SAN DIEGO-

San Diego State swept the UNLV Rebels for the first time since 2018 with a 3-1 victory at Tony Gwynn Stadium on Sunday.

Garvey Rumary picked up his first victory of the season by throwing 5.2 innings while only giving up one run on five hits. Rumary was especially efficient, only giving up two free passes while striking out five.

The Aztecs bullpen was phenomenal in this one, as Peyton Rodgers bridged the gap between Rumary and closer Xavier Cardenas. Rodgers delivered 2.2 innings of work and gave up one hit before turning it over to Cardenas to slam the door on the Rebels.

Cardenas made quick work of UNLV in the ninth by retiring the last two batters of the game on six pitches, and he earned his third save of the series.

Offensively, the Aztecs were able to get it done in a multitude of ways. In the bottom of the first, Nevan Noonan opened the scoring for the Aztecs with a single to right field and an error by the right fielder scored Daniel Arambula.

Then, after the Rebels tied the game in the top of the third on a solo home run, Drew Rutter started the fourth inning with a leadoff triple. Next came Evan Sipe, who laid down a sacrifice bunt that scored Rutter and gave the Aztecs a 2-1 advantage.

Looking for insurance runs late in the game, SDSU got an extra boost in the bottom half of the eighth inning, when Rutter singled up the middle to score Jake Jackson and extend the Aztecs’ lead to the eventual final score, 3-1.

Great pitching and timely hitting were consistent themes throughout this three-game series.

On Friday night, Marko Sipila earned the start for the Aztecs, and he delivered. Sipila recorded nine strikeouts in eight innings of work while only walking one and giving up two earned runs.

While Sipila was handling the Rebels, the Aztec bats went quiet after the first inning, in which Jake Jackson walked with the bases loaded to score a run.

Down 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Arambula and Noonan each recorded an RBI single to put SDSU ahead 3-2.

After a scoreless eighth by Sipila, Cardenas once again made quick work of the Rebels in the top of the ninth inning. Cardenas had an easy 1-2-3 inning on six pitches and netted the Aztecs a Friday night victory.

On Saturday, the Aztecs got a stellar performance from Omar Serrano, who picked up his second win of the season. Serrano tossed seven innings while striking out 10 Rebel batters and only surrendering one earned run.

While Serrano fooled UNLV at the plate, the Aztecs got steady contributions across their order as they manufactured five runs on a pair of RBI singles and flyouts. Finley Bates also had an RBI double in the fourth, scoring Sipe and extending the Aztecs’ lead.

In the ninth, head coach Shaun Cole turned to Cardenas once again, and the junior from La Habra, California, has excelled in his new role as the Aztecs’ closer. While giving up a run, Cardenas shut the door on the Rebels and earned the save in SDSU’s 5-3 win.

Looking to ride their momentum, SDSU travels to Irvine on Tuesday night to face the USC Trojans at Great Park.

Liam Farrell

Liam has been covering the University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team for the last two years, while being a Journalism student at San Diego State University. He is joining the staff to primarily cover the Aztec’s baseball team in addition to the men’s and women’s basketball teams.