FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State baseball team snapped its six-game skid with a 5-1 win over the UNLV Rebels on Friday night at Pete Beiden Field at Bob Bennett Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED
With two outs in the top of the first, Grady Morgan, Ben Newton and Murf Gray hit consecutive singles to give the Bulldogs an early two-run lead.
Tyler Davis led off the second inning with a single to right field and Rocco Peppi extended the Diamond 'Dog lead to four runs with a two-run homer to left field.
Newton hit his 22nd double of the season in the bottom of the third and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gray plated Newton in the following at-bat with his second single of the game to make it a 5-0 game.
The Rebels got on the board in the fifth inning, scoring their only run of the game in the top of the fifth with an RBI single.
Starting pitcher Jake Dixon held the Rebels to one run through five innings, striking out seven batters before Aidan Cremarosa took the mound for two scoreless innings.
The Rebels loaded the bases in the top of the eighth inning and hit a liner to Peppi in left field who threw home with Newton as the cutoff to prevent a run from scoring.
Fresno State limited UNLV to their singular run to claim their 10th straight win over the Rebels, dating back to 2023.
NOTES
The Diamond 'Dogs scored in the first inning for the first time in six games.
Fresno State still sits in first place in the Mountain West standings, tied with New Mexico with a record of 14-10.
Fresno State has won 10 straight games over UNLV after sweeping them in three straight series.
UP NEXT
The Diamond 'Dogs will play game two of the series on Saturday at 3:05 p.m. with a pregame ceremony to honor the legacy of former head coach Mike Batesole.