LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - A back-and-forth battle slipped away from UNLV in heartbreaking fashion Sunday afternoon, as Washington State used a ninth-inning home run to edge the Rebels, 9-8, in the rubber match of the weekend series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.

HOW IT WENT DOWN: After clawing back from an early deficit and taking a late lead, UNLV (23-17, 6-9 MW) couldn't hold off a persistent Washington State (21-19, 9-6 MW) lineup that delivered the final blow in the top of the ninth. The Cougars struck first in the second inning when Dustin Robinson launched a solo home run to center field for a 1-0 lead. UNLV answered in the bottom half, tying the game on an RBI double from Jonny Rodriguez that scored Cooper Sheff.

Washington State regained control in the third and broke things open in the fourth. RBI hits from Max Hartman and Mason Pirello pushed the Cougars ahead 3-1 before a four-run fourth inning created separation. A two-run single from Gavin Roy and an RBI triple by Hartman highlighted the surge, giving Washington State a commanding 7-1 advantage.

The Hustlin' Rebels began to chip away in the middle innings. Rodriguez homered in the fourth, and the Rebels added two more runs in the fifth behind RBI singles from Sheff and Rodriguez to cut the deficit to 7-4. The game turned in the sixth inning, when the Scarlet & Gray erupted for four runs. After loading the bases, Drew Barragan grounded into a double play that plated a run, and Ayden Garcia followed with a towering two-run homer to tie the game at 7-7. Later in the inning, Rodriguez delivered again with an RBI single to give UNLV its first lead of the day at 8-7.

Washington State responded in the seventh, tying the game at 8-8 on a sacrifice fly from Kyler Northrop. Both teams went quiet in the eighth, setting the stage for late drama. In the ninth, Ryan Skjonsby led off the inning where he faced UNLV relief pitcher Jase Evangelista and belted a solo home run to right field, his second of the game, putting the Cougars back on top, 9-8. UNLV threatened in the bottom half when Sheff singled to lead off the inning, but the rally quickly unraveled. Rodriguez grounded into a double play, and Jayden Hertel struck out swinging to end the game.

QUOTABLE: "Hard fought Sunday game to win the series. Whoever lost this one was going to feel miserable. WSU outscored us 2-0 the last three innings after we battled back from a 7-1 deficit to tie. They had a big swing in the top of the ninth and made a key defensive play in the bottom of the ninth, and that obviously was the difference."
-Head Coach Stan Stolte

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
-Drew Barragan has now reached base in all 39 games he has played in this season and has an on-base streak of 40 games dating back to his time at Western Kentucky last season.
-Jonny Rodriguez paced the Rebels offensively with a season tying-high four hits, going 4-for-5 with his fifth home run of the season and a season-high four RBI.
-Ayden Garcia is now on a five-game hitting streak as the catcher went 2-for-4 with a home run, single and collected a walk.
-Reggie Bussey, Marcos Rosales and Gunnar Myro also recorded double-digit efforts.
-Barragan and Jayden Hertel were the lone Rebel starters to not score a run.
-Starting pitcher Josh Donegan went 3.1 innings where the right-hander gave up seven hits on five earned runs with no walks and three strikeouts. 
-For the weekend series, Cooper Sheff went 8-for-13 with a .615 batting average where he had 13 total bases with a home run, two doubles, two RBI, scored four runs and notched a slugging percentage of 1.000 with an on-base percentage of .643.

UP NEXT: UNLV will travel north to face the UNR Wolf Pack at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park in Reno next weekend. The three-game Mountain West series will feature game one on Friday, April 24 at 6:05 pm, followed by game two on Saturday, April 25 at 2:05 pm with the series finale on Sunday, April 26 at 12:05 pm. In addition to the games counting towards the conference standings, they will also determine which side – UNLV or UNR – will claim the three points associated with the sport towards the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union.