Oct. 13, 2004

Las Vegas - UNLV baseball opened its fall camp Oct. 12, as the two-time defending Mountain West Conference champions begin preparations for the 2005 season. Fall camp will run through Oct. 31.

The Rebels will conduct individual and team workouts throughout the week, highlighted by intra-squad scrimmages on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. During the week, the scrimmages will begin at 3:30 p.m. (PDT) and on the weekends they will start at 11:30 p.m. (PDT). Scrimmages will be held at Earl E. Wilson Stadium and are free and open to the public.

Although seven Rebels were taken in the MLB draft this past June, several standouts return from last year's championship squad. Junior right-hander Matt Luca will anchor the pitching staff for the Rebels this season and is coming off his second season as a starter. He went 7-5 last season in 16 starts, striking out 96 in 85.2 innings with a 5.99 ERA.

Luca and the rest of the staff will be throwing to catcher Justin Tellam. Shortstop Zeke Parraz and second baseman Ryan Kowalski are two other veterans that will lead the Rebels this season. Overall 10 players return from last year's title squad that went 37-24 and advanced to the NCAA West Regional. They will be joined by 20 newcomers.

"This is the deepest team that we've had since I've been here," Gouldsmith said. "We have a lot of new players and fall practice will allow us to find roles for our players and most importantly, to play a lot of baseball."

The fall camp will also allow Rebel players to get acquainted with new Rebel coaches Scott Malone and Nate Yeskie. Malone spent the last two seasons at Texas-Arlington before joining head coach Buddy Gouldsmith's staff this summer. Malone will be the team's hitting coach while also working with the outfielders and serving as recruiting coordinator. Yeskie is making his return to UNLV after starring for the Rebels as a pitcher from 1994-96. Yeskie spent several years in the Minnesota Twins organization before joining Gouldsmith's staff this summer.