MESA, Ariz. (Interstat) — Landon Boyd homered twice and drove in six runs as Air Force routed UNLV 17-2 in the Mountain West Baseball Championship on Thursday evening.

The Falcons collected 14 hits and seized control early, erasing a two-run deficit in the first inning and never looking back. Boyd’s first home run, a three-run blast in the third inning, stretched Air Force’s lead to 8-2. He added a second three-run homer in the sixth as the Falcons scored seven runs in that frame.

UNLV, the Runnin’ Rebels, took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first when Reggie Bussey singled to left center, scoring two runs. But Air Force answered immediately in the bottom half. T.J. Oster led off with a solo home run to deep left field, his first of the season. Ben Niednagel followed with a single, stole second and scored on a single to left by Walker Zapp, tying the game. Tripp Garrish then walked, stole second and later stole home on a wild pitch as Christian Taylor stole second, pushing Air Force ahead 3-2.

The Falcons added two more runs in the second inning. After Oster was hit by a pitch and stole second, Niednagel walked and both runners advanced on a double steal. Zapp then lined a ground-rule double to center field, driving in Oster and Niednagel for a 5-2 lead.

UNLV managed only six hits on the night. Cooper Sheff hit a solo home run in the fourth inning off reliever Gaines Estridge, his ninth of the season, cutting the deficit to 8-3. But Air Force answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Niednagel doubled, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a single by Wyatt Hanoian. Christian Taylor added a sacrifice fly to score Hanoian, making it 10-2.

Luke Elmore homered to left field in the fifth inning, his sixth, to push the lead to 11-2.

The Falcons blew the game open in the sixth. Garrett Hutchins singled to drive in Hanoian, making it 12-2. Blake Campbell, pinch running for Garrish, stole home to make it 13-2. Elmore walked, stole second, and Boyd crushed his second home run of the afternoon to deep right field, his seventh of the season, scoring Hutchins and Elmore for a 16-2 advantage. Boyd’s two homers gave him six RBIs for the game.

UNLV changed pitchers, bringing in Reese Lueck, who struck out the first batter he faced. But Niednagel singled to left center, and a fielding error by left fielder Jayden Hertel allowed Oster, who had walked, to score from first, making it 17-2. Niednagel advanced to third on the play.

UNLV’s final run came in the top of the seventh. Marcos Rosales walked, moved to second and scored on a pinch-hit single by Connor Tallakson. But the Runnin’ Rebels could not mount any further threat.

Air Force starter Richard Rutledge pitched three innings, allowing one hit and no earned runs while striking out two. Estridge worked three innings, giving up four hits and one earned run with one strikeout. UNLV starter Parker Dillhoff did not record an out in the first inning; the Runnin’ Rebels used five pitchers in total.

Other key contributors for the Falcons included Niednagel, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored; Zapp, who drove in three runs; and Hanoian, who had two hits and an RBI. Oster finished with a home run and two runs scored. For UNLV, Sheff and Bussey each had two hits.

The victory lifted Air Force to 26-26 on the season, while UNLV fell to 30-25. The teams had met earlier in the spring, with Air Force sweeping a three-game series in Colorado Springs in March, outscoring the Runnin’ Rebels 49-32.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of UNLV 7, Air Force 4. Interstat’s ELO system had given UNLV a 50.90 percent probability to win.