By Hannah Hall — Staff Writer
San Jose State baseball (18-18,12-6 MW) dropped Game 3 in Vegas as UNLV (21-16, 8-9 MW) ran away with the series win, 9-4.
With the game tied at 4 in the sixth, the Rebels scored five unanswered runs to secure the victory.
The Spartans jumped to an early 2-0 lead as junior infielder Troy Viola crossed the plate safely on a wild pitch. Sophomore Santiago Cantu followed with an RBI double.
Junior outfielder Blake Berry increased the lead with a RBI single in the third inning. He led the Spartan offense with 2 hits and an RBI.
The Rebels quickly responded with 2 home runs to right field by senior outfielder Max Smith and junior infielder Bryson Stott. Smith’s homer also plated senior infielder Dillion Johnson allowed the Rebels to tie the game 3-3.
In the fourth inning, SJSU gained the 4-3 lead as Cantu reached on a fielding error that allowed sophomore outfielder Jack Colette to score as an unearned run.
The tiebreaker was short-lived as the Rebels took advantage of a Spartan fielding error that plated freshman catcher Jacob Godman for an unearned run. That tied the game 4-4 at the end of the fourth inning.
The momentum of the game shifted in favor of the Rebels as hot-hitter Stott returned in the fifth inning with a double up the middle to earn another RBI to gain the team’s first lead of the game.
The UNLV offense unleashed three more runs in the seventh inning to secure its lead.
Freshman outfielder James Gamble singled to left field and plated junior Trevor Rosenberg.
Johnson doubled down the left field line and brought in 2 runs to increase the lead to 8-4 UNLV. It sealed the win as it tacked on a run in the eighth to ensure the 9-4 win.
Inconsistency with Spartans’ pitching played a factor in the loss against the Rebels.
Freshman pitcher Jonathan Clark gave up 3 earned runs and was replaced by senior pitcher Justin Watland after 3.2 innings.
The Spartans will travel to St. Mary’s College Tuesday in a non-conference matchup.
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