March 28, 2005
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV hosts UC Irvine in a non-conference game at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. (PST). The two teams played at Irvine, Calif., earlier in the year with the Rebels coming out on top 3-2.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV took two of three from New Mexico in Albuquerque, N.M., last weekend, dropping the opening game of the series before coming back to win the last two. UNLV's offense continued its torrid pace, scoring 34 runs in the three games. In the opening game of the series the Rebels committed five errors that led to five unearned runs in a 10-8 loss. In the second game of the set Ryan Kowalski hit his first home run of the season and drove in five runs to pace the Rebels to a 12-6 win. In the final game of the series Kowalski had another big game, driving in three while Zeke Parraz drove in five runs to lead UNLV to a 14-9 victory.
UNLV REBELS (11-17, 5-1 MWC): UNLV has won two in a row after taking the final two games of its series with New Mexico last weekend. UNLV is now 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference, tied for the best record in the league with BYU. Leading the Rebels offensively are Ryan Bird and Zeke Parraz who are both hitting .324 this year. The duo both have a team-high 21 RBI. Sophomore catcher Justin Tellam leads the Rebels with seven home runs and 49 total bases. Chris Bonnell (.317), Tellam (.311), Mike Cruz (.310) and CJ Lang (.305) are also all hitting above .300 for UNLV, who is batting .278 as a team. Eric Brock brings a 1-2 record with a 9.13 ERA to the hill for the Rebels with nine strikeouts and 15 walks. Out of the bullpen Kyle Tabeek is 2-1 with two saves in 13 appearances.
UC IRVINE: (12-11, 0-0 BIG WEST): The Anteaters will play a midweek game with UNLV before opening up Big West Play against the defending NCAA Champion Cal State Fullerton Titans. First baseman Jaime Martinez leads UC Irvine with a .348 batting average and four sacrifice flies. Martinez is tied for second on the team with 15 RBI and has two doubles and a home run for the the Anteaters. Third baseman Matt Anderson is batting .319 and has driven in a team-high 18 RBI. Anderson tops the club with 29 hits, nine doubles and two home runs while also adding a triple. Senior Steve Schroer has a 3-3 record and a 4.06 ERA. Schroer has made 13 appearances for UCI and struck out 26 in 31 innings. The right-hander has allowed 14 earned runs on 31 hits.
UNLV AGAINST UC IRVINE: UNLV trails the all-time series 32-38-2 (.457) against the Anteaters, but the Rebels won the two team's first meeting this year 3-2 on March 1 in Irvine, Calif.
ON DECK: UNLV remains at home and will host San Diego State in a key Mountain West Conference matchup. The Aztecs were picked to win the conference title while the Rebels were picked to finish third. The first game of the series is Friday evening at 6:30 p.m. (PST) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
