March 20, 2002
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STORYLINE: The UNLV Softball team (16-17) steps out of tournament play this week to bus north along I-15 for a Thursday doubleheader at Southern Utah (10-14) in Cedar City, Utah. The opener begins at 1:00 p.m. MST at the SUU Softball Field. The games will mark the third and fourth meetings between the Rebels and the Thunderbirds this year. UNLV swept a two-game set from the 'Birds on Feb. 20 at Eller Media Stadium, pulling out a 1-0 eight-inning victory in the opener before cruising to a 7-2 win in the nightcap. The Rebels lead the all-time series 20-8 and have taken five of the last six. Thursday's games will be the Rebels' first played at an opponent's campus site this season and begin a seven-game road swing which includes a five-day trip through Oregon over next week's spring break.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV returns five starters in the field, three in the circle and 11 letterwinners from last year's 26-30 squad ... The Rebels played some of their best ball of the year at the Capital Classic in Sacramento last week, posting a 4-2 record and advancing to the tourney quarterfinals before a nine-inning, 4-3 setback to Miami (Ohio) ... Freshman pitcher Jackie Kerrigan was chosen the Mountain West Player of the Week and earned an all-tournament nod after posting a 3-1 record and tossing a one-hit shutout against tournament-host Sacramento State ... Of the Rebels' 33 games this season, 13 have come against teams receiving votes in the NFCA Coaches Poll ... At the plate, Geney Orris leads the team in batting average (.292) and home runs (6), and freshman Pauline Glenn has driven in the most runs (14) and drawn a team-best 17 walks ... In the circle, Kerrigan is the Rebels' leader with a 7-6 record, a 1.65 ERA and 69 strikeouts ... Head coach Shan McDonald is in her 16th season at the helm of the Rebel program, carrying a 476-433-2 (.524) mark.
ABOUT SOUTHERN UTAH: Southern Utah (10-14) has lost four straight and nine of 12 going into Thursday's games ... All three of their wins over that stretch came at the expense of Utah State, but included in those games are two losses to UNLV on Feb. 20 ... Hana Michiueis the team leader in batting average (.312/0/7) while Lacey LePrey provides the power (.280/3/12) ... LaPrey is also the 'Birds dominant pitcher, owning a 4-6 record, a 2.91 ERA and a hefty 76 strikeouts ... In her last meeting with UNLV, she held the Rebels to just three hits despite getting tagged with an eight-inning loss ... Laurel Simmons is 71-135 in her fourth season at SUU ... UNLV upped its lead in the all-time series to 20-8 after the Feb. 20 sweep.
LAST MEETINGS: In its first game with SUU this season, UNLV pulled out a 1-0 overtime victory despite getting just three hits and committing five errors. Lisa Moses, aboard courtesy of the tie-breaker rule, scored the winning run on a wild pitch. Nicole Truax put the cap on the Rebels' first shutout of the year with five strikeouts. In the nightcap, Kacey Ellis hurled a complete-game one-hitter. She carried a no-hit bid through six innings before surrending a single to SUU's Rulen Andrade. SUU cashed in on the hit with a pair of unearned runs, but it wasn't enough to overcome seven runs by the Rebels, including a three-run homer from Geney Orris.
LAST WEEK: The Rebels went 4-2 at the Capital Classic last week ... After an opening-round 9-0 loss to Virginia in which the Rebels struck out 15 times, UNLV reeled off four straight wins to advance to the quarterfinals of championship bracket play. Kacey Ellis shutout IUPUI while the Rebels' second-most productive game at the plate produced five runs. Jackie Kerrigan seconded the shutout, overpowering host Sacramento State with a one-hit pitching performance. The pitching of Geney Orris and some solid defense kept the Rebels in a dogfight for six innings with Middle Tennessee before Pauline Glenn blasted a solo home run in the top of the seventh to break the tie and the Blue Raiders. Kerrigan shut down MTSU in relief for the win. All three wins were part of a Friday tripleheader for UNLV and resulted in a second-place seed after pool play. Nicole Truax started for the Rebels against Long Island and allowed Kerrigan to preserve a 3-2 lead before UNLV pulled away for a 6-2 win behind Ellis' first bomb of the year. In her fourth appearance of the tourney, Kerrigan saw an 18-inning scoreless streak snapped as Miami (Ohio) scored two runs in the third to take a 2-1 lead in the quarterfinal game. UNLV evened the score to force extra innings. Both teams posted runs in the eighth, but UNLV lost its opportunity to win when a double play erased a bases-loaded threat. Miami scored the game winner in the top of the ninth. Kerrigan was named to the Capital Classic all-tournament team and claimed MWC Pitcher of the Week honors for her 3-1 record.
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. At the Utah Red Desert Classic, seven-inning outings came from Geney Orris, Kacey Ellis and Jackie Kerrigan. The combo carried the same trick into the Capital Classic. Truax suffered a seven-inning loss to Virginia before Ellis and Kerrigan threw back-to-back complete-game shutouts. The Rebels have 19 complete games in 33 contests this year and have claimed the league's weekly pitching prize three times.
JACKIE THE K: The honors keep rolling in for Rebels' freshman pitcher Jackie Kerrigan. Kerrigan claimed both all-tournament honors and MWC Pitcher of the Week honors after leading UNLV to a 4-2 record at the Capital Classic last weekend. The Eugene, Ore., native went 3-1, including a one-hit shutout of Sacramento State and a 4-3 nine-inning loss to Miami (Ohio). It was the second shutout of the year for the fab freshman after a a 1-0 win over Utah State. Kerrigan has been just as solid against some of the country's best. She knocked off then-No. 29 Notre Dame, 2-1, on March 10 and dropped a 1-0 heartbreaker to Nebraska, now ranked fourth nationally. At the UNLV Softball Classic, she struck out 13 in her first collegiate win over Kansas, and 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, earning her first MWC Pitcher of the Week award. The freshman phenom leads the Rebels with a 7-6 record, a 1.65 ERA and 69 strikeouts, and threw 18 consecutive scoreless innings over a seven-day span last week.
IN A PINCH: When the game is on the line, head coach Shan McDonald looks no further down the dugout than to sophomore Wendy Godwin. Coming off the bench to hit 10 times this year, Godwin has delivered four key hits, all in the seventh inning. Against Saint Mary's, she began a seventh-inning rally that broke a 3-3 tie, and she drove in the Rebels' only run in a 3-1 loss to DePaul.
