LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV baseball's hopes of salvaging a series win were dashed Sunday afternoon as San José State erupted for 18 runs in an 18-8 run-rule victory, ending the game after seven innings in a lopsided finale at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.

HOW IT WENT DOWN: San José State (12-15, 3-3 MW) broke the game open early and never looked back. After a quiet opening frame, the Spartans struck first in the second inning in emphatic fashion. A pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases before Dylan Jackson delivered the decisive blow, a grand slam to deep left field that gave the Spartans a 4-0 lead. UNLV (17-11, 2-4 MW) struggled to generate offense early, managing just one hit through the first four innings while stranding runners in scoring position in the fourth. Meanwhile, San José State tacked on another run in the fourth on an RBI single from Alex Fernandes, extending the lead to 5-0.

The Rebels finally showed life in the fifth inning. Nicky Garritano sparked the rally with a double, and Marcos Rosales followed with an RBI single. Drew Barragan then delivered the biggest hit of the inning, launching a two-run home run to left to cut the deficit to 5-3. SJSU responded with a decisive seven-run sixth inning, capitalizing on five hits and multiple walks. Key hits included a two-run single from Peyton Rowles and a three-run double from Brent Cota, pushing the lead to 12-3 and putting the game firmly out of reach. UNLV continued to battle offensively, plating three runs in the sixth inning behind a solo home run from Jonny Rodriguez and RBI hits from Garritano and Rosales to make it 12-6. But again, the Spartans had an answer.

In the seventh, San José State delivered the knockout blow with six more runs. Cota capped the inning with a three-run home run to center, part of a seven-hit frame that ballooned the lead to 18-6. The Rebels managed a brief rally in the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back solo home runs from Cooper Sheff and Rodriguez, but the deficit proved too large to overcome as the run-rule was enforced.

QUOTABLE: "Good to win the series, didn't have much of a chance today even though the offense kept battling. I credit San Jose State; we scored three runs to get back in the game and they answered with seven. It was a crazy Mountain West Sunday game to an extent with 21 runs scored in the last three innings. Pitcher depth was tested on both sides."
-Head Coach Stan Stolte

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
-Marcos Rosales went 2-for-5 with two RBI and has recorded double-digit hits in 11 games this season.
-Rosales is 10-for-18 in four games this week with 15 RBI and nine runs scored.
-Drew Barragan notched a stat line of 2-for-3 with two RBI, one run scored and one walk, as he has upped his batting average to .467 with a team-best 50 hits.
-Jonny Rodriguez hit his second and third home runs of the season on back-to-back at-bats.
-San José State finished with 18 runs on 19 hits, compared to UNLV's eight runs and 12 hits.
-Relief pitcher Colton Sundloff made his team-high 14th appearance this season as the graduate student threw 0.1 innings facing just one batter.