Feb. 21, 2002
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STORYLINE: Riding its longest winning streak in seven years, the Rebel Softball team (9-5) looks to defend its undefeated home record in a very testy tournament at Eller Media Stadium this week. In Las Vegas for the three-team round-robin style tourney are No. 12 Pacific and No. 15 DePaul. All three teams will face one another once on Saturday and again on Sunday. The times for Saturday's games are a change from the original schedule as all three games were moved ahead two-and-a-half hours. Sunday's game against DePaul will mark the first television appearance in UNLV softball history as Caples Productions and Las Vegas UPN affiliate KTUD-TV are teaming up to air the Rebels. The game will be shown on KTUD on tape delay either March 23 or March 24.
Saturday, Feb. 23 Pacific vs. DePaul 12:30 p.m. PST UNLV vs. Pacific 3:00 p.m. PST UNLV vs. DePaul 5:30 p.m. PSTSunday, Feb. 24 DePaul vs. Pacific 10:00 a.m. PST DePaul vs. UNLV 12:30 p.m. PST Pacific vs. UNLV 3:00 p.m. PST Eller Media Stadium (770), Las Vegas, NV
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV (9-5) 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 six-game winning streak, the team's longest in seven years. 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. An eight-inning 1-0 win and an easy 7-2 victory over Southern Utah on Wednesday kept the streak alive ... At the plate, Geney Orris and Pauline Glenn have three home runs apiece. Orris leads the team in batting average (.333), and Glenn paces the team in RBI (11) ... In the circle, Jackie Kerrigan is the Rebels' leader with a 1.96 ERA and 30 strikeouts, and 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 469-421-2 (.527) mark.
ABOUT PACIFIC: Pacific (7-2) climbed from the preseason 19th-ranked team to 12th in the latest NFCA Coaches Poll ... Like the Rebels, the Tigers are also riding a six-game winning streak after wins over Michigan, Pittsburgh, New Mexico and Loyola Marymount at the Campbell-Cartier Tournament in San Diego and a doubleheader sweep of Saint Mary's on Wednesday ... Brandi Gordon (.462/0/0) leads the team in hitting, and Estee Okumura (.310/0/11) has driven in the most runs ... Cindy Ball has a 4-1 record and a 1.08 ERA ... Former UNLV assistant coach Brian Kolze is in his 10th season at the helm of the UOP program where he has compiled a 278-232-1 record ... Both teams swept a doubleheader with Saint Mary's, but 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) leapt from 19th to 15th in the latest 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.
THIS WEEK: Pitching was the Rebels' strength in taking a doubleheader from Southern Utah on Wednesday. Nicole Truax completed the Rebels' first shutout of the year, helping the squad overcome five fielding errors in a 1-0, eight-inning win. In the nightcap, Kacey Ellis carried a no-hitter into the sixth and completed a one-hit gem. Geney Orris and Morgan Bostwick went deep in the 7-2 victory.
WEEK TWO REVIEW: 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.
SOFTBALL SCOOP: Each week on the UNLV Official Athletic Web Site, unlvrebels.com, senior pitcher Nicole Truax revels the inside scoop with the 2002 Rebels. The Academic All-MWC communications major breaks down the team's performance both on and off the field and recognizes those who perform both dutifully and dubiously.
ELLER MEDIA STADIUM FIRSTS:
First game: Saint Mary's at UNLV, Feb. 5, 2002 First win: 6-2, vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First shutout: Nicole Truax vs. Southern Utah (Game 1), Feb. 20, 2002 First extra-inning game: Southern Utah at UNLV (Game 1) First hit: Bridget Byrne, B1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First run: Geney Orris, B4 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First RBI: Melissa Bruechert, B4 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First double: Morgan Bostwick, B4 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First triple: Melissa Inouye, B6 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First home run: Geney Orris, B4 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 2) First grand slam: Pauline Glenn, B7 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 2) First pinch hit: Wendy Godwin, B7 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 2) First stolen base: Bridget Byrne, B1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First sacrifice: Lauren Capoccia (SMC), B1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 2) First sacrifice fly: Morgan Bostwick, B5 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First walk: Pauline Glenn, B1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First strikeout: Kami Gray (SMC) by Geney Orris, T1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First error: Arica Painter, T1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1) First double play: Inouye to Bostwick to Campbell, T1 vs. Saint Mary's (Game 1)
RANKED OPPONENTS: Already UNLV has faced four opponents ranked among the top 25 in the NFCA coaches' poll and a fifth in the top 30, but managed only a 1-4 record against the competition. Here's a look at the Rebels vs. opponents ranked this season:
Opponent Date Rank Then Rank Now Wisconsin Feb. 8 29 27 Nebrska Feb. 8 12 9 Massachusetts Feb. 9 24 25 California Feb. 9 5 7 Alabama Feb. 15 13 18
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 Rebels have seven complete games in 14 contests this year.
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 and player, respectively.
