Air Force baseball swept by UNLV with 22-12 loss

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U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  University of Nevada-Las Vegas broke open a 12-12 baseball game by scoring eight runs in the eighth inning to complete a weekend sweep of the Air Force Academy with a 22-12 win here May 2. The Rebels tied a Mountain West Conference record -- set two weekends ago by New Mexico vs. Air Force -- by hitting eight home runs in the game.

Rebel Matt Nielsen ended the weekend by going 5-for-5 with three home runs, five runs and seven RBIs. For the three-game series, Nielsen went 9-for-13 with four homers and 12 RBIs. Zeke Parraz also had a career weekend for UNLV, going 4-for-6 on the day with a homer and three runs and RBIs. Parraz went 10-for-13 on the weekend, with seven runs scored.

Shane Clatterbuck picked up his first win of the season by tossing three scoreless innings of relief for the Rebels. Kyle DePierre took the loss for the Falcons, allowing six runs, three earned, in 2.2 innings of relief.

The game was a seesaw battle for the first six innings as the lead changed hands three times in the first five innings.

UNLV put up two runs off Air Force starter Paul Vignola in the first inning, but the Falcons answered back with a pair of runs in the bottom of the inning to tie it up 2-2. Brent Tittle gave the Falcons their first lead of the game with a three-run homer in the second to put Air Force up 5-2.

The Rebels rallied to tie the game with two runs in the third and one in the fourth. UNLV then went ahead 9-5 with four runs off a solo home run by Peter White and a three-run shot by C.J. Ebarb.

The Falcons came right back with six runs in the bottom of the inning to retake the lead at 12-9. The Falcons batted in the fifth, collecting five hits and benefited from a pair of errors by the shortstop, White.

The Rebels rebounded in the sixth with three runs of their own to retie the game at 12-12. UNLV then exploded for eight runs in the eighth and added two more in the ninth to roll to a sweep of the Falcons. Nielsen, who homered in the third, hit two more home runs in the eighth inning.

Brad Ross and Andrew De'Angelo hit back-to-back long-balls in the ninth for the Rebels.

Matt Minor started the game for UNLV, allowing five runs in two innings pitched. Matt Luca relieved Minor and was tagged for seven runs, three earned in 2.2 innings. Jason Guerra finished the game with a scoreless inning.

Vignola allowed nine runs in 4.1 innings pitched. Jeff Tetrault relieved Vignola and gave up two runs in two-thirds of an inning. J.T. Schroeder pitched the final 1.1 innings for the Falcons, allowing five runs, two earned while fanning three.

The Falcons were out hit 22-12 and committed three errors to the Rebels' four. Falcons Matt Musser, Tittle, Travis Fugler, Karl Bolt, Nathan DeRohan and Jon Polston each recorded two hits in the game. Tittle also scored four runs, and Musser added three.

The Falcons also lost a doubleheader to the Rebels on May 1 scoring 4-2 and 7-5.

Air Force plays again May 7 to 9 with five games against University of Utah in Salt Lake City.