March 29, 2004

LAS VEGAS - After sweeping MWC conference foe BYU last weekend, UNLV will look to avenge an early-season road loss as they host No. 12 UC Irvine for a non-conference contest on Tuesday night. The Rebels fell 8-7 to the Anteaters on February 24th, in a game that UNLV lead 7-3 before giving up five runs in the bottom of the eighth.

Eric Nielsen has been an offensive powerhouse for the Rebels lately; the junior right fielder drove in 11 runs during the last four games, and is currently second on the team with 36 on the season.

Senior centerfielder Brent Johnson leads the club in run production, with 40RBI, while senior second baseman Ryan Ruiz's batting average of 4.16 leads all Rebel starters.

Sophomore righthander Matt Wagner will make his second start of the season against the Anteaters. Wagner boasts a record of 2-0 and has appeared in seven games for the Rebels.

The Anteaters are coming off of a two-game series win over No. 7 Cal State Long Beach. UC Irvine is lead by senior infielder Matt Fisher and sophomore outfielder Erik Johnson. Fisher leads the club with a batting average of .375, while Johnson leads the team in RBI with 23.

The Anteaters will start sophomore righthander Chris Nicoll on the mound. Nicoll is 3-0 on the season with an impressive 1.31 ERA in eight appearances.

After Tuesday's game, The Rebels will head down to San Diego for a three-game match up with conference foe San Diego State on April 2-4.

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