UNLV roundup: Baseball team wins league opener in 10 innings

Freshman Duke Pahukoa hit a go-ahead RBI double in the 10th inning to rally UNLV past Fresno State 4-3 in both teams’ Mountain West baseball opener Friday in Fresno, California.

Grant Robbins, who singled leading off the 10th and scored the decisive run, went 3-for-5 with an RBI for the Rebels (5-5, 1-0), who tied it in the eighth on Jacob Godman’s run-scoring single.

Pahukoa entered as a pinch hitter with Godman on second but struck out to end the Rebels’ eighth.

Cameron Jabara held the Bulldogs (5-2, 0-1) to three runs, one earned, on five hits and two walks and struck out five over seven innings as UNLV halted a three-game skid and Fresno State’s four-game win streak.

Donavon McCrystal, Conner Woods and Jackson Cofer each pitched one shutout inning for the Rebels, with Cofer escaping his own bases-loaded jam with a flyout to end the game.

Dillon Johnson went 3-for-5 with a double, Max Smith was 2-for-5 with an RBI double, and Godman and Jack-Thomas Wold each went 2-for-5 for UNLV, which held a 15-9 edge in hits.

McCarthy Tatum went 3-for-5 with an RBI triple, J.T. Arruda went 3-for-5 with a double, and Carter Bins went 2-for-5 and scored twice for the Bulldogs.

SOFTBALL

At Conway, S.C., Lauryn Barker and Justin Federe each had a double, a single and an RBI to back freshman Jenny Bressler, who pitched a five-hitter, rallying the Rebels to a 3-1 win over Austin Peay in the Chanticleer Showdown.

The second scheduled game of the day for UNLV (12-3), against Jacksonville, was canceled because of rain.

Bressler (7-1) allowed one walk and one run while striking out four, helping the Rebels match their 1993 team for the second-best 15-game start in program history — behind only the 1995 team, which opened 13-2.

Morgan Rackel and Kelsey Gross hit consecutive two-out doubles in the fourth inning to put the Governors (10-7) up 1-0.

UNLV tied it in the sixth on Myranda Bueno’s RBI single and went ahead in the inning when Barker drew a bases-loaded walk. Federe hit a run-scoring double in the seventh.

Samantha Diaz went 3-for-4 with a double, and Mia Trejo went 2-for-4 for the Rebels, who held an 11-5 edge in hits and left 10 runners on base.

Austin Peay starter Kelly Mardones (2-3) allowed two runs on nine hits and two walks and struck out one over five innings.

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

At Houston, freshman Ivan Zukov placed second in the 400-yard individual medley and junior Hayden Hemmens second in the 200 freestyle to help the Rebels to fifth place after the third day of the four-day, seven-team Western Athletic Conference Championships.

Zukov’s time of 3 minutes, 51.51 seconds is the fourth-fastest in program history, and Hemmens’ time of 1:36.13 tied for the third-fastest in program history.

Sophomore Bryan Chavez placed third (47.63 seconds) and freshman Casey McEuen seventh (48.18) in the 100 butterfly, and sophomore Bryan Chavez was eighth in the 200 freestyle (1:38.36).

Grand Canyon leads the team standings with 472 points, followed by Air Force (418), California Baptist (398.5), Wyoming (396), UNLV (317.5), Cal State Bakersfield (226) and Seattle (104).

TRACK AND FIELD

Destiny Smith-Barnett qualified in the 60-meter dash for the NCAA Indoor Championships, set for next weekend in Birmingham, Alabama. The senior is tied with Arkansas senior Kiara Parker for the second-fastest time, at 7.15 seconds, this season.

Louisiana State senior Kortnei Johnson has the top qualifying time at 7.14 seconds. Smith-Barnett placed first in the 60 in all four meets in which she has competed this season.