May 16, 2005
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV closes out is 2005 regular season with four home games, beginning Tuesday with a non-conference game with Western Illinois at Earl E. Wilson Stadium at 6:30 p.m. (PT). The game with the Leathernecks marks the beginning of the end for the Rebel seniors, as they play their final four home games of their careers at UNLV.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV won the opening game of its series with BYU 8-7 but the Rebels dropped the next two to the Cougars 11-9 and 12-7 in Provo, Utah. Rain on Thursday delayed the start of the series, forcing the clubs to play a doubleheader on Friday. UNLV took the opener, but it took a ninth-inning rally to pull it off. The Rebels trailed 7-5 heading into the top of the ninth when Mike Cruz led off the inning with a solo home run to cut the Cougar lead to 7-6. Zeke Parraz followed with a double, but the next two UNLV batters struck out. Ryan Bird then faced a 2-2 count but delivered a clutch double to tie the game. CJ Lang gave the Rebels the win a batter later, hitting a single to drive in Bird. The Rebels then had a 9-7 lead in the nightcap but BYU fought back to split the doubleheader, scoring the game's final four runs. In the final game of the series Saturday the Rebels again had a two-run lead, 7-5, after the fourth inning behind Tyler Beranek's seventh home run of the year. But as in the game before, UNLV could not hold onto it as BYU reeled off seven unanswered runs to earn the win and move within one game of UNLV in the MWC standings.
UNLV REBELS(26-26, 20-7 MWC)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(63-50, 2nd year):
UNLV remains in first place but is just one game ahead of BYU in the Mountain West Conference with a 20-7 league mark. The Rebels are averaging 11.5 runs per game in 27 league contests. As a team UNLV is hitting .307 on the season with 57 home runs. The pitching staff comes into this week's games with a 5.53 ERA. Leading the UNLV offense is Zeke Parraz who is hitting .348 with a team-high 57 RBI. Justin Tellam leads the club with 15 home runs. JC Sibley has settled into the lead off spot as he is hitting .373 and has stolen nine bases in 13 attempts with a .477 on-base percentage. Matt Luca has a 3-6 record with a 4.88 ERA and he is second on the team with 51 strikeouts. Koji Pupo sports a 4-0 record and a 5.15 ERA while Derek Rodriguez is 4-5 and he leads the squad with 60 strikeouts. He tossed UNLV's only complete game of the season on April 17 against Utah. Kyle Tabeek leads the club and the MWC with five saves and he has a 4-1 record out of the bullpen with a 3.34 ERA in 22 appearances.
WESTERN ILLINOIS LEATHERNECKS:(23-28, 13-7 MID-CONTINENT)Head Coach: Stan Hyman(89-141, 4 years at WI; 267-249-1, 11 years):
Western Illinois comes into Tuesday's game game on a three-game losing streak after after they had won five in a row. WIU is hitting .287 as a team and its pitching staff has a 5.68 ERA on the season. Leading the team in hitting is Kyle Malan, who is batting .360 (63-175) with a team high six home runs and 44 RBI. Jim Sanew is hitting .320 while Ryan Schmidgall is second on the team with 35 RBI. No Leathernecks have reached double figures in home runs this season. On the hill Tuesday's starter John Paul Shore is 0-1 with a 11.57 ERA in one start and four total appearances. He has only worked seven innings this year.
ON DECK: UNLV ends its 2005 regular season at home with three games against Utah at home beginning Thursday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. Saturday the Rebels' six seniors will be honored before their last home game.
