Schmidt held an incredible day at the plate, collecting five hits and three RBI that included a two-out double down the third-base side in the top of the fourth inning. During those four trips to first base, he'd run around the bases twice that each came from the previously-mentioned homers that the Rebels hit. His two-out single in the top of the ninth inning was what tied the game at 12 runs each to extend the game, singling into right field just enough for
Santino Panaro and
Isaac Rodriguez to score on the play. UNLV tallied eight unanswered runs in the final three innings to force the bottom of the ninth.
Hefft, Kryszczuk and O'Sullivan would each join Schmidt as the other multi-hit batters in the lineup, both of Hefft's hits coming as leadoff singles in the bottom of the third and seventh innings. O'Sullivan's other hit stemmed from the same seventh inning as Hefft, doubling down the left-field line after Kryszczuk's homer to try and keep the momentum rolling.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Schmidt's five hits tallies a season-high for the senior outfielder, Friday being his sixth time this season with at least three hits in a contest.
- Kryszczuk's team-leading seventeen home runa was the second-consecutive game he's hit one and his eighth within the last month.
- UNLV's run streak continues after Friday's game, the Rebels scoring at least one run in the last 205 games they've played in a streak that dates back to the 2021 season.
UP NEXT
The Hustlin' Rebels final game in the 2024 regular season will take place on Saturday night, facing off against Arizona State on Saturday, May 18. That match is scheduled to kick off at 6:30 p.m. PT.
