The UNLV Rebels (9-7, 3-0 MW) returned to San Diego State (4-10, 0-3 MW) after appearing in the 7th annual Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament for this weekend’s Mountain West Conference play opener.
Game 1
The UNLV Rebels came back into town with confidence after going undefeated in the Tony Gwynn Legacy tournament.
Senior right-handed pitcher Troy Melton took the mound for his first start for the Aztecs since 2021 in a game against New Mexico, due to a forearm injury.
The Aztecs took charge of scoring in the first with Cole Carrigg’s infield single, advancing to second base on a wild pitch from UNLV’s Josh Ibarra, and hurried home on a triple to left field from Johnny Giannola.
Melton worked two innings allowing no runs or hits, and amounting four strikeouts. Traditional Friday starter sophomore TJ Fondtain took it from there but had a rocky transition.
UNLV sophomore Austin Kryszczuk tied up the game with a double on two outs and brought in fellow sophomore Rylan Charles, who previously hit a single.
Sophomore Caden Miller led off in the sixth with a walk, advanced to second after Carrigg’s single, then stole third. Redshirt-freshman Johnny Giannola then doubled, plating Miller and regaining the lead for the Scarlet and Black, 2-1.
UNLV loaded bases against Fondtain but sophomore reliever Ricky Tibbett entered the game calm and composed. Tibbett struck out two Rebels but then was hit off by Charles, who brought in two additional runners, taking the lead 3-2.
The Rebels locked in two additional runs — one in the eighth and ninth — securing their second win of the weekend series.
Freshman Eldridge Armstrong III also made a mound appearance but gave up two hits, one run, and a strikeout in the ninth.
The loss was put on Fondtain after five innings pitched with three hits, three runs, and two strikeouts.
Game 2
Despite RHP sophomore Kelena Sauer’s career-high of nine strikeouts in five innings pitched, the Aztecs were not able to hold on to their early 3-0 lead against the Rebels.
The Scarlet and Black struck first with Carrigg’s single, aggressive stealing to second, and brought home on sophomore Pancho Ruiz’s base hit up center field.
Carrigg and Ruiz repeated their stunt from the first after Carrigg sent a double to left field, stole to third once again, and was plated by a single from Ruiz.
Following the run from the third, Ruiz provided again after smacking a double, advancing to third on a fly ball from designated hitter junior Deron Johnson, and making it home after UNLV’s junior Joey Acosta’s balk.
Sauer held the Rebels scoreless through five innings before giving up one hit.
Following Sauer’s performance, four additional Aztecs made pitching appearances including redshirt-sophomore Jonny Guzman, junior Brian Leonhardt, redshirt-sophomore Hunter Cranton, and redshirt-freshman Jadon Bercovich but the combined 18 strikeouts were not enough.
UNLV was in a relentless scoring pursuit throughout the sixth, seventh, and eighth with one run tallied in sixth and seventh, and two in the eighth.
Offensive production is something the Aztecs have struggled with thus far in the season. Ruiz and Carrigg provided large contributions with three hits for Ruiz, two of which drove in Carrigg.
After losing the top half of the batting order from 2021, including many of the dominant Aztec batters such as Jaden Fein, Matt Rudick, and Mike Jarvis, the Aztecs have put a lot of focus into their small ball, but it has yet to pay off when they are not able to secure late in the game wins.
Game 3
The eighth inning mattered most for the Rebels where they pushed six runs over home plate to take the lead from the Aztecs, win the third contest of the weekend 10-8, and secure a complete sweep.
UNLV put the first marks on the board with four hits in the first inning alone from senior Diego Alarcon’s triple, a single to center from junior Joey Walls, and Walls scoring on a Williams double to left field.
The Rebels continued their scoring triumph with another run in the third but a double from redshirt-junior Kenny Lebeau and scoring on a sac fly from Ruiz kept the Aztecs with hope of catching the Runnin’ Rebels.
Freshman Tyler Glowacki was plated from first by a base hit from freshman Irvin Weems to add one more to the Aztecs score, 4-2 UNLV.
The bats started to come alive for the SDSU, as Leonhardt smacked a two-run homer to tie up the game at 4-4.
The fifth inning was seemingly when it came together for the Scarlet and Black after Miller scored on a wild pitch, while freshman Tyler Glowacki was able to bring in Carrigg on a single, giving the Aztecs the 6-4 lead.
Redshirt-sophomore Avery Jones took over on the mound and took care of business, sending the first six batters he saw back into the dugout.
Things began to unravel for the Aztecs in the eighth after Jones gave up a pair of singles prompting a pitching change to Guzman.
UNLV senior Eric Bigani welcomed Guzman with a three-run home run, taking back the lead and increasing to 9-6 in the top of the eighth.
Carrigg fought for a late victory with a double to center field in the bottom of the eighth, bringing in Lebeau and Johnson and lessening their deficit to just 10-8 but it was not enough.
UNLV completed a full sweep of the Aztecs at home for the first time since 2007.
On deck…
The Aztecs look to shake off the series sweep and take on the University of Iowa in a midweek matchup on Tuesday at 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s game will close out the Aztecs twelve game homestand at Tony Gwynn Stadium before they hit the road to take on San Jose State University in a weekend series March 18-20.
