Rancho alum shines for UNLV in first game at Las Vegas Ballpark

UNLV junior Edarian Williams already had his right hand in the air celebrating before he crossed home plate.

“Anyway I could score, I was looking to do it,” he said.

A walk-off wild pitch by reliever Brock Peery allowed Williams to scurry home Tuesday, giving UNLV an 11-10 win against Arizona State on Tuesday in a midweek matchup at Las Vegas Ballpark.

It’s the first Rebels game at the home of the Triple-A Aviators and continues UNLV’s hot start. For Williams, a Rancho alum and Las Vegas native, winning the game in such an exciting fashion was simply a bonus to complete a great night for the Rebels.

“It’s a great city, it’s a great baseball town,” Williams said. “Couldn’t ask for more than to put on a show for them.”

Featuring a roster that includes 14 players from Las Vegas, UNLV and coach Stan Stolte seem to have a team capable of competing for the Mountain West regular-season title again. The Rebels haven’t appeared in an NCAA Regional since 2014, also the team’s most recent regular-season championship. UNLV hasn’t won a Mountain West Tournament since 2005.

“We’ll just push it as hard as we can,” Stolte said.

While Tuesday’s game at Las Vegas Ballpark was a success, it was the result of more than two years of frustrations. The matchup was first scheduled ahead of the 2020 season, the first college campaign since the stadium’s completion in 2019. However, the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the entire season.

The Aviators and UNLV Athletics Department rescheduled the game for 2021. However, a day before the game, a UNLV player tested positive for COVID-19 and the game was postponed again. Stolte and Aviators President Don Logan knew they had to try again in 2022.

“When we built Las Vegas Ballpark, it wasn’t just for Triple-A baseball,” Logan said. “We wanted to make it the epicenter of baseball in Southern Nevada.

“Getting UNLV out there is something we really wanted to do.”

For UNLV, it was worth the wait. Playing in front of an announced crowd of 2,420, Stolte said the atmosphere reminded him of an NCAA Regional.

With both teams saving their more experienced arms for the weekend, UNLV’s offense proved the difference. The Rebels scored nine runs in the first four innings, highlighted by Williams’ double to the right-center gap with the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Rebels also got valuable innings from spot starter and former Desert Oasis star Josh Sharman. The left-hander gave up two quick runs in the first, and two more in the fourth, but worked 5⅔ innings while striking out six.

The buffer created by Williams and the offense almost ran out though. UNLV’s bullpen arms struggled and Arizona State pulled within one run in the seventh after redshirt sophomore Joe Lampe hit a three-run homer. However, Stolte went to closer Hayden Neiman to escape the jam.

Neirman gave UNLV 2⅔ innings, but ASU tagged him for a run to tie the game in the top of the ninth. However, Williams led off the bottom of the inning with a triple, and after two intentional walks loaded the bases, Peery’s wild pitch ended the game. Williams finished 4-for-4 with two runs scored and five RBIs.

“We feed off (Williams’) energy,” Neirman said. “When he’s on, we’re on. And if he’s off, we just pick him up.”

The Rebels will play at the Aviators’ stadium again this season, hosting a three-game against Hawaii on May 6-8.

Contact reporter Andy Yamashita at ayamashita@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ANYamashita on Twitter.