UNLV beats Nevada in MW Tournament opener

SAN DIEGO — The University of Nevada baseball team scored seven unanswered runs to tie UNLV, 8-8, only to allow five runs in the ninth and fell, 13-8, in the first game of the 2018 Mountain West Tournament at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Thursday.

The top seeded Wolf Pack will play San Jose State on Friday at 1:30 p.m. in an elimination game. San Diego State beat San Jose State, 2-1, in Thursday’s second game.

UNLV and San Diego State play at 6 p.m. Friday in the winners bracket of the double elimination tournament.

The Pack fell to 29-23 on the season while the Rebels improved to 34-22.

UNLV led 8-1 heading to the bottom of the sixth inning. Keaton Smith’s RBI single in the bottom of the sixth made the score 8-2. First-team All-MW catcher Kaleb Foster’s sixth home run of the season, a three-run shot in the bottom of the seventh, closed the deficit to three runs.

In the bottom of the eighth, Nevada scored three more times to tie the game at 8-8. Cole Krzmarzick singled home the first run and Tony Gwynn MW Player of the Year Grant Fennell’s single scored two to tie the game. The Pack still had the bases loaded with none out but were unable to push across the go-ahead run.

In the top of the ninth, UNLV sent nine players to the plate and five scored off Pack closer Keone Cabinian. Cabinian (2-3) was tagged with the loss. UNLV reliever Bryan Menendez (3-1) earned his third win of the season.

Krzmarzick finished with a game-high three hits and drove in two. Fennell and Smith added two each as the Pack collected 14 hits. Foster tied his career high with three RBI. Kyle Isble and Nick Rodriguez had two hits each for UNLV and, along with Grant Robbins, had three RBI each.