The UNLV baseball team rolled up 17 hits en route to an 11-5 victory over Hawaii in today’s opener of a three-game series at Las Vegas Ballpark in Summerlin, Nev.

The Rebels entered leading the nation in hitting with a .336 average. They scored five runs in the bottom of the first to wipe out the Rainbow Warriors’ 2-0 lead, then broke a 5-all tie when Diego Alarcon sprinted home on a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the fourth. Edarian Williams and Eric Bigani had run-scoring singles in the sixth for insurance. Bigani blasted a three-run homer in the eighth to end the suspense.

This was only the Rebels’ second “home” game at Las Vegas Ballpark, the Triple-A Las Vegas Aviators’ home venue. Las Vegas Ballpark is ranked as the top field in AAA baseball.

Second baseman Stone Miyao was 3-for-4 with three RBIs for the ’Bows.

The Rebels, who are in first place in the Mountain West, improved to 32-16 overall. The ’Bows, who are second in the Big West, fell to 20-20.