Feb. 26, 2001
COMPLETE TEXAS A&M SCHEDULE
Friday Indiana St. vs. UNLV 11:00 a.m. Texas A&M vs. Penn St. 5:00 p.m.
Saturday Penn State vs. UNLV 8:00 a.m. Penn State vs. Indiana St. 3:00 p.m. Texas A&M vs. UNLV 6:00 p.m.
Sunday UNLV vs. Penn State 11:00 a.m. Texas A&M vs. Indiana St. 5:00 p.m.
Monday Indiana St. vs. Penn St. 8:00 a.m. UNLV vs. Indiana St. 11:00 a.m. Texas A&M vs. UNLV 3:00 p.m. Texas A&M vs. Penn St. 6:00 p.m. All Times Listed PST
UNLV PROBABLE STARTERS
Tuesday - Courtney Hall RHP
Thursday - Giovanni Pupo LHP
Friday - Jake Gann RHP
Saturday - Robbie Van LHP
Sunday - TBA
Monday - TBA
RADIO BROADCAST KSHP 1400AM will broadcast Tuesday's game on a tape delay. Fans can listen to the game on the radio or on the Internet at 6:00 p.m.
ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH
At 1-9 on the season, Southern Utah looks to break a three-game slide this Tuesday as the Thunderbirds travel south on I-15 to Las Vegas to face UNLV. Southern Utah dropped five of six games in last weeks road trip to New Mexico. The Thunderbirds lost three of four to New Mexico State and both games at New Mexico.
The Rebels own a 30-91-1 series edge over the Thunderbirds, including two of three meetings last season.
HUSTLIN' REBELS
UNLV hosts Southern Utah before heading to Texas A&M for the Aggie Continental Express Baseball Classic.
The Rebels went 1-2 over the weekend, splitting two games with tenth ranked Clemson and dropping a single game to Oregon State.
The Rebels opened the weekend with Clemson and held a two-run lead in the ninth, but watched it melt away behind a six run final inning by the Tigers.
Giovanni Pupo pitched eight innings, giving up six runs on seven hits with five strikeouts. C.J. Martin came in for relief, giving up three runs on two hits in the ninth for the loss.
Jared Bonnell and Brad Maloff combined to finish the ninth inning. Bonnell gave up one run on three hits. Maloff recorded the final two outs with one strikeout.
Joe Jacobitz led UNLV offensively, going 3-for-5 with one RBI.
UNLV came back in the second game against Clemson to pick up the Rebels first win of the season against a ranked opponent. The win also snapped a four-game losing streak. The Rebels put up 19 hits in a 14-6 victory over Clemson.
Jake Gann earned the win for UNLV. He started on the mound for the Rebels and pitched five innings, giving up six runs on ten hits with four strikeouts. Courtney Hall, who finished the game, earned his first save of the season. Hall pitched four innings, giving up only two hits and striking out seven.
Four Rebels finished with three hits each, led by Ryan Ruiz who went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and three runs scored. Garett Shitanishi and Brad Hertel each went 3-for-4, while Trent Kitsch finished the day 3-for-5. Kitsch also hit his third home run of the season.
In the final game of the weekend, UNLV jumped out to a seven run lead after two innings of play, but couldn't hold on, falling to Oregon State 11-9.
Freshman Robbie Van started on the mound for the Rebels. He pitched five innings and gave up six runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts.
Trent Kitsch finished the game 2-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored. He hit back-to-back home runs in his first two at-bats. Tony Schuler and Jason Reuss also finished with two hits apiece.
INJURY UPDATE
Pitchers Joe Maruffi and Ryan Olson are both expected to miss the game against Southern Utah. Olson suffered a broken ankle on the first day of practice and Maruffi is rehabbing from shoulder tendinitis.
The coaching staff would like them both to see action at Texas A&M next weekend, possibly two innings each.
John Cruz collided with the centerfield fence over the weekend, injuring his shoulder. He is expected to miss the Southern Utah game and will be re-evaluated heading into the Texas A&M Tournament.
TEXAS A&M RADIO
KSHP will not be broadcasting games played in the Aggie Continental Express Baseball Classic, but games played against Texas A&M this weekend can be heard through the Aggies website using Real Audio at http://sports.tamu.edu/audio/baseball/, or follow the links on www.AggieAthletics.com.
Indiana State and Penn State will not be broadcasting the games.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The tough 2001 schedule boasts competition against four teams that ranked in the top 25 at the end of the 2000 season. No. 7 Clemson, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 17 UCLA and No. 19 Penn State are stacked on the first half of the schedule as the Rebels prepare for the grind of their second season in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV also hosts a two-game series against the two-time defending NAIA National Champion Warriors of Lewis-Clark State.
AUTOMATIC BID
Twenty-nine conferences receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. 2001 marks the first season the Mountain West Conference will receive an automatic bid. The winner of the MWC Championships, held in San Diego May 16-19, will receive the automatic bid.
ROD SOESBE
Rod Soesbe begins his 17th season at UNLV. On Sept. 10, 1996 he was named head coach, the fourth in UNLV baseball history. Soesbe spent 12 seasons as the top assistant to Fred Dallimore.
In the Summer of 1999, he served as an assistant coach for the USA Baseball National Team under Texas A&M head coach Mark Johnson.
The 2001 season is Soesbe's fifth as the head coach of the Hustlin' Rebels. Last season, he led the Rebels to a 24-33 record, 14-16 in the Mountain West Conference.
UNLV compiled a 43-17 record in 1996 and captured the Big West Tournament Championship with victories over nationally ranked UC-Santa Barbara, Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State. UNLV also posted the fourth highest batting average (.332) in school history that year and set single-season school records for most runs scored (550) and most runs batted in (500).
Soesbe came to UNLV in 1985 and served as the team's hitting instructor, working with the infielders and third base coach.
