LAS VEGAS — In an offensively charged game, the Utah baseball team dropped the series finale at UNLV 24-10 on Sunday afternoon.
Junior Shad McCord (3-1) suffered the loss on the mound, pitching 3 1/3 innings. He gave up 10 runs on nine hits, while striking out one and walking four.
Utah (21-31, 11-16) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning on an RBI-single by junior Matt Ciaramella.
In the bottom of the third, UNLV plated six runs, then added four more in the fourth and one in the fifth to take an 11-1 advantage.
The Utes scored two runs in the top of the sixth on an RBI triple by junior Tyson Olson and a groundout by junior Trevor Eastman. Utah added two more in the seventh on a two-run double by senior Jared Pena to make it an 11-5 ballgame.
UNLV pulled away in the bottom of the seventh with four more runs. Utah plated five in the top of the eighth. It started with a Jay Brossman sacrifice fly. Ciaramella drove in another run on a double, and Pena followed with a three-run homer.
The Rebels responded with nine runs in the bottom of the inning for the 24-10 final.
Ciaramella was 4-for-4 with two runs and two RBIs to lead the Utes at the plate. Pena was 3-for-4 with two runs and five RBIs, while Olson, senior Eric Chevalier and sophomore Ryan Khoury each went 2-for-5.
The Utes close out regular-season MWC play with a three-game series against San Diego State next Thursday-Saturday.