UNLV Baseball swept the Utah Tech Trailblazers in a two-game series at home on April 9-10 to improve its record to 17-15 overall.
The Hustlin’ Rebels previously played Utah Tech this season on the road, winning the game 15-1 on Feb. 27.
Game One
UNLV won game one in come-from-behind fashion, 6-5, with a walk-off two-run double by Isaac Rodriguez in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Dylan Rogers started his first game as a Rebel and had trouble against the Utah Tech bats.
Rogers pitched a clean first inning but put up a crooked number in the second, giving up three runs on four hits.
Utah Tech put the pressure on the basepaths with Aaron Perez, Brennen Study, and Chase Rodriguez loading up the bases. Ethan He brought home a run with a single up the middle, and Ethan Royal also hit the ball up the middle for a two-run single, making the score 3-0.
Rogers finished his first start, giving up four hits and three earned runs in two innings pitched.
UNLV cut the deficit to two runs in the bottom of the third with a sacrifice fly by Rylan Charles bringing home Rodriguez.
Charles made it a one-run game in the bottom of the fifth inning, pulling the ball to the right side and bringing home Santino Panaro for an RBI double.
Brenden O’Sullivan put the Rebels up in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run homer to make the score 4-3.
The Trailblazers responded in the next frame with two runs from a pair of doubles from Hank Dodson and former Rebel Hunter Katschke making the score 5-4.
Both teams scored no runs until the bottom of the ninth inning when Isaac Rodriguez got the walk-off two-run double, bringing home Panaro and Parker Schmidt to defeat Utah Tech 6-5.
Matthew Maloney earned the win, holding the Trailblazers to one run in his 2 2-3 innings pitched.
Game Two
The Hustlin’ Rebels swept the series in game two, controlling the game throughout and winning 7-2.
Noah Carabajal earned his first win of the season, pitching five scoreless innings from the bump. Carabajal struck out four batters and gave up two hits in his 18 batters faced.
UNLV jumped ahead early, scoring four runs in the second inning. Paul Myro IV drove in Panaro with an opposite-field double for the Rebels’ first run, and Charles brought home Myro with an RBI single. O’Sullivan capped off the inning with his second two-run homer of the series to make the score 4-0.
It was a bullpen game for Utah Tech, and Ben Clark had trouble with his command when the Trailblazers put him on the bump in the fourth inning.
Clark missed inside, hitting Austin Kryszczuk by the pitch. Then he struggled to find the strike zone, walking Isaac Rodriguez, and gave up one run in the inning by throwing a wild pitch, advancing Kade Higgins from third to home to extend the UNLV lead to 5-0.
Levi Randall got the Trailblazers on the board with a single to right field to score He in the bottom of the seventh.
Kryszczuk put the game away after the seventh-inning stretch with a two-run double, bringing home Higgins and Charles to score 7-1.
Utah Tech scored another run in the top of the eighth, but it was too late for the Trailblazers. UNLV went on to win in game two, 7-2.
Up Next
UNLV plays its next home series on April 19-21 against the University of Nevada Reno Wolf Pack.
The Hustlin’ Rebels lost its previous series to the Wolf Pack on Mar. 22-24, losing two games out of three.
