Feb. 19, 2002
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STORYLINE: Now that all the pomp and circumstance regarding UNLV's new stadium is over, it's time to get down to softball. The Rebel Softball team (7-5) will play six games at Eller Media Stadium this week. The first two pit UNLV against I-15 neighbor Southern Utah in a Feb. 20 doubleheader. The Rebels then host both No. 19 Pacific and No. 19 DePaul in a round-robin style mini-tournament. All three teams will face one another once on Saturday and again on Sunday.
Saturday, Feb. 23 Sunday, Feb. 243:00 p.m. DPU vs. UOP 10:00 a.m. UOP vs. DPU5:30 p.m. UOP vs. UNLV 12:30 p.m. UNLV vs. DPU8:00 p.m. DPU vs. UNLV 3:00 p.m. UNLV vs. UOP
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV (7-5) returns five starters in the field, three on the mound and 11 letterwinners from last year's 26-30 squad ... The Rebels are in the midst of a four-game winning streak. After falling to No. 13 Alabama 8-2 to open play in the UNLV Softball Classic, the Rebels bumped off Kansas, Texas Tech, Central Michigan and Cal Poly in succession. The four-game streak matches their longest from last season ... At the plate, Bridget Byrne leads the squad in batting average (.474), and Pauline Glenn paces the team in home runs (3) and RBI (11) ... In the circle, Jackie Kerrigan is the Rebels' leader with a 1.96 ERA and 30 strikeouts, and Geney Orris boasts a team-best 3-1 record ... Head coach Shan McDonald is in her 16th season at the helm of the Rebel program, carrying a 467-421-2 (.526) mark.
ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH: Southern Utah (7-7) was swept in a doubleheader at Point Loma College on Monday and carry a three-game losing streak into Eller Media Stadium ... The Thunderbirds are led in hitting by Hana Michiue (.378/0/5) and Lacee LePrey (.316/2/9), while LePrey also carries a 3-1 record in the circle ... Head Coach Laurel Simmons has a 68-128 overall record in her fourth season at SUU ... Against common opponentes, both schools have a win over Cal Poly, but the T-Birds dropped a 6-4 decision to Saint Mary's, a team that UNLV took two from to open the season ... The Rebels lead the 21-year-old series 18-8, including taking three of four last year.
ABOUT PACIFIC: Pacific (5-2) enters the week ranked 19th in the preseason NFCA Coaches Poll, but that could change when the new rankings are released on Wednesday ... Like the Rebels, the Tigers are also riding a four-game winning streak after wins over Michigan, Pittsburgh, New Mexico and Loyola Marymount at the Campbell-Cartier Tournament in San Diego ... They will face Saint Mary's at home before coming to Vegas ... Brandy Thurman (.550/0/4) leads the team in hitting, and Estee Okumura (.292/0/9) has driven in the most runs ... Cindy Ball has a 4-1 record and a 1.20 ERA ... Former UNLV assistant coach Brian Kolze is in his 10th season at the helm of the UOP program where he has compiled a 276-232-1 record ... California is the only opponent common to both schools. UOP dropped Cal 4-0 while the Golden Bears shut out UNLV, 5-0 ... UNLV leads the all-time series between the former Big West Conference rivals, 29-23-1.
ABOUT DEPAUL: DePaul (4-1) was tied with Pacific at 19th in the preseason NFCA Coaches Poll ... The Blue Demons opened the season at the LSU Classic two weeks ago, where they won four straight before falling to unranked Northwestern State ... Shavaughne Desecki (.533/0/4) is the team's leader in hitting, and Lindsay Chouinard earned C-USA Pitcher of the Week honors after winning two games and not allowing an earned run in Baton Rouge ... In his 23rd season, Eugene Lenti carries a remarkable 683-358-4 record as a head coach ... DePaul has won both meetings in the series that began two years ago.
