Las Vegas, Nev. – In a back-and-forth game on Saturday afternoon at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, the UNLV Rebels notched a 5-3 win over the Nebraska baseball team to even the three-game series between the two teams.

Christian Cox blasted a no-doubter down the right-field line for the Huskers’ first home run of the 2015 season and the first of his NU career in the seventh to put the Huskers ahead, 3-2, but Nebraska’s bullpen was unable to hold the lead. Cox nearly launched a homer in the second inning, but pulled the ball just right of the foul pole.

UNLV tied the game, 3-3, in the seventh and then took a 5-3 lead in the eighth on a two-out two-RBI single off the bat of Justin Jones. Joey Lauria earned the win for UNLV with 3.0 innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit.

Neither starter factored into the decision, with Nebraska’s Kyle Kubat giving up two runs on six hits over 5.1 innings, while UNLV’s Kenny Oakley last 6.0 innings and struck out six.

The Rebels snapped a 10-inning scoreless streak in the bottom of the second with the game’s first run when Austin Anderson drove in Nick Rodriguez with a two-out double. The 1-0 lead didn’t last long, as Nebraska evened the score in the third on a pair of UNLV miscues. Ryan Boldt reached on a two-out error and then moved to second base on a passed ball. Blake Headley made the Rebels pay with his first hit of the season, a two-out RBI single to center field.

Following the two-out double by Anderson in the second, Kubat retired six straight Rebels. Rodriguez snapped the streak with a single and Payton Squier followed with a single to start a rally for UNLV in the fourth, but Kubat shutdown the threat with a ground ball that left game tied, 1-1.

The Rebels put pressure on Kubat in the fifth with a leadoff single that was followed by a walk. Justin Jones then came through with a slow ground ball to the right side that moved both runners into scoring position, and also ended Kubat’s day. Jeff Chesnut took the mound and got two outs on two pitches, but a RBI groundout by Morgan Stotts put UNLV back in front, 2-1.

Once again, Nebraska’s offense responded and didn’t let UNLV keep the lead long. Boldt led off the sixth with a single to put NU’s leadoff hitter on base for the first time on the afternoon. With Boldt on second base following a pair of groundouts, Ben Miller was down to his last strike, but came through with a RBI single to right field that evened the game at 2-2.

After freshmen Garett King and Jake McSteen combined to keep the Rebels off the board in the bottom of the sixth, the Huskers took their first lead of the game with Cox’s one-out solo homerun in the seventh. Just like how the Huskers had answered twice earlier in the game, UNLV responded to NU’s lead with a run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly that tied the game 3-3.

The Rebels continued to put pressure on the NU bullpen in the eighth, as they had the go-ahead run at third base with one out. Austin Christensen came in and got a fly out to put the Huskers one out away from getting out of the jam. Christensen then intentionally walked Joey Armstrong to setup a lefty-lefty matchup, but UNLV came out on top as Jones came through with a two-RBI single that proved to be the game winner.

Lauria set the Huskers down in order in the ninth to even the series.

The Huskers wrap-up their season-opening series against the Rebels tomorrow at 3:05 p.m. (CT), with sophomore Max Knutson scheduled to make his first career start. Due to Husker men’s basketball on 1400 AM, tomorrow’s baseball game will be carried on 105.3 FM in Lincoln.

Nebraska will be going for its first winning weekend to start the season since 2011 when NU started the year with a 3-1 record.

Las Vegas, Nev. – In front of a sellout crowd of 3,173 fans, the first sellout in Earl E. Wilson Stadium history, the Nebraska baseball team posted a 2-0 shutout win over the UNLV Rebels to open the 2015 season. With Nebraska’s pitching staff keep the Rebels’ offense off balance, while Ryan Boldt drove in the eventual game-winning run in the top of the fifth with a two-out single.

The opening-game shutout marked Nebraska’s first since 1995 when the Huskers beat Nebraska-Kearney 9-0.

