April 6, 2005
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: First place in the Mountain West Conference will be on the line this week as UNLV hosts BYU in a three-game series set to begin Thursday. Game time is 6:30 p.m. (PT) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. Both teams are 8-1 in the MWC heading into this week's series. The second game will be Friday night at 6:30 p.m. and the series finale is on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV lost on the road to UC Riverside 7-3 in a non-league game, the third-straight time that the Rebels lost a game played on a Tuesday night. Justin Tellam hit his eighth home run of the year, a solo shot in the third that gave the Rebels a 2-1 lead. But it wasn't enough though as six errors led to five unearned runs for the Highlanders. UCR scored four of those unearned runs in a five-run fourth inning that made the score 6-2. UNLV reliever Wayne Foltin (1-0) took the loss, as he worked the fourth inning and was the victim of the unearned runs.
UNLV REBELS(14-19, 8-1 MWC)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(51-43, 2nd year):
UNLV enters this week's games with an 8-1 mark in the MWC after sweeping SDSU last weekend at home. The Rebels are averaging 11.1 runs per game in nine league contests. As a team UNLV is hitting .273 with 19 home runs. The pitching staff comes into this week's games with a 4.83 ERA. Leading the UNLV offense is sophomore first baseman Chris Bonnell, who is hitting .330 with four home runs and 21 RBI. Zeke Parraz is hitting .311 and a team-high 27 RBI. Ryan Bird has a .303 average. Sophomore catcher Justin Tellam leads the club with eight home runs. Matt Luca has won three of his last four starts and brings a 3-4 record into his start on Thursday. Luca leads the team with 40 strikeouts and he has a 3.88 ERA. Koji Pupo sports a 3-0 record and a 3.25 ERA while Derek Rodriguez is 1-4 with 38 strikeouts. Kyle Tabeek leads the club with three saves out of the bullpen and Alex Chalfant has a 1.66 ERA in 17 appearances, giving up just four earned runs.
BYU COUGARS:(21-7-1, 8-1 MWC)Head Coach: Vance Law(177-143-2, 6th year):
BYU brings the only winning record in the MWC into the series against UNLV. The Cougars lead the league in hitting with a .339 average and the pitching staff has a 4.29 ERA. Jeff Hiestand paces the Cougar regulars with a .392 batting average (40-102). Sean McNaughton isn't far behind with a .384 clip to go along with 10 home runs and 31 RBI. Brandon Taylor leads BYU with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. On the mound Dave Horlacher brings a 2-1 record and a 3.88 ERA into his start Thursday. He will be followed on the mound by Brandon Christiansen (3-0, 3.38 ERA) and Blake Torgerson (4-1, 5.23 ERA). James Platt has three saves in eight appearances out of the Cougar bullpen.
ON DECK: UNLV hits the road for its second MWC series away from home, playing Utah in a three-game set at Salt Lake City, Utah. The series starts Friday, April 15 at 2:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday's games begin at 12:00 p.m. at Franklin Covey Field.