LAST WEEK: UNLV rolled to a 4-1 record at the UNLV Softball Classic at Las Vegas' Desert Breeze Park last week. After losing its first game to No. 13 Alabama, 8-2, the Rebels reeled off four straight wins, defeating Kansas, Texas Tech, Central Michigan and Cal Poly ... The Rebels averaged nearly eight runs and 10 hits over their last four games ... Jackie Kerrigan was sensational in the circle, picking up two wins and two saves and striking out a team-best 13 against Kansas ... Pauline Glenn drew eight walks and crushed two home runs ... Bridget Byrne collected eight singles and a double, drove in two, scored two runs and stole three bases in the leadoff spot.
WEEK ONE REVIEW: The Rebels began the week strong, collecting the first two victories at the new Eller Media Stadium with wins of 6-2 and 7-3 over Saint Mary's. Pauline Glenn provided the offensive highlight by crushing a grand slam in the final at-bat of the nightcap to seal UNLV's 7-3 win. Geney Orris allowed just one hit and no runs in six innings of work to pick up the first win ... UNLV then posted a 1-4 mark at the ASU Fiesta Bowl Tournament, losing three games to ranked teams. Orris picked up the only victory for UNLV in Phoenix, defeating No. 24 UMass and 2001 A-10 Pitcher of the Year Jennifer Hadley ... Along with her two wins, Orris belted two homers on the week and tallied a slugging percentage of .773 ... Amber Campbell hit her first home run as a collegian against UMass, a two-run shot in her hometown ... Also turning in noteworthy performances were freshman pitcher Jackie Kerrigan, who suffered a hard-luck loss to No. 12 Nebraska despite holding the Huskers to just one run and three hits, and Bridget Byrne, who drove in a run from the left side of the plate for the first time in her career.
UP NEXT: After closing its home stad, the Rebels will bus up I-15 to St George, Utah, to compete in the Utah Red Desert Classic. UNLV will face Stanford, Washington, UC Santa Barbara, Eastern Kentucky and Utah State.
SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE ... : While head coach Shan McDonald might tell you that offense is the team's strength, it was pitching that came through for the Rebels at the ASU Fiesta Bowl Tournament. In five games in Arizona, UNLV got a complete-game pitching effort from all four hurlers on the staff. Kacey Ellis threw a seven-inning three-hitter against Wisconsin to start the tourney. Jackie Kerrigan went the distance in her collegiate debut, allowing No. 12 Nebraska just one run and three hits. Geney Orris tossed a 6-4 win over No. 24 Massachusetts to claim her second victory on the year, and Nicole Truax followed suit with a full-game outing against No. 5 California. The following week, Kerrigan booked another complete game, tallying her first collegiate victory over Kansas.
KERRIGAN KILLS: After slight disappointments in her first two outings, freshman pitcher Jackie Kerrigan responded with heroic efforts last week. She struck out 13 in her first collegiate win over Kansas. She then closed a solid performance by Nicole Truax against Texas Tech to pick up her first career save. Just hours later, Kerrigan came to the rescue a second time, holding Central Michigan down for her second win. In the tourney finale, she shut the door on Cal Poly for her second save in as many days. Opponents are hitting just .170 against her.
BASIC TRAINING: By just doing the basics, former walk-on Bridget Byrne has worked herself into one of the key roles on the team. Byrne took over leadoff hitting duties against Massachusetts. She leads the squad with two sacrifice bunts and is tied for the team lead with two stolen bases. Byrne collected her first-ever RBI as a lefty hitter in the game against Texas A&M. At the UNLV Classic, Byrne grew even hotter, producing nine hits, one double, two RBI, three stolen bases and five runs scores. She lifted her batting average to a team-best .350.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: In just two weeks, UNLV has turned out three Mountain West Conference Player of Pitcher of the Week selections. Geney Orris earned the league's pitching award on Feb. 12, while Jackie Kerrigan and Pauline Glenn were honored this week as the circuit's top pitcher andplayer, respectively.
