SANTA CLARA, Calif. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels saw their seven-game winning streak come to an end Sunday afternoon, falling 5-3 to the Santa Clara Broncos at Stephen Schott Stadium.

HOW IT WENT DOWN: Santa Clara (5-6) struck first and never trailed, as the Broncos manufactured a run in the opening frame without the benefit of a big hit. After a pair of walks put traffic on the bases, Will Anderson's infield single loaded the bases before Luke Devine lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score the game's first run for a 1-0 lead. UNLV's (9-3) offense struggled to find rhythm early, as the Hustlin' Rebels were retired in order in innings one, two and five, and did not record a hit until the seventh. Santa Clara starting pitcher Jackson Cook went five innings without allowing a hit with one walk and three strikeouts. Furthermore, the Rebels managed just two baserunners through the first seven frames — a walk in the third and a hit-by-pitch in the fourth.

The Broncos added to their lead in the fifth. A leadoff walk and a bunt single set the table before a sacrifice fly made it 2-0. Moments later, Anderson reached on a fielder's choice that brought home another run, extending the advantage to 3-0. Santa Clara tacked on an unearned run in the sixth in unusual fashion. After Andrew Rayment singled and advanced on a failed pickoff attempt, he moved to third on a Tate Foxson balk and then scored on another balk, pushing the lead to 4-0.

UNLV finally broke through in the seventh. After reaching on a dropped fly ball, Marcos Rosales eventually came around to score on an RBI single by Nin Burns II, trimming the deficit to 4-1. The Broncos answered immediately in the bottom half on another sacrifice fly, restoring a four-run cushion at 5-1. The Scarlet & Gray mounted their strongest push in the eighth, as Gunnar Myro blasted a solo home run to left field to make it 5-2, and later in the inning, Drew Barragan delivered an RBI single to score Rosales and cut the margin to 5-3. UNLV brought the tying run to the plate but could not deliver the decisive hit. In the ninth, the Rebels again threatened, as Burns II worked a leadoff walk and Jayden Hertel followed with a single to bring the potential tying run aboard. However, Santa Clara turned a game-ending double play to seal the victory.

QUOTABLE: "Good weekend winning a series on the road versus a team that's going to compete for a West Coast Conference championship. We play with passion which I love, sometimes too much and we try to do too much, but that's fixable. They played baseball at a cleaner level than we did from a defensive and pitching standpoint. Offensively, we squared some balls up that couldn't find a gap."
-Head Coach Stan Stolte

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
-Barragan has tallied a hit in 10 of the 11 games he has played, including three games of three or more hits and seven games of two or more hits.
-Barragan has a team-high 21 hits, 20 RBI, a .467 batting average, .733 slugging percentage and a 1.261 OPS. 
-Cooper Sheff has a hit in 11 of the 12 games, including a four-game hitting streak.
-Marcos Rosales has notched a single hit in five straight games, and is riding a 10-game hitting streak coming back home.
-Felix Ong was credited with his first loss of the season after going five innings giving up three earned runs on four walks and three strikeouts.
-Tate Foxson threw two innings out of the bullpen five up two runs (one unearned run) with two walks and three strikeouts.
-Jase Evangelista pitched in the eighth inning where he allowed one hit and struck out one batter.
-Both teams struck out seven times in the contest.

UP NEXT: UNLV returns home to Earl E. Wilson Stadium this upcoming week with a pair of games against Northern Colorado, March 3-4. The midweek affairs against the Bears are slated for 6:05 pm and 12:05 pm, respectively, Tuesday and Wednesday.