LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – Coming off of a series-opening win on Friday night, the UNLV baseball team (7-4) returned to Earl E. Wilson for a Saturday doubleheader against Milwaukee (1-8) on Saturday afternoon. The Scarlet & Gray picked up a pair of victories to clinch the series win, the first game resulting in a 2-0 final score and the second being an 11-6 mark.
 
GAME 1: UNLV 2, Milwaukee 0 (7 innings)
- The Rebels were able to strike early, Cooper Sheff picking up a single to left and later being driven in by a Dean Toigo single.
- Starting pitcher LJ Mercurius was able to shut down the Panther offense from the second through fifth innings, only allowing one baserunner during the stretch on a single in the third inning.
- After UNLV closed off Milwaukee's threats of runners on second and third base, redshirt freshman Cooper Sheff opened the bottom of the sixth inning with a home run to right-center field, his third-consecutive game with a long ball.
- Milwaukee put on late pressure again in the top of the seventh inning with two baserunners on the corners, but LJ Mercurius would freeze both the runners and batters, striking out the final two outs via swinging and earning the first complete game of his career. 

GAME 2: UNLV 11, Milwaukee 6
- The Scarlet & Gray's first inning exploded with offense, batting entirely through the order and notching five runs, first off of Dean Toigo's two-run homer to right field.
- UNLV also picked up a score capitalizing on a Panther mistake, Cole Koniarsky sliding through home plate off of a wild pitch after reaching third base from a Brendan O'Sullivan double.
- The Rebels also earned two runs and two RBIs off of bases-loaded walks, four-straight batters earning a free base during the stretch.
- Milwaukee found offense of their own in the top of the second inning, scoring four runs in the inning and closing the gap to one run. They'd later tie the game at five's in the third.
- The Rebels responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the third inning, Nicky Garritano reaching home after picking up his first collegiate triple off of the JP Hefft single. UNLV would score one more in the inning via a sacrifice fly by Cooper Sheff.
- Koniarsky continued his hit streak with a long ball in the bottom of the fourth, nailing the solo home run past the left-field wall.
- The two teams would only threaten scores until the top of the seventh, Milwaukee pushing the score to 8-6 in favor of UNLV.
- Garritano opened after the stretch break swinging a leadoff single, coming home the next batter later off of the Isaac Rodriguez triple. After moving to third base later, Sheff would be credited his second sacrifice fly on the day by driving home Rodriguez.
- The Rebels would pick up the final run of the day via a bases-loaded walk, Dwight Allen II earning the RBI.
- Mason Dillow closed after relieving Cody Albright through his two innings of work, pitching a simple 1-2-3 inning to seal the win from a swinging strikeout, ground out and another swinging strikeout. 

"LJ Mercurius did a really good job for us in game one, his complete game in a tight match was a big step forward for him" mentioned head coach Stan Stolte. "We didn't play good baseball in game two, not to take anything away from Milwaukee. But when you play poorly defensively, walking 10 guys in a game you had well in hand early, and allowing them back into it was disappointing. Milwaukee did a good job of coming back, but we have to get better in those areas quickly."
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Mercurius' complete game was the first full game by a Rebel starting pitcher since the 2023 season when Jordan Hanson pitched in the win over Air Force.
- Koniarsky's hit streak moves up to six-consecutive games for the Hustlin' Rebels, the senior transfer starting the streak last weekend against then-#25 Cincinnati.
- Garritano's first collegiate start as Rebel had plenty of bright spots in game two, the junior transfer batting 2-for-4 with a pair of runs and a perfect 4-for-4 on dishing assists for putouts at second base.
- The Rebel pitching staff in game two struck out 10 batters, the ninth time this season the team has fanned double-digit batters in a single game. 

UP NEXT
The Hustlin' Rebels will battle the Milwaukee Panthers once more before the conclusion of the weekend, taking the field on Sunday, March 2. The series finale is set to kick off at 12:05 p.m. PT at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. 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.