April 6, 1998
LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- UNLV will renew the old conference rivalry against Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton this week in Los Angeles. The Rebels will first play Long Beach State on Tuesday, with doubleheader action beginning at 1:00pm. They will then take on Cal State Fullerton, who they defeated two weeks ago 4-2 at the Kia Klassic, on Wednesday at 5:00pm.
RECAP: UNLVdefeated San Jose State in both games of a doubleheader last Friday at Rebel Diamond. The Rebels used a four-run seventh inning to tie game number one, then went on to win in extra innings by the score of 5-4. The winning run was scored by way of a Brandi Isgar RBI-single. In game two, UNLV jumped to the 4-0 lead and it was San Jose State that battled back to take a 5-4 lead in the fifth. Two home runs by Julie Crandall and Raven Coberg in the bottom of the fifth gave UNLV the final 6-5 advantage. Crandall finished the game with two home runs. Highlighting the day for the Rebels was senior catcher Julie Crandall who hit her fourth and fifth home runs of the season. She ended the day going 5-for-8 at the plate, scoring three runs and driving in three RBI. Raven Coberg also had an outstanding day as she went 4-for-8 with a home run. Senior Brandi Isgar was credited with both Rebel wins to put her season record at 9-10. She pitched all eight innings in game one, giving up four runs, three earned, on five hits. She recorded seven strikeouts and walked two batters. In the second game she was brought in to relieve sophomore Danielle Ferriera in the fifth inning. She threw 2.1 innings of shut out work, giving up three hits and striking out 2.
UNLV dropped two Western Athletic Conference games to the third-ranked Fresno State Bulldogs 3-9, 13-15 Saturday at Rebel Diamond. The losses dropped the Rebels to 15-15 overall and 9-7 in conference. In game one UNLV gave up two quick runs in the first inning off a two-RBI double by Fresno State's second baseman Nina Lindenberg. The Bulldogs added four runs in the third to take the 6-0 advantage with the help of two Rebel errors. Julie Crandall put the Rebels on the board in the fourth inning with a solo home run, her first of two on the day and four in the last two days. Three more Bulldog runs in the seventh came on the strength of four singles and an error on UNLV second baseman Devon Ramos. UNLV was able to get a rally of its own going in the bottom half of the seventh as two Fresno State errors and a RBI-single by Stephanee Italiano scored two runs to make the final 9-3.
In the nightcap UNLV spotted the Bulldogs four runs in the first inning. The first two Bulldog batters reached base on singles and were driven in on Lindenberg's three-run homer. Alicia Dowland later drove in Jaime Maxey for the 4-0 score. Crandall's second home run came in the second inning as she put the Rebels within three runs at 4-1. After giving up a run in the third, UNLV was able to pull to within one run at 4-5 when Raven Coberg hit her fourth home run of the season, a three-run shot over the left field fence. After giving up seven runs in the top of the fifth the Rebels were three outs from losing the game by way of the eight-run mercy rule. The team rallied to score five runs in its half of the fifth, aided by three walks and four Rebel hits. With the score at 12-9, Fresno State, the two teams entered the seventh inning. Fresno State was able to increase its lead when first baseman Amanda Scott hit a three-run shot to centerfield. UNLV would not go away however, using four runs of its own to pull to within two before finally succumbing by the score of 13-15.
POSSIBLE STARTERS: Avg. HR RBI SB NotesC/OF- #16 Julie Crandall .349 7 22 3-5 Had four HR against SJSU and FSU1B- #23 Kelly DeArman .173 1 8 0-0 Had her first career HR against CSUor #12 Audrey Munoz .118 0 0 0-0 Has started 11of her 14 games at 1B2B/OF- #2 Linda Garza .227 1 5 2-4 First career HR was against #6 Oklahomaor #32 Devon Ramos .200 0 2 0-0 Has a .942 Fld. % at 2B3B- #16 Raven Coberg .292 4 18 0-0 Had game-winning HR against SJSUOF- #8 Debbie Hatch .163 0 2 0-0 Has a .294 OB %, including 8 walksOF- #3 Nicole Miller .236 3 4 0-1 Out 3 weeks with broken throwing handOF- #7 Keao Chang .319 1 9 4-6 Leads the team in stolen bases
Pitching Staff: ERA W-L IP SO Notes#20 Brandi Isgar 1.88 9-11 126.1 81 Recorded both wins against SJSU#23 Kelly DeArman 2.65 3-1 39.2 9 Has 13 appearances on the season#9 Danielle Ferriera 3.29 3-3 44.2 29 Team-low opponent/avg. of .260
Head Coach Shan McDonald: Entering her 12th season as the Head Coach of Rebel Softball is Shan McDonald. McDonald has led the Rebels to seven NCAA Tournament appearances in the last eight years, including three World Series appearances (the last coming in 1995). She has compiled a career record of 391-279-2 in her years at UNLV. Last December McDonald was honored for her play with the Canadian National team as her 1983 gold medal Pan-American team was inducted into the Canadian Softball Hall of Fame.
