UNLV Edges the Matadors 7-5

NORTHRIDGE, Calif.---CSUN Baseball (8-5) fell to UNLV in a non-conference game on Wednesday afternoon at Matador Field. Joey Cooper drove in two runs with a home run while Albee Weiss his his eighth home run of the season and 30th of his career. Walker Armstrong worked 3.1 shutout innings out of the bullpen, striking out two batters.

"[UNLV] did a great job coming out of the gate," said head coach Greg Moore. "They jumped on a few pitches and got one out of here and got one in the gap. You got to tip your cap. Hayden [Shenefield] did a great job of bouncing back in the second and did a good job of doing what Hayden does, and that's mixing pitches. They got us there in the first, they punched and we got a punch off. We just came up short.

"I thought in general our hitters we're ready to hit, they got some good barrels to balls," added Moore. "We just didn't lift it to get it out of here or get through it enough to make it a base hit. But just in terms of timing, I thought our hitters did a nice job of making adjustments."

The Rebels took the early lead at outset as Bryson Stott began the game with a home run to right field. The first three UNLV batters reached to start the frame, giving Max Smith an opportunity to deliver a two-run double to push the lead to 3-0. Hayden Shenefield rebounded from a rough first inning to retire the Rebel side in order in the second.

UNLV's Paul Richy shut out the Matadors through the first two innings but CSUN would get on the scoreboard in the third. With a runner on first base and out, Alvaro Rubalcaba hit a grounder to the right side but was able to beat out a potential double play relay to first base, keeping the inning alive. Cooper followed with a two-run blast over the right field wall to cut the deficit to 3-2.

CSUN again leaned on the ball in the fourth inning as Weiss smacked a leadoff home run to left field. Later in the frame, Victor Cerny struck for a two-out RBI double, plating Kevin Riley from first base to put the Matadors in front, 4-3.

Armstrong entered out of the bullpen in the third inning and cooled off the Rebel bats. Retiring the first five batters he faced, Armstrong sat down nine of 10 batters during his time on the mound.

The Rebels were able to even the game against the Matador 'pen in the sixth. UNLV loaded the bases with one out before Jack-Thomas Wold hit a game-tying RBI single. Cassius Hamm was able to wiggle out of trouble by sitting down the next two batters to keep the game tied. However, the Rebels would pull in front in the seventh inning behind a two-run double from Kyle Isbel and an RBI single from Nick Rodriguez.

The Matadors were able to get a run back in the bottom of the seventh on a two-out RBI single from Rubalcaba. Later in the frame, the Matadors had runners on first and second base with one out, but Conner Woods struck out Trevor Casanova to end the frame.

The combination of Austin Anderson and Bryan Menendez would shut out of the Matadors over the final two innings to secure the UNLV win.

Weiss' 30th career home run brings him one homer shy of the Matadors' all-time Top 10 list. Michael Paulk (2003-05) and Jason Shanahan (1992-95) currently occupy 10th place on the team's home run list. Scott Sharts and Adam Kennedy have the most home runs in team history with 51 apiece.

With his RBI hit in the seventh, Rubalcaba has now reached base safely in all 13 Matador games this season.

The Matadors open up a three-game series with Pepperdine on Friday. The team will play the first two games in Malibu before concluding the series on Sunday at Matador Field. First pitch for Friday's opener is set for 2 p.m.

UNLV Edges the Matadors 7-5

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Team Stats

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Joey Cooper

Albee Weiss

Kevin Riley

Players Mentioned

Walker Armstrong

Trevor Casanova

Victor Cerny

Joey Cooper

Cassius Hamm

Kevin Riley

Alvaro Rubalcaba

Hayden Shenefield

Albee Weiss