FRESNO (Interstat) — Jonny Rodriguez homered three times and drove in seven runs to lead UNLV to a 17-1 rout of Fresno State on Saturday at Selland Arena in a Mountain West matchup.

The Runnin Rebels improved to 28-22 overall while the Bulldogs fell to 13-34. The victory gave UNLV a two-game sweep in the series after an 11-6 win Friday.

UNLV struck quickly, scoring four runs in the top of the first inning. After a walk to Bussey and a walk to Rosales, both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Nin Burns then doubled down the left-field line, driving in both runners. Jayden Hertel followed with an RBI single, giving the Runnin Rebels a 4-0 lead.

The game broke open in the second inning. Myro doubled to lead off, and after Bussey was hit by a pitch, Burns singled to shallow left field to bring home two more runs. Rodriguez then crushed a two-run homer to deep right field, scoring Burns. Later in the inning, Gavin Taylor launched a three-run homer to deep left field, plating Hertel and Salmon, extending the lead to 10-0.

UNLV added three runs in the third inning on a two-run single by Burns and a sacrifice fly from Hertel, making it 13-0 before Fresno State finally got on the board in the bottom of the third. Jayden Boyd’s ground-rule double to right center scored Hewitt.

The Runnin Rebels continued to pile on. Drew Barragan homered to lead off the sixth inning. Rodriguez followed with his second homer of the day, a two-run shot to deep right field that scored Burns. Jack Salmon then made it back-to-back homers with a solo blast to deep right field. In the seventh, Rodriguez launched his third homer, a three-run shot to deep right field that scored Rosales and Barragan, capping the scoring at 17-1.

Rodriguez finished 3 for 4 with three home runs and seven RBIs. Burns went 4 for 5 with four RBIs. Taylor was 1 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs. Salmon went 2 for 5 with a homer and an RBI. Barragan had a homer and an RBI. Hertel went 2 for 3 with an RBI.

On the mound, Carson Lane pitched five innings, allowing only one earned run on no hits with four strikeouts to earn the win. Reese Lueck threw two scoreless innings of relief, striking out three.

For Fresno State, Boyd went 1 for 2 with an RBI. The Bulldogs managed eight hits in the game, including two from Hewitt and two from Nolen. Starter BJ Rodriguez took the loss, giving up three earned runs on four hits over three innings with two strikeouts.

The most decisive portion of the game came in the first two innings when UNLV built a 10-0 lead with a mix of walks, hits and power. The Runnin Rebels sent 12 batters to the plate in the second inning alone and Rodriguez’s first home run highlighted an offensive explosion that effectively put the game out of reach.

UNLV’s victory continued a roller-coaster season that has seen the team split a series with Milwaukee and lose two of three to Nevada in late April. Fresno State has now lost 11 of its last 12 games.

The two teams conclude the three-game series Sunday at Selland Arena. UNLV then hosts San Diego State for a three-game set starting Thursday. Fresno State returns home to face Cal Poly on Tuesday before traveling to San Jose State.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UNLV 4, Fresno State 2, and its ELO system gave UNLV a 51.90 percent probability to win.