After posting a 9-1 record last season when he was an unanimous All-Big Ten pick and third-team All-American, Chance Sinclair picked up his 10^th career win on Friday night. The senior right hander got stronger as the game went on, as he retired eight of the final nine batters he faced. Sinclair gave NU 5.2 shutout innings, with seven strikeouts and no walks. It was Sinclair’s second-highest career strikeout total, trailing his 10-strikeout performance against Illinois last season.

Sophomore Jake Hohensee took over for Sinclair in the sixth and tossed 2.1 innings of no-hit relief behind a career-high five strikeouts. Senior Josh Roeder then took the mound in the ninth and picked up his 19^th career save with a 1-2-3 ninth inning. Nebraska’s pitching staff combined for 14 strikeouts and no walks on the night.

UNLV’s Zak Qualls started for the Rebels after missing the past two years and unfortunately only lasted five pitches before leaving the game with an arm injury. Ben Wright took over for the Rebels and tossed 5.0 innings, giving up one run on five hits and one walk. Bryan Bonnell kept UNLV in the game down the stretch, as he tossed 3.2 innings of scoreless relief.

The Huskers scored their first run of the 2015 season in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Blake Headley. After Tanner Lubach worked a walk to load the bases with one out, Headley lifted a pitch from Wright into deep right-center field that easily scored Austin Darby, who led off the game with a walk.

Holding a 1-0 lead and coming off a 1-2-3 inning headed into the bottom of the fourth, Sinclair got into a jam when he gave up a single and double to start the inning, which put runners on second and third with no out. The senior stayed calm and responded with two straight strikeouts along with a fly out to strand both runners. The NU offense fed off the momentum and added a run in the top of the fifth on a two-out single by Boldt that scored Luis Alvarado to put the Huskers ahead, 2-0.

Sinclair got the first two outs of the sixth before Edgar Montes ripped a single that snapped Sinclair’s streak of eight-straight batters retired. Hohensee took the mound and quickly ended the Rebel threat with a flyout. Hohensee returned for the seventh and struck out the side to keep Nebraska on top 2-0 through seven innings, before notching a perfect eighth inning with two more strikeouts. Roeder closed out the game with a flyout and back-to-back strikeouts.

The Huskers return to Earl E. Wilson Stadium tomorrow afternoon for game two of this weekend’s three-game series with the Rebels. Senior Kyle Kubat is scheduled to take the mound, with first-pitch scheduled for 4:05 p.m. (CT).

Rosemont, Ill. – Maryland was voted the preseason favorite to claim the 2015 Big Ten Baseball Championship as voted on by the conference coaches and announced on Wednesday. The coaches voted on the top six teams and also selected three student-athletes from their own squads to a Players to Watch list. The Terrapins were followed in the preseason poll by Nebraska in second place, No. 3 Illinois, Indiana in fourth place, No. 5 Michigan and Ohio State in sixth place.

Maryland is coming off its first Super Regional appearance in program history and returns All-American infielder Brandon Lowe and pitcher Mike Shawaryn. Lowe batted .348 last season and tied for the team lead in RBI (42). Shawaryn set the program record with 11 wins last season. Kevin Mooney, who notched a program record 13 saves in 2014, also returns for the Terrapins. Lowe, Mooney and Shawaryn were named Maryland’s Players to Watch.

Nebraska was picked to finish second after advancing to the NCAA Regional and finishing the season with a 41-21 record. The Huskers finished second in the Big Ten a year ago and return unanimous All-Big Ten first-team pitcher Chance Sinclair. Also comprising Nebraska’s Players to Watch are outfielder Ryan Boldt, a 2014 All-Big Ten Freshman Team selection, and senior pitcher Kyle Kubat, who earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Tournament Team in 2013 and 2014.

