April 16, 1998

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- UNLV returns to conference play after a two-week hiatus to face Utah and Colorado State on the road. The Utes and Rams are trailing UNLV in the WAC standings in fourth and fifth place, respectively. This is the second time the teams have met this season. UNLV lost two games to Utah and swept Colorado State at Rebel Diamond in the beginning of March.

RECAP: UNLV suffered a tough road trip when traveling to former conference foes Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton. The Rebels dropped an 18-inning, 1-2 decision at Long Beach and went on to falter in both games of a doubleheader at Cal State Fullerton, 1-0 and 3-0. The Rebels left a total of 17 runners stranded in their 18-inning marathon against the 49ers, including two in the 15th inning after having runners at first and second with one out. Brandi Isgar pitched an outstanding game, going all 17.2 innings and striking out seven batters while walking just two. The 49ers struck first with a score in the bottom of the second and the Rebels answered with a run in their half of the third. That is where the scoring ended until the five-hour game ended off a Deidra Oliver single which scored Amanda Favorite. Game two of the doubleheader was called due to darkness. UNLV's inability to score continued as it faced Cal State Fullerton Wednesday in a non-conference doubleheader. Once again Isgar pitched a great game in the circle, giving up just one hit through six 1/3 innings. The Rebel offense however stalled as UNLV left 12 runners on base, failing to cross the plate in seven innings. The Titans won the game off a Branda Iglesias double off the leftfield fence. In game two, Cal State Fullerton used a three-run, four-hit fifth inning and were aided by two Rebel errors en route to the victory over Danielle Ferriera (3-4).

COMING UP: UNLV has two conference matchups against Utah and Colorado State this weekend. The Rebels faced both teams already, as they dropped two to Utah and took two from Colorado State in a home stand earlier in the season. The series record with Utah stands at 11-13 while the Rebels own a 7-5 advantage over Colorado State. Last season the Rebels lost all four of their games at these two venues.

POSSIBLE STARTERS:                              Avg.    HR  RBI SB  NotesC/OF- #16 Julie Crandall    .351    7   22  3-5 Named WAC Player of the Week for 4/61B- #23 Kelly DeArman       .153    1   8   0-0 Had her first career HR against CSUor  #12 Audrey Munoz        .091    0   0   0-0 Has started 13 of her 16 games at 1B2B/OF- #2  Linda Garza      .227    1   5   2-4 First career HR was against #6 Oklahomaor  #32  Devon Ramos        .192    0   2   0-0 Has a .944 fld. % at 2B3B-  #16 Raven Coberg       .287    4   18  0-0 Hitting a team-high .392 in conferenceOF-  #8 Debbie Hatch        .151    0   3   0-0 Has a .274 OB %, including 9 walksOF-  #3  Nicole Miller      .236    3   4   0-1 Out 3 weeks with broken throwing handOF-  #7 Keao Chang          .316    1   9   4-6 Third on the team with a .418 slug. %
Pitching Staff:                            ERA     W-L     IP      SO  Notes#20  Brandi Isgar           1.71    9-13    151.2   92  Has recorded two shutouts this season#23  Kelly DeArman          2.65    3-1     39.2    12  Has 13 appearances on the season#9   Danielle Ferriera      3.26    3-4     49.1    33  Owns a perfect 1.000 fld. %

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 391-282-2 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 is in 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. For her efforts she was awarded WAC Player of the Week accolades for the week ending April 6.

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.