LAS VEGAS – The UNLV baseball team (14-10) faced off against Arizona State (16-7) in the annual rubber match at the Las Vegas Ballpark on Tuesday night. The two programs traded blows back-and-forth throughout the contest, but the seven-run eighth inning made the difference on the way to the Hustlin’ Rebels’ 11-6 win.
The Sun Devils picked up a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning of action, but the Scarlet & Gray closed the gap in the bottom of the first with a run of their own off a live ball from Cole Koniarsky. Arizona State was able to reapply the pressure with an RBI double in the second inning, but the bottom of the third brought a double of their own for the Rebels as Dean Toigo slapped a hit to left-center field to score Cooper Sheff and JP Hefft. The double would tie the game in before Koniarsky earned an RBI hit in the bottom of the fifth.
The UNLV lead held for a bit before Arizona State placed three-unanswered runs, putting the score 6-3 heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. With the Rebels at the plate in the bottom of the eighth, UNLV earned two-straight singles into a walk to load the bases without recording a single out.
Gunnar Myro would step to the plate and be credited his first hit in the game, placing the ball in the back corner of the left-side of the field for a bases-clearing double. The three-RBI double for Myro pulled the Hustlin’ Rebels in the lead 8-7, but the offensive surge would plate four more runs for an 11-6 lead. The other four Rebel runs featured a sacrifice RBI-line drive for JP Hefft, an RBI hit-by-pitch with the bases loaded for Toigo, another sacrifice fly for Dwight Allen II and Cooper Sheff sliding into home off of a wild pitch. Alex Overbay would enter the game to close out for the Rebels in the top of the ninth, pitching two ground outs and a line drive to seal the win.
“We strung some great Abs together in the bottom of the eighth and it was great to see. We still need to clean up some things defensively though,” mentioned head coach Stan Stolte. “It’s hard to overcome those mistakes we made early in the game and consistently win. Good grind out win against a quality well-coached opponent tonight.”
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
– Alex Navarette would enter the game in the top of the fourth for three shutout innings pitched, not allowing a single hit in the contest for his third no-hit appearance of the season.
– Myro’s three RBIs off the double in the bottom of the eighth would mark a career-high for the sophomore.
– Toigo’s three hits in four at bats marks the senior outfielder’s fourth three-hit game of the season.
– Michael Taylor earns his first pitching decision of the season, pitching in that top of the eighth inning before the Rebels went on a scoring surge.
UP NEXT
The UNLV baseball team will take the road this upcoming weekend to get back into conference play, facing off against San Diego State. That series will be a three-game set, the first pitch on Friday, March 28 taking place at 6 p.m. PT. To get updates on all things Hustlin’ Rebels, links to the season’s games can be found on the team’s schedule page. You can also get live updates on how the Scarlet & Gray are faring on the team’s X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook and Instagram accounts.