Illinois welcomes back 18 letterwinners from last season, including five starting pitchers. Among the staff and Players to Watch are junior left handers Kevin Duchene and Tyler Jay. Duchene went 4-1 with a Big Ten-best 1.80 ERA, 35 strikeouts and 55 innings pitched in nine starts last season. Jay earned second-team All-Mideast Region and All-Big Ten honors a year ago, while sophomore shortstop Adam Walton was named second-team All-Big Ten and was a member of the All-Freshman team.

The Hoosiers won the 2014 outright Big Ten title and Big Ten Tournament Championship. Indiana returns three starters that hit over .300 last year, including first-team All-Big Ten selection Scott Donley, who was named to the Players to Watch list, along with pitchers Scott Effross and Ryan Halstead. Effross led the conference with 32 appearances and recorded an ERA of 1.98. The Hoosiers welcome back Halstead after redshirting last season. As a junior, he struck out 48 batters in 43.2 innings of work.

Michigan is coming off a 30-win season in 2014, with infielder and relief pitcher Jacob Cronenworth, outfielder Jackson Glines and shortstop Travis Maezes recognized as Players to Watch. On the mound, Cronenworth recorded 12 saves and posted a 1.75 ERA last season. Glines was named a second-team All-Big Ten selection after batting .332 in 2014, while Maezes hit .302 with 18 doubles, four triples and three home runs.

Ohio State rounded out the preseason poll’s top six teams. The Buckeyes return 21 letterwinners from the 2014 campaign, including seven position players and four starting pitchers. Ohio State’s southpaw, Tanner Tully, was named the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and returns as a Player to Watch this season. Ronnie Dawson and Travis Lakins were also recognized as the Buckeyes’ Players to Watch.

The 2015 Big Ten baseball season is set to begin on Friday, Feb. 13.

The top-six preseason poll and complete Players to Watch list can be found below.

2015 BIG TEN BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL (top six teams)

1.       Maryland

2.       Nebraska

3.       Illinois

4.       Indiana

5.       Michigan

6.       Ohio State

2015 BIG TEN BASEBALL PLAYERS TO WATCH

Kevin Duchene, Jr., SP, Illinois

Tyler Jay, Jr., RP, Illinois

Adam Walton, So., SS, Illinois

Scott Effross, Jr., SP, Indiana

Ryan Halstead, Sr., RP, Indiana

Scott Donley, Sr., OF, Indiana

Jake Mangler, Sr., 2B, Iowa

Tyler Peyton, Jr., 1B/SP, Iowa

Eric Toole, Sr., OF, Iowa

Brandon Lowe, So., 2B, Maryland

Kevin Mooney, Jr., RP, Maryland

Mike Shawaryn, So., SP, Maryland

Jacob Cronenworth, Jr., IF/RP, Michigan

Jackson Glines, Sr., OF, Michigan

Travis Maezes, Jr., SS, Michigan

Jeff Kinley, Sr., RP, Michigan State

Blaise Salter, Sr., C, Michigan State

Mick VanVossen, Sr., SP, Michigan State

Ben Meyer, Sr., SP, Minnesota

Dalton Sawyer, Jr., SP., Minnesota

Connor Schaefbauer, Jr., 2B, Minnesota

Ryan Boldt, So., OF, Nebraska

Kyle Kubat, Sr., SP, Nebraska

Chance Sinclair, Sr., SP, Nebraska

Scott Heelan, Sr., C, Northwestern

Brandon Magallones, Sr., RHP, Northwestern

Kyle Ruchim, Sr., IF, Northwestern

Ronnie Dawson, So., OF, Ohio State

Travis Lakins, So., RHP, Ohio State

Tanner Tully, So., LHP, Ohio State

James Haley, So., SS, Penn State

Christian Helsel, So., 3B, Penn State

Taylor Lehman, Fr., LHP, Penn State

Kyle Johnson, Jr., CF, Purdue

Brandon Krieg, Sr., 3B, Purdue

Kyle Wood, Jr., 1B/RP, Purdue

Howie Brey, Jr., SP, Rutgers

Mike Carter, So., OF, Rutgers

Vinny Zarrillo, Sr., OF, Rutgers