March 22, 2002
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STORYLINE: The UNLV Softball team (17-18) kicks off a five-day, five-game, middle-of-the-week road swing through Oregon. The trip is concurrent with the spring break at UNLV. Portland State (5-12) first plays host for the Rebels with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Sunday, March 24. Two days later, the Rebels head to Eugene for a rematch with Oregon (14-8), a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader on Tuesday, March 26. The trip ends on Wednesday after a 1:00 p.m. single game at No. 15 Oregon State (24-9). Carrie Bayless, Morgan Bostwick, Kira Enlow and Jackie Kerrigan all hail from the Beaver State, as do assistant coach Kendall Richards and team trainer Mary Rock.
ABOUT UNLV: UNLV is in the midst of a seven-game road swing that began last Thursday in a doubleheader split at Southern Utah ... The Rebels surrendered a four-run lead to lose the opener 9-6 before demolishing the Thunderbirds in a five-inning, 10-1 victory in the nightcap ... The Rebels have won five of their last seven after playing some of their best ball of the year at the Capital Classic in Sacramento ... 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 ... At the plate, Geney Orris leads the team in batting average (.298), home runs (6), and RBI (21) ... In the circle, Kerrigan is the Rebels' leader with a 7-8 record, a 1.94 ERA and 78 strikeouts ... Head coach Shan McDonald is in her 16th season at the helm of the Rebel program, carrying a 477-434-2 (.524) mark.
ABOUT PORTLAND STATE: Portland State (5-12) has lost three straight heading into Sunday, two of which came against Fresno State in the Vikings WAC opener ... PSU opened its season at the UNLV Softball Classic on Feb. 15 ... Monica Martell is the team's leading hitter with a .314 average, and Morgan Siebert carries a team-best 4-6 record and 2.32 ERA ... In her 26th year at PSU, Teri Mariani has an overall coaching record of 591-466 ... UNLV won the only other meeting between the two last year, 1-0.
ABOUT OREGON: Oregon (14-8) has not played since rolling off a 3-1 record in the UNLV mini-tournament March 8-10 ... Included in that record was a 6-4 defeat of UNLV ... The Ducks were snowed out of their Pac-10 opener against Oregon State last weekend ... Andrea Vidlund (.418/6/26) leads the squad in hitting, and Anissa Meashintubby is 5-2 on the year with a 2.20 ERA ... Brett Rincon is in his first season as the Ducks' head coach ... UO has an impressive eight opponents in common with UNLV this season ... UNLV leads the all-time series between the schools, 9-5.
ABOUT OREGON STATE: Oregon State (24-9) heads into the week ranked 15th nationally in the NFCA Coaches Poll ... Like all of the Rebels' opponents next week, the Beavers were also guests at the UNLV Softball Classic ... The Beavers went 5-2 at the Hawaii Malahini Tournament two weeks ago and were snowed out of their scheduled game against Oregon last week ... Brynnen Guthrie (.336/4/20) paces the offense, and the pitching staff boasts three eight-game winners in Monica Hoffman, Kristen Hunter and Crystal Draper ... Eighth-year head coach Kirk Walker has compiled a 239-219-3 record at OSU ... Assisting Walker on the staff is former Rebel assistant Jenny Condon, and Wednesday's game will mark the Rebels' second against a former coach this year ... The Rebs lead the series, 8-2.
LAST WEEK: In a relatively quiet week, the Rebels played only a mid-week doubleheader at Southern Utah ... Despite striking out nine batters in the opener, Jackie Kerrigan took the 9-6 loss after surrendering a four-run lead ... SUU's Lacee LePrey's grand slam in the fourth tied the game ... The Rebels rebounded with their best offensive explosion of the year, knocking off the Thunderbirds 10-1 in five innings with a season-high 10-run, 15-hit effort ... Kacey Ellis allowed just three hits and a meaningless home run while every batter in the Rebel lineup produced a hit ... The Rebels have been flirting with .500 all season, but have not climbed over the hump since falling to 9-9 in the middle of an eight-game losing skid at the end of February.
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 20 complete games in 35 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.
TRIPLE PLAY: When the Rebels defeated IUPUI, Sacramento State and Middle Tennessee on March 15 at the Capital Classic, it was just the 10th tripleheader in school history and only the second time that UNLV escaped the day unblemished. At the 1990 UNLV Spring Fling, the Rebels dumped Sac State, Oregon State and Southwest Texas State on March 2. The Rebels also boast a three-win day on April 13, 1996 when a previously suspended game against San Jose State was played out before a scheduled doubleheader. UNLV won the resumed game, 6-5 in 10 innings before a 5-0, 14-6 sweep of the slated twin bill.
