UNLV loses baseball opener to No. 23 Nebraska before sellout
It had all the makings of an exciting opening night at Wilson Stadium.
The line of cars was long for the rare parking spaces that existed, and the line of fans stretched 50 deep at the ticket office and the concession stand.
There was even a celebrity touch, with Washington Nationals All-Star Bryce Harper and the Mountain Ridge Little League team taking part in the first-pitch ceremony.
Then the baseball game began, and it quickly became clear this wouldn’t be the dream season opener for UNLV when starter Zak Qualls left the game after just five pitches Friday night. But the Rebels still managed to hang tough with No. 23 Nebraska in a 2-0 loss before a sellout crowd of 3,173.
The sellout was the first in the history of the stadium, which opened in 1994, topping the previous high of 2,143 that showed up for the March 5, 2006, game against Texas.
“That’s what I’ve been looking for since I got here,” UNLV fifth-year coach Tim Chambers said. “In my head, I see a butt in every seat.”
The Rebels, though, didn’t give the crowd much to cheer for, failing to come through in three scoring chances.
They put runners at first and second with one out in the first inning, but Justin Jones was picked off going to third. Morgan Stotts then followed with a single, but Erik VanMeetren grounded out to short to end the threat.
The Rebels also had runners at first and third with two outs in the second inning and at second and third with none out in the fourth, and didn’t deliver the key hit either time.
Other than those three innings, the Rebels had just one hit, and they struck out 14 times. They finished with eight hits.
Their lack of offense put the damper on what turned out to be a strong night from the Rebels’ pitching staff, which stepped up when the left-hander Qualls went down while pitching to the first batter of the season, grabbing his throwing arm.
“We were a little scared because we thought we lost him for the year, but I think it’s something small,” said UNLV right fielder Edgar Montes, who went 2-for-4 with a double. “It was like a punch to the gut.”
Chambers said he wasn’t sure what kind of injury Qualls suffered or the extent and didn’t want to speculate. He said more should be known Monday.
Making the injury even more disappointing for Qualls was this was his first appearance in almost three years after sitting out because of off-field and academic issues. The Rebels’ three captains were impressed with Qualls’ work, however, in his return to the team, and that convinced Chambers to go with him.
When Qualls went down, Chambers had to quickly go to right-hander Ben Wright. He came through with five solid innings, allowing five hits and one run.
“I didn’t expect to come out the first batter, so I had to settle myself down and get situated,” Wright said. “Once I got my rhythm, I could control the game a little bit.”
Wright was followed by a bullpen that finished strong, but it didn’t match what Nebraska’s pitchers produced.
Right-hander Chance Sinclair tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball, and then righty Jake Hohensee showed off his fastball that often touches the low 90s. He struck out five of the seven batters he faced before handing the ball to closer Josh Roeder, and the right-hander got the Rebels in order in the ninth.
“Getting shut out does not make me happy, but it’s one of 55 (games),” Chambers said. “So we’ll go in and address it, and come back (today) and see if we can tie this thing up.”
Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.
