Four-run fourth inning sparks UNLV past Air Force

UNLV Rebels starting pitcher Kenny Oakley delivers against the San Diego State Aztecs in the first inning of the 2014 Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship game at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas Saturday, May 24, 2014.(Josh Holmberg/Las Vegas Review Journal)

Erik VanMeetren, Morgan Stotts and Dylan Ellis hit consecutive doubles in UNLV’s four-run fourth inning, lifting the Rebels to a 4-3 victory over Air Force in a Mountain West baseball game Saturday in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Stotts drove in two runs, and Ellis and Parker Hokuf had an RBI apiece as UNLV (8-9, 2-6) broke a scoreless tie. Stotts, Ellis and Payton Squier each had two of the Rebels’ nine hits.

Kenny Oakley (2-1) held the Falcons (7-9, 4-4) to two earned runs on nine hits and one walk in 5 2/3 innings, with five strikeouts. Relievers Brayden Torres and Zack Hartman pitched shutout ball over the final 3 1/3 innings, giving up one hit while striking out three.

Adam Groesbeck had three of Air Force’s 10 hits.