Feb. 21, 2002

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

Fri.  Michigan St. vs. UCSB       2:30 p.m.Fri.  UNLV vs. Creighton          6:30 p.m.
Sat.  Creighton vs. UCSB          11:00 a.m.Sat.  UNLV vs. Creighton          3:00 p.m.Sat.  UNLV vs. Michigan St.       7:00 p.m.
Sun.  Michigan St. vs. Creighton  11:00 a.m.Sun.  UNLV vs. UCSB               3:00 p.m.

PROBABLE PITCHERS
UNLV
Friday: Jared Bonnell RHP
Saturday: Doug Thornton RHP
Saturday: David Seccombe RHP
Sunday: Courtney Hall RHP

MICHIGAN STATE
Friday: Bryan Gale RHP
Saturday: Nick Bates RHP
Sunday: Jon Huizinga LHP

CREIGHTON
Friday: TBA
Saturday: TBA
Saturday: TBA
Sunday: TBA

UC SANTA BARBARA
Friday: James Garcia RHP
Saturday: James Dayley RHP
Sunday: Matt Vasquez RHP

UNLV REBELS

UNLV dropped to 4-5 on the season after losing three games at No. 16 Cal State Fullerton last weekend. The Titans dominated the series, outscoring the Rebels 41-4 over the weekend and raising the UNLV team ERA by nearly two and a half points.

The Rebels will see nothing but tournament play over the next three weekends and begin by hosting Michigan State, Creighton and UC-Santa Barbara in the UNLV tournament. UNLV will travel to tournaments in Lancaster, Calif., and Tempe, Ariz., over the next two weekends.

MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS

For the second time in three years, the Spartans will open their season in Las Vegas. MSU went 1-4 to open in 2000, with their only win coming against West Virginia, 6-5.

Six of the team's nine seniors are pitchers, but it is sophomore Bryan Gale who is expected to lead the staff. Gale is a 2001 Freshman All-American and All-Big Ten returnee. He went went 9-1 last season with a 3.53 ERA.

The Rebels hold a 4-1 overall series advantage over the Spartans. UNLV won the last meeting 10-4 during the 2000 UNLV Desert Classic.

CREIGHTON BLUEJAYS

Creighton opened the season with a 10-9 loss to Kansas State on Tuesday.

The Jays have been post-season competitors two of the last three years and have their eyes set on the NCAA Regionals again in 2002. Head Coach Jack Dahm returns five starters from last year's team which finished 21-31.

The Rebels hold a 6-2 overall series advantage over the Jays. The last meeting between the two schools took place in the 1999 UNLV Desert Classic, where Creighton took an 8-7 decision from UNLV.

CALIFORNIA, SANTA BARBARA GAUCHOS

The Gauchos moved to 7-5 on the season following a 9-7 loss to Northridge on Tuesday. UCSB has taken two games from San Jose State and Santa Clara this season, in addition to a 12-5 victory over the Mountain West Conference's BYU.

Junior right fielder Ryan Spilborghs leads the team in hitting (.395), runs (16), hits (17), walks (11) and on-base percentage (.527).

The Rebels hold a 31-17-1 overall series advantage over the Gauchos. UNLV took two of three games from Creighton in the opening series of the 1999 season.

FRESHMAN ALL AMERICAN

Each team in the tournament has a 2001 Freshman All-American honoree on its roster. The Rebels are represented by third baseman/outfielder Brent Johnson. The Spartans bring pitcher Bryan Gale. The Jays bring pitcher Steve Grasley and the Gauchos are represented by Matt Vasquez.

HITTING STREAKS

Despite the poor offensive output during last weekend's trip to Fullerton, junior second baseman Garett Shitanishi extended his season hitting streak to seven games. No one else on the team can credit a streak longer than one game.

CONFERENCE NUMBERS

Brent Johnson is tied with SDSU's Anthony Gwynn and BYU's Cameron Goughlan for the top spot in stolen bases this season with three. UNLV is also tied with New Mexico for team stolen bases at five.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

The Rebels will play 17 games against teams that participated in the 2001 NCAA Baseball Championship, including Arizona State, Cal-Berkley, Cal-State Fullerton, Oklahoma State and BYU among others. The first 20 games for the Rebels may be the most challenging as 14 of their opponents during that stretch are ranked in the top 30 of the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll.

Each season also brings the tough grind of Mountain West Conference play. The Rebels will play home-and-home, three-game series against five conference foes for a total of 30 conference games.The conference tournament, to be held this year in Provo, UT, will decide the conference's automatic bid into the 2002 NCAA Baseball Championship.

BASEBALL AMERICA

Baseball America predicts UNLV will finish third in the Mountain West Conference this season, behind first place BYU and second place San Diego State.

Other preseason conference honors include Brent Johnson as the Best Defensive Third Baseman and Robbie Van with the Best Breaking Ball.

AUTOMATIC BID

Twenty-nine conferences receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. 2001 marked the first season the Mountain West Conference received an automatic bid. The winner of the MWC Championships, held in Provo, Utah May 22-26, will receive the automatic bid.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

The 2002 Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship will be hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah. All six Mountain West Conference teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament May 22-26. Seedings will be decided by regular season results in conference games.

All requests for media credentials for the Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship should be submitted in writing to Assistant Director of Communications Ron Christian at the MWC office or BYU Baseball Contact Ralph Zobell prior to the event.