Rebels in '98: UNLV returns seven players from last year's team that went 26-28 and 17-15 in Western Athletic Conference play. The Rebels have added nine new players to their roster, including seven freshman additions, one sophomore transfer and one junior college transfer. Two players, Jessica Jones and Tina Parry, will redshirt this season and join the Rebels next year. The Rebels have power at the plate and speed on the bases and on defense. The key to their success this season could prove to be the play on the mound. Brandi Isgar is the Rebels' top returner to the mound. After compiling a record of 10-13 and a team-best 2.22 ERA, she will be looked at to take on a large amount of the pitching duties. Sophomore transfer Danielle Ferriera comes to UNLV from Cal State Fullerton also will be important for the Rebels success this season. Kelly DeArman will likely see extensive duties on the mound. She pitched in only one game in 1997 but has already seen action in three games this year. She recorded the first save of her career against #12 Massachusetts at the ASU Coca Cola Classic.
All-America Candidate Julie Crandall: Julie Crandall enters her final season with the Rebels and has the potential to make it her best year yet. A three-time all-conference honoree and an All-American in 1995, Crandall is off to a strong start in '98. In the Rebels' four games at the ASU Coca Cola Classic Crandall hit .300 on 3-for-10 at the plate. She recorded a .700 slugging percentage and had her first home run of the season, a three-run shot to give the Rebels an early 3-0 lead over #12 Massachusetts. She was walked three consecutive times after her home run. She was walked five times in the course of the three-day tournament. She recorded her second home run of the season against Oregon. She was 2-for-4 with two RBI in the game. The performance moved her into sole possession of third place on UNLV's career RBI list. She is also third in career home runs with 14, her last coming against #6 Oklahoma at the Kia Klassic. Crandall hit .455 over the four games against Utah and Colorado State. She compiled three RBI off two doubles. Against San Jose State and Fresno State she hit .571 with four home runs. Two home runs came in one game against SJSU, to help propel UNLV to the 6-5 victory. She had two home runs against Fresno State, one in each game. In game one, her home run ended Amanda Scott's scoreless inning streak at 26.1.
Rebels Across the Country: UNLV will get a lot of exposure around the country with this year's schedule. It plays teams from nearly every region of the United States when it plays in three tournaments (ASU Coca Cola Classic, UNLV Softball Classic and the Kia Klassic). The Rebels are scheduled to play games against some of the elite programs in the country, including non-conference games against Texas, Massachusetts, Washington, California, Arizona State, Cal State Fullerton. This is in addition to the matchups they have within one of the best softball conferences in the country in the WAC. The Rebels will face three teams that were in last year's NCAA Tournament: Fresno State, Colorado State and Utah.
Rebels in the WAC (as of 3/31)
UNLV is currently in fourth place in the Western Athletic Conference. The Rebels are eighth in hitting (.241) and third in pitching (1.93). In the field, UNLV ranks second with a .960 fielding percentage. Individually, the Rebels have a number of players among the WAC rankings. Brandi Isgar is fifth in ERA at 1.13 and tied for fourth in strikeouts with 67. Isgar is also fourth in innings pitched (107.1), tied for eighth in wins with seven. Julie Crandall and Nicole Miller are tied for fifth with three home runs. Crandall is also tied for fourth with base on balls (16) and sixth in on-base percentage (.438). Keao Chang is fourth in on-base percentage at .451.
