UNLV baseball opens Chambers era with big win
Sure, there was Rance Roundy’s two-run homer in the fifth inning, but UNLV coach Tim Chambers stayed true to his word.
He is not the kind of baseball coach who waits for three run homers to win games, a la Earl Weaver.
Chambers, as promised, pressed the action Friday, with the Rebels stealing five bases and keeping the heat on Maine all night, in a 12-4 season-opening victory before an announced crowd of 1,006 at Wilson Stadium.
It was Chambers’ debut as Rebels coach, following 11 enormously successful seasons at the College of Southern Nevada, where he also believed in trying to outrun opponents.
But this is a new look for the Rebels, who stole only 31 bases in 58 games last season. They might have 31 steals by the end of February.
“I like action baseball,” Chambers said. “If you’re running, it’s easier to do things.”
Any doubt about whether UNLV would play a different style of baseball under Chambers was erased in the third inning when cleanup hitter Brandon Bayardi stole second and third. He had five stolen bases all of last season.
“The new atmosphere around here, what Coach Chambers brings in, is go hard all the time,” Bayardi said. “I have some pretty good wheels, so I feel like using them.”
UNLV’s hitters, adjusting to the new type of aluminum bats designed to reduce offense, also did their job in banging out 13 hits. The Rebels scored four runs in the first two innings, and Roundy made it 6-1 by taking advantage of a hanging changeup for his two-run blast to left field in the fifth.
Roundy, in his first appearance since last year’s opener — in which he also homered — went 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He missed almost all of last season with a shoulder injury but seemed more interested in talking about the performance of teammate Danny Higa, who went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
“Danny Higa came through for us today in the nine hole,” Roundy said. “I think that was huge for us.”
Right-hander Tanner Peters picked up the victory, allowing three hits and no earned runs over five innings.
But it was not a completely smooth night for UNLV. The Rebels committed four errors, though two were on one play, and Higa batted out of order in the fourth, resulting in an out.
“I was just thinking about my at-bat,” Higa said. “I saw the pitcher was done warming up, and I didn’t see anybody up on deck. I wasn’t really thinking about who was up before me.”
Chambers called the mix-up “embarrassing,” but he was more pleased than disappointed with his first UNLV win.
“The first one’s really good,” Chambers said. “I’m glad we didn’t take five or six games.”
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.