Feb. 26, 2002
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STORYLINE: The UNLV Softball team (9-9) looks to get back over .500 for the year and snap a four-game losing skid when it travels north along I-15 to play in the Utah Red Desert Classic in St. George this weekend. The Rebels will travel on Thursday, Feb. 28 before facing two top talents from the Pac-10. UNLV opens tourney play on Friday, March 1 against second-ranked Stanford (13-2) before immediately facing No. 6 Washington (16-6). On Saturday, the Rebels challenge former Big West rival UC Santa Barbara (9-12) and Eastern Kentucky (3-2) before a final showdown with Utah State (1-10) on Sunday. The Red Desert Classic marks the fourth straight weekend of tourney play for the 2002 Rebels.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV returns five starters in the field, three on the mound and 11 letterwinners from last year's 26-30 squad ... After reeling off a six-game winning streak, the school's longest in seven years, the Rebels have now lost four in-a-row ... UNLV successfully defended its perfect home record in a Feb. 20 doubleheader against Southern Utah, but then lost two games to No. 12 Pacific and No. 15 DePaul. Three of the four losses were by two runs or less, and one went into extra innings ... Of the Rebels' 18 games this season, nine have come against teams appearaing in the NFCA Coaches Poll ... At the plate, Geney Orris and Pauline Glenn have three home runs apiece. Orris leads the team in batting average (.308), and Glenn paces the team in RBI (11) ... In the circle, Jackie Kerrigan is the Rebels' leader with a 2.06 ERA and 35 strikeouts, and Orris boasts a team-best 3-2 record ... Head coach Shan McDonald is in her 16th season at the helm of the Rebel program, carrying a 469-425-2 (.525) mark.
ABOUT STANFORD: Stanford (13-2) enters the week ranked No. 2 in the NFCA Coaches Poll ... The Cardinal won their first 11 games of the year before a 2-2 split last week ... Sarah Beeson (.500/1/13) leads the team in both hitting and run production, and Tori Nyberg, the Pac-10 Pitcher of the Week, already has an 8-1 record and an astounding 0.49 ERA ... John Rittman is in his sixth season at the helm of the Stanford program where he has compiled a 212-102-1 record ... The Cardinal's only two losses came to a pair of common opponents -- Massachusetts and Nebraska. UNLV lost to Nebraska, 1-0, on Feb. 8 before upsetting then-No. 24 UMass, 6-4, a day later ... Stanford won the only meeting between the pair, just two years ago, 12-2.
ABOUT WASHINGTON: Washington (16-6) heads to Utah ranked sixth in the latest NFCA Coaches poll ... The Huskies won their first 10 games of the year, but are just 6-6 since then ... Rita Roach (.440/0/8) is the team's leader in hitting, and Jaime Clark (.386/5/26) provides the power ... Ashley Boek's 6-1 record and 0.74 ERA lead the squad ... In her ninth season at UW, Teresa Wilson is 455-170 and carries an overall coaching record of 659-331 in her 15th year ... Wisconsin is the only opponent common to both schools. Washington defeated the Badgers 2-0 last week while the Rebels were 3-0 losers to Wisconsin on Feb. 8 ... Washington leads the series, 3-2.
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA: Former Big West Conference rival UC Santa Barbara (9-12) won five of its first six, but only four of 15 games since its fast start ... The Gauchos are led in hitting by Julia Tamai (.355/0/9) and Jami Trinidad (.267/2/13) and in the circle by junior Loren Thornburg with a 5-6 record and 2.56 ERA ... First-year head coach Kristy Schroeder produced a 133-34-1 record in three seasons at Division II Truman State ... The Rebels and Gauchos have shared three opponents this season. Both fell to California and both defeated Southern Utah, but UNLV managed a 7-3 win over Cal Poly on Feb. 17, a team that defeated UCSB 5-1 a week prior ... The Rebels hold a 34-15 edge in the long-time series.
ABOUT EASTERN KENTUCKY: Eastern Kentucky (3-2) just kicked off the 2002 year last week with a second-place finish at the Mercer Classic ... Elise Burch hit .611 and drove in four runs in five games last week, and Jonelle Csora posted a 1-1 record, allowing just one earned run in four appearances ... Jane Worthington is in her 10th season at EKU with a 240-250-9 record ... UNLV and EKU have no common opponents this year and will meet for the first time.
ABOUT UTAH STATE: Another former Big West foe, Utah State (1-10), will try to snap its second five-game skid of the year ... The Aggies' lone win came in an 11-10 eight-inning decision vs. Northwestern on Feb. 15 ... Breanne Smith (.370/1/5) leads the squad in all offensive categories while Lindsay Janssen boasts the pitching staff's only win and team-best 5.17 ERA ... The Aggies' 1-10 record reflects every game in the career of first-year coach Debbie Bilbao ... Three of USU's losses came at the hands of vanquished Rebel opponents -- one game to Kansas and a pair to Southern Utah ... UNLV leads the series 20-13.
LAST 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. In a UNLV mini-tournament, the Rebels' home luck finally ran out against 12th-ranked Pacific as the Tigers stole a 4-3 victory in eight innings. DePaul handed UNLV a second heartbreaker on Saturday. In Sunday's attempt for revenge, the Blue Demons' Lindsay Chouinard shut down the Rebels in their first-ever home television appearance. Pacific pushed the Rebs' losing streak to four with a 5-1 win in the tourney finale. Melissa Inouye hit two homers on the week, her first two of the year.
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 nine games against seven different opponents that have received votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll this season:
Opponent Date Results Rank Then Rank Now Wisconsin Feb. 8 L, 3-0 29 27 Nebrska Feb. 8 L, 1-0 12 9 Massachusetts Feb. 9 W, 6-4 24 25 California Feb. 9 L, 5-0 5 7 Alabama Feb. 15 L, 8-2 13 18 Pacific Feb. 23 L, 4-3 12 12 DePaul Feb. 23 L, 3-2 15 15 DePaul Feb. 24 L, 3-1 15 15 Pacific Feb. 24 L, 5-1 12 12
SHE'S GOING THE DISTANCE ... : While head coach Shan McDonald might tell you that offense is the team's strength, it has been pitching that is coming through for the Rebels. In five games at the ASU Fiesta Bowl Tournament, UNLV got a complete-game pitching effort from all four hurlers on the staff. The Rebels turned the same trick during the third week of the season, including the team's first shutout by Nicole Truax in eight innings. The Rebels have nine complete games in 18 contests this year.
KERRIGAN KILLS: After slight disappointments in her first two outings, freshman pitcher Jackie Kerrigan responded with heroic efforts in Week 2. 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. She was chosen the MWC Pitcher of the Week for her efforts.
INFIELD SHIFT: After 14 straight starts with the infield basically in tact, head coach Shan McDonald decided to mix things up a bit last week. Kacey Ellis moved from the circle to start four games at first base. That pushed Morgan Bostwick, a natural shortstop, to second base. Second baseman Kira Enlow logged a few innings at short as Amber Campbell started the Rebels' last game at the hot corner. Eight different players have already seen time in the infield.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: In just three weeks, UNLV has turned out three Mountain West Conference Player or 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.
