UNLV baseball erupts for 20 hits in rout of New Mexico

Braden Walker had four of UNLV’s 20 hits, and Steve Rinaudo and Xavier Scruggs drove in three runs apiece Saturday as the Rebels improved to 2-0 in Mountain West Conference baseball play with a 15-6 victory over New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M.

The Rebels (2-0, 9-7 overall) scored seven runs in the fourth inning to make a winner of starting pitcher Thomas Whitsett (2-0).

New Mexico fell to 0-2, 8-8.

• UNLV SOFTBALL — Traci Odegard surrendered three hits in five innings as the Rebels beat Utah Valley 9-1 at Eller Media Stadium.

Chey Farley hit a fifth-inning grand slam as UNLV improved to 18-12-1 and gave coach Lonni Alameda her 150th victory.

The Wolverines fell to 4-16.

• UNLV WOMEN’S TENNIS — The 42nd-ranked Rebels dropped their third straight match — all against higher-ranked opponents — with a 4-3 loss to No. 25 Pepperdine at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

UNLV (8-6) picked up a win at No. 1 singles with 28th-ranked Elena Gantcheva sweeping No. 63 Sylvia Kosakowski, 6-1, 6-2.

Also, Kristina Nedeltcheva picked up her first career victory over a ranked opponent in a dual match with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 upset of No. 48 Anamika Bargava at No. 2 singles.

Pepperdine improved to 11-3.

• CSN BASEBALL — Brandon Trodick went 5-for-7 as the Coyotes swept a Scenic West Athletic Association doubleheader from Eastern Utah, 4-3 and 3-0, at Morse Stadium.

Trodick was 3-for-4 in the opener, which the College of Southern Nevada (9-3, 20-7 overall) won on a bases-loaded single by Joel Reese with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Taylor Cole (5-2) got the win.

Trodick was 2-for-3 in the second game to support the combined two-hit pitching of Ross MacDonald and Brenton Van.

Eastern Utah dropped to 3-9, 5-20.

• CSN SOFTBALL — Michelle Ralston homered in the first game, and Amanda Davidson homered in the second as the Coyotes swept a SWAC doubleheader from Snow College in Ephraim, Utah, 13-2 and 8-0.

Christina Jones pitched 6 1/3 innings of shuout ball in the second game for CSN (12-4, 17-9).

Snow College fell to 4-12, 5-23.