March 31, 2005
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV resumes Mountain West Conference play at home this weekend, hosting San Diego State in a three-game series at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. In the past two MWC tournaments the Rebels have beat the Aztecs for the league crown. This year SDSU was the preseason pick to win the conference by the coaches and media. The first game of the series is set for Friday at 6:30 p.m. (PST) with the second game on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and the series finale Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV was held to a season-low three hits and committed a season-high six errors in losing 11-2 to UC Irvine this past Tuesday at home. Eric Brock (1-3) took the loss for the Rebels, giving up five runs, three earned, in 3.2 innings of work. The Rebels put their first run of the game on the board in the bottom of the second, using an UCI error, a hit batter and a walk to load the bases with one out. CJ Lang then hit a fielder's choice ground out that scored a run, but UNLV could do no more damage and trailed 4-1. The Rebels added another run in the bottom of the eighth when Chris Bonnell singled, then later scored on a wild pitch.
UNLV REBELS(11-18, 5-1 MWC)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(48-42, 2nd year):
UNLV has 5-1 in the Mountain West Conference heading into this week's series with SDSU and the Rebels are tied for first in the league with BYU. Leading the Rebels offensively is Chris Bonnell, who has a team-high .318 (27-85) batting average. Zeke Parraz (.314), Ryan Bird (.314) and Mike Cruz (.300) are also at the .300 mark or higher. Justin Tellam has a team-high seven home runs while Bird and Parraz have each driven in 21 runs. On the hill Matt Luca has a 4.37 ERA in eight starts and is 2-4 on the year. Koji Pupo has won his last two starts and is 2-0 with a 3.30 ERA. Out of the bullpen Kyle Tabeek has a 1.88 ERA and a record of 2-1 with two saves in 13 appearances.
SAN DIEGO STATE:(7-17, 2-1 MWC)Head Coach: Tony Gwynn(74-78, 3rd year):
San Diego State enters this weekend's series on the heels of playing an exhibition game Wednesday against the San Diego Padres. The Aztecs lost 5-0 to the MLB club. SDSU had its three-game series with Air Force last weekend cancelled due to snow. Quintin Berry paces the SDSU offense with a .349 (30-86) batting average with three doubles and 11 RBI. Tim O'Brien leads the club with three home runs and James Guerrero is the top RBI man with 14. Bruce Billings is 2-2 with a 3.53 ERA in seven starts. The right-hander has struck out 47 batters in 43.1 innings. Left-handed Ben Coon is 1-1 with a 4.55 ERA in 10 appearances, three of those starts.
ON DECK: UNLV hits the road for its third-straight Tuesday game, traveling to UC Riverside for a non-conference game in Riverside, Calif. The game is scheduled to start at 6:00 p.m. and it is part of a home and home series between the two clubs as UC Riverside plays at UNLV on April 26.
