UNLV baseball team splits doubleheader vs. Tennessee

The UNLV baseball team withstood a ninth-inning rally by Tennessee to claim a 5-4 victory and split a doubleheader Saturday at Wilson Stadium.

Buddy Borden threw 7 2/3 strong innings for the Rebels (2-1), allowing one run on four hits, with no walks and nine strikeouts. Erik VanMeetren went 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs, a walk and a run scored.

In the ninth, UNLV reliever Zack Hartman hit two batters and gave up three runs before getting out of a bases-loaded jam.

In the opener, UNLV jumped out to a 3-0 lead after two innings, but it was all Tennessee the rest of the way in an 8-3 victory. The Vols scored four runs in the fourth and three in the fifth.

Joey Swanner went 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Rebels.

■ UNLV SOFTBALL — Stefany Valentino’s grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning lifted the Rebels to a 9-5 victory over Utah Valley, as the Rebels split two games at Eller Media Stadium.

Utah Valley got a run in the top of the seventh to tie it at 5 and force extra innings, but Rebels pitcher Tiffany Mills set the Wolverines down in order in the top of the eighth. UNLV then loaded the bases before Valentino’s two-out blast to end it.

UNLV (5-4) then took a 3-0 lead over Ohio, but the Bobcats blew up for seven runs in the top of the sixth and four more in the seventh to hand the Rebels an 11-3 loss. Tayler Aleman went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer for UNLV.

■ UNLV MEN’S TENNIS — The Rebels rallied from a 3-0 deficit but couldn’t complete the comeback in a 4-3 loss to Utah in Salt Lake City.

UNLV (5-2) got swept in three close doubles matches to drop the first point, then split the six singles matches. Ace Matias led the Rebels with a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (0) win over Slim Hamza at No. 1 singles.

■ CSN BASEBALL — The College of Southern Nevada put up five runs in the first inning and 10 more in the third, pounding Okanagan College 17-1 in five innings at Morse Stadium.

Reece Lucero had a three-run double in the first, and Kayden Porter had a two-run double in the third. Lucero finished 2-for-2 with a walk, four RBIs and a run scored.

■ CSN SOFTBALL — CSN bounced back from an 11-0 whipping in five innings with a 13-9 victory to split a doubleheader with North Idaho College at the Russell Road Recreation Complex.

The Coyotes (12-9) got going quickly in the second game, with a five-run first inning and a six-run third inning en route to an 11-3 lead. Sarah Rivera went 3-for-4 with a double, four RBIs and two runs scored.