MESA, Ariz. (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Hustlin' Rebels' baseball team (30-25) saw their season come to an end with a 17-2 run-rule loss to Air Force (26-26) in the opening round of the Credit Union 1 Mountain West Championship at Sloan Park on Thursday afternoon.
HOW IT WENT DOWN: The Falcons wasted little time taking control. TJ Oster opened the bottom of the first inning with a leadoff home run to left field before Walker Zapp added an RBI single later in the frame. Air Force also manufactured a run by stealing home as part of a five-steal opening inning to grab a 3-0 lead. After a quiet second inning from the Rebels, the Falcons added two more runs in the bottom half when Zapp delivered a two-run ground-rule double to center field, extending the lead to 5-0. The Falcons broke the game open in the third. Following a walk to Luke Elmore, Landon Boyd launched a three-run homer to deep center field to make it 8-0. UNLV finally got on the board in the fourth inning thanks to Cooper Sheff. Gunnar Myro and Reggie Bussey later added singles in the inning, but the Rebels could not push across another run. The Falcons answered immediately in the bottom half. Wyatt Hanoian drove in a run with a single before Christian Taylor added a sacrifice fly to push the margin to 10-1.
Air Force continued piling on in the fifth and sixth innings. Elmore connected on a solo homer in the fifth, while Boyd delivered the knockout blow in the sixth with his second three-run homer of the afternoon. The Falcons scored six runs in the inning, aided by stolen bases and a UNLV fielding error, to build a 17-1 advantage. UNLV showed one final spark in the seventh inning. Marcos Rosales worked a walk before Connor Tallakson lined an RBI single to left field to score the Rebels' second run of the game. However, Air Force closed the door from there to secure the run-rule victory.
QUOTABLE: "Was just a great dominating game by Air Force. Can't blame conditions, altitude, nothing. Just kicked our butts. We were chasing 3 early, then 5, then 8. Could never catch our breath. We weren't very good on the mound in every phase and in a tournament type setting are so hard to overcome."Â
-Head Coach Stan Stolte
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- The Rebels are 30-37 all-time at the MW Championship.
- The Rebels are 9-18 all-time in elimination games at the MW Championship.
- The Rebels were 19-12 in nonconference contests and were 11-13 in Mountain West games.
- The Rebels were 19-13 in home games, 9-10 in road games and 2-2 in neutral site games.
- The Rebels were 3-15 they scored five or fewer runs.
- The Rebels were 2-15 when they allowed 10 or more runs.
