LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels capped a dominant weekend in emphatic fashion Sunday, rolling past the Bradley Braves 20-9 in the third and final game of the series to complete a three-game sweep at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
HOW IT WENT DOWN: UNLV wasted no time asserting control, erupting for five runs in the bottom of the first inning on five consecutive extra-base hits. Reggie Bussey set the tone with a leadoff double, and the Rebels followed with RBI doubles from Marcos Rosales, Ayden Garcia and Drew Barragan before Nin Burns II added an RBI triple. Jonny Rodriguez capped the opening barrage with a run-scoring groundout as UNLV jumped out to a 5-0 lead.
The Rebels kept their foot on the gas in the second inning, sending 10 men to the plate and scoring six more runs. Garcia delivered a two-run double, Barragan added a two-run single and Cooper Sheff chipped in a two-RBI single to push the advantage to 11-0 after two innings. Bradley answered with a run in the third and scratched across four more in the fourth, capitalizing on walks, hit batters and a UNLV error to cut the deficit to 11-5.
UNLV responded in the bottom of the fifth with three runs, highlighted by Burns' RBI double and another run manufactured via aggressive baserunning. Two more runs came home in the sixth on RBI singles from Barragan and Burns, extending the lead to 16-5. The Rebels added to the highlight reel in the seventh when Jayden Sanchez launched a two-run homer to deep left field, scoring Gavin Taylor and stretching the margin to 18-6. After Bradley plated three runs in the eighth, UNLV closed the door with two more runs of its own in the bottom half, including an RBI single by Sanchez, to reach the 20-run mark.
QUOTABLE: ""Great weekend from an offensive standpoint, saw a lot of pitches, had some big hits in numerous RBI situations, ran the bases aggressively and intelligently all weekend. We pitched well enough to win, but need to clean up controlling the running game. Bradley did a good job of exposing that."
-Head Coach Stan Stolte
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Offensively, UNLV piled up runs in seven of the eight innings they batted.
- Sheff has each recorded a hit in all seven games this season.
- Barragan finished with four RBI to pace the Rebels' lineup.
- Gavyn Bowen was credited with his first win of the season after going 2.2 innings with two hits, one earned run, three walks and three strikeouts.
UP NEXT: UNLV will close its seven-game homestand when they host two midweek games against Western Michigan on Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 6:05 pm, followed by the series finale on Wednesday, Feb. 25 at 12:05 pm.
