LAS VEGAS – San Jose State baseball plated the game's first three runs, but were unable to hold off UNLV as the Spartans fell 9-4 in the rubber match Sunday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. UNLV won the series 2-1.
The Spartans led 2-0 after the second inning as a wild pitch allowed James Shimashita to score from third and Santiago Cantu doubled down the left field line to plate Troy Viola. Blake Berry tacked on another run in the third on a RBI single before UNLV found the scoreboard by way of back-to-back home runs by Bryson Stott and Dillon Johnson.
A fielding error allowed another Spartan run to come across in the fourth, but that would be all the scoring for SJSU for the day as UNLV scored five unanswered runs to run away with the contest.
SJSU was limited to just six hits while UNLV tallied 12. Berry and Viola each finished with two hits.
Freshman Jonathan Clark got the start on the bump for the Spartans and tossed 3.2 innings scattering five hits while giving up four runs, three earned. Justin Watland, Nicholas Morales, Zach Wallace and Jack Colette combined for seven hits allowed in relief duty. Morales was charged with the loss to drop to 0-1.
Chase Maddux got the start for UNLV and went 5.0 innings with five hits surrendered of his own. Donovan McCrystal and Matthew Mitchell pitched in relief duty for four innings of one-hit ball to close out the game.
The Spartans drop to 18-18 overall and still holds the Mountain West lead at 12-6. UNLV improves to 22-16, 9-9 in league play. SJSU will play a midweek nonconference game at Saint Mary's on Tuesday at 2:00 p.m. before hosting Fresno State for a three-game series April 18-20.