May 11, 2005
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: The Mountain West Conference regular-season title will be up for grabs as UNLV travels to Provo, Utah for an important three-game series with BYU at Larry H. Miller Stadium. The series starts Thursday at 6:00 p.m. (PT) and continues on Friday at 6:00 p.m. and concludes Saturday at 12:00 p.m. UNLV comes into the series with a two-game lead in the MWC over BYU as the Rebels sit at 19-5 in the league and the Cougars are 17-7 with six games remaining for each team.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV made quick work of Air Force this past weekend, sweeping the three-game series against the Falcons. The Rebels outscored the Falcons 61-19 over the weekend and UNLV hit the 20-run mark twice in the three victories. UNLV won the opening game of the series 20-1 as Tyler Beranek led the way, going 6-for-6 with two home runs, including a grand slam. He drove in seven runs and scored five times. Willie Bowman also hit two home runs in the win. In the second game of the series JC Sibley set the UNLV and MWC record for hits in a game, going 7-for-7 with four runs scored and two RBI. He hit four doubles in the 24-15 win and UNLV hit a team record 12 two-bag hits. Justin Tellam also hit two home runs in the win. UNLV then closed out the series with a 17-3 victory as Sibley got hits in his first two at-bats to set the UNLV record for consecutive hits with nine. Ryan Bird hit a three-run home run to pace the Rebels' offense and Derek Rodriguez worked six innings to even his record at 4-4.
UNLV REBELS(25-24, 19-5 MWC)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(62-48, 2nd year):
UNLV moved ahead of BYU and into first place in the Mountain West Conference with a 19-5 league mark. The Rebels are averaging 12 runs per game in 24 league contests. As a team UNLV is hitting .306 on the season with 55 home runs. The pitching staff comes into this week's games with a 5.35 ERA. Leading the UNLV offense is Zeke Parraz who is hitting .356 with a team-high 56 RBI. Justin Tellam leads the club with 15 home runs. JC Sibley has settled into the lead off spot as he is hitting .392 and has stolen eight bases in 10 attempts. Matt Luca has a 3-6 record with a 4.50 ERA and he is second on the team with 49 strikeouts. Koji Pupo sports a 4-0 record and a 4.95 ERA while Derek Rodriguez is 4-4 and he leads the squad with 57 strikeouts. He tossed UNLV's first complete game of the season on April 17 against Utah. Kyle Tabeek leads the club with four saves and a 4-1 record out of the bullpen. He has a 3.45 ERA in 21 appearances.
BYU COUGARS:(33-15-1 MWC)Head Coach: Vance Law(189-151-2, 6th year):
BYU lost two of three games to New Mexico last weekend to fall out of a first-place tie with UNLV in the MWC. The Cougars are batting .341 as a team and the pitching staff brings a 5.03 ERA into the series with the Rebels. Brandon Taylor leads the Cougars' offense with 19 home runs and 74 RBI while hitting .365. Sean McNaughton has reached double figures in home runs as well with 10. Jeff Hiestand leads the team with a .385 batting average. On the mound Dave Horlacher is 5-2 with a 3.91 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 12 starts. Blake Torgerson is 6-2 with a 6.28 ERA. Out of the bullpen Joshua Barrett has a 3.96 ERA and three saves in 17 appearances.
ON DECK: UNLV returns home for the first time in three weeks to close out its regular season at the friendly confines of Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels will host Western Illinois on May 17 at 6:30 p.m. (PT).
