LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (2-3) kicked off the home season on Friday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, hosting no. 25-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (3-1) for the first of their four-game set. The Bearcats held the Hustlin' Rebel bats at bay in the contest, taking down UNLV on a final score of 6-0.
 
Reliever Alex Navarrete came onto the mound after replacing starting pitcher Carson Lane in the top of the third inning, pitching 4.1 innings of work through the seventh inning and fanning five batters in the process. Colton Sundloff made his second appearance of the season in relief as well as sophomore Dylan Rogers, the Reno, Nev., native throwing a three-up, three-down inning in the top of the ninth.
 
The Rebel bats had three hits in the contest in total, that trio belonging to JP Hefft, Gunnar Myro and Mikey Cruz Jr. All of the previously-mentioned hits were singles, Cruz Jr.'s hit stemmed from a pinch hit in the bottom of the ninth inning, sending the single through left-center field. Cooper Sheff also picked up two walks during the contest.
 
"There's no recipe for success when our pitchers consistently can't throw strikes with more than one pitch, while the opponent can throw multiple pitches for strikes any time they want. Zero chance of success when that happens" explained head coach Stan Stolte. "We'll have to bounce back tomorrow against a very good Cincinnati team."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Hefft's single in the first inning marked his third game in a row with at least one hit, marking hits in four of the first five games of the season.
- Navarrete's only two earned runs on the mound on Friday were due to solo-shot home runs, facing 14 batters outside of the two who went long.
- Cruz's single in the ninth marked his second hit as a pinch hitter this season out of his three plate appearances. 

UP NEXT
The Hustlin' Rebels will get another chance at the Bearcats on Saturday night, playing the second of four games this weekend on the schedule on Feb. 22. The first pitch of the Rebels' next game is set to start at 6:05 p.m. PT. To get updates on all things Hustlin' Rebels, links to the season's games can be found on the team's schedule page. You can also get live updates on how the Scarlet & Gray are faring on the team's X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook and Instagram accounts.