LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (12-9, 1-3 MW) kicked off their three-game series against Fresno State (9-12, 2-2) on Friday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, the Hustlin' Rebels looking to claim their first conference win of the season. The team would do that and more in the game, setting several career and historic marks that included a combined no-hitter with the 9-0 victory.
Carson Lane started the game for the Scarlet & Gray and pitched eight scoreless and hitless innings, facing 26 batters in 108 pitches. The sophomore would throw six innings of three-up, three-down against the Bulldogs, including his final inning of work in the top of the eighth where he struck out two of the three batters he faced.
Will Marquart took over on the mound and wrapped up the game in the top of the nine with his ninth appearance of the season, striking out the final batter on a 2-2 count to finish the Friday-night showdown.
"It was awesome having the defense behind you" noted
Carson Lane. "JP [Hefft], PM4 [
Paul Myro IV] and Gunnar [Myro] all making fantastic plays to keep the pitch count low and keeping me out on the mound."
The Hustlin' Rebels fired just as much from an offensive standpoint, producing 16 hits throughout their starting lineup.
Dean Toigo and
Gunnar Myro shared the top of the order with four hits each in the contest, notching career-highs for each of them. Toigo's four hits consisted of his eighth home run of the season, blasting it over the right-field wall in the bottom of the first inning to total four RBIs on the night. Myro scored two runs on the base paths, crossing home in the seventh and second innings of action.
Cooper Sheff also tallied a career night, the redshirt freshman tying his career high in hits (three) as well as scoring a career-high three runs in the contest. His three runs stemmed from Toigo's previously-mentioned homer, coming from second base in the bottom of the fourth off a single and dashing home in the bottom of the sixth off another single from second base.
Chase Gallegos would be the final Hustlin' Rebel to total three or more hits in the contest, earning a pair of RBIs from his single in the bottom of the third and a double in the bottom of the seventh. That bottom of the seventh run was strung by back-to-back-to-back doubles, Myro, Gallegos and
Paul Myro IV each slapping one to push the score to 8-0 at that point in time.
"Great job by Carson [Lane] obviously. Gallegos caught a great game, Marquart finished the ninth and Coach Opalewski called a great game" praised head coach
Stan Stolte. "This makes tomorrow's game even tougher, we know that Fresno State is a well-coached team and they'll be ready without a doubt."
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Hustlin' Rebels' combined no hitter is the first since the 2003 season when UNLV freshman Matt Luca threw nine innings in the 5-0 win over San Diego State.
- Lane's eight innings of action on Friday marked a career-high for the sophomore, his total of nine strikeouts being the third time this season he's fanned seven or more in a single start.
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Dean Toigo's eighth home run of the season continues to battle for the top spot in the Mountain West, now the outright leader in the statistical category.
- Myro's strong hitting continues since the start of March, batting .447 for the month so far and now .381 on the season.
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Paul Myro IV's double-play 6-3 play in the top of the seventh inning was the senior's fourth of the season.
UP NEXT
The Scarlet & Gray will face off against the Bulldogs on Saturday, March 22 for the second of three games this series, looking to claim the weekend win. The first pitch is set for a 6:05 p.m. PT start time. 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.
