May 18, 2005
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV closes out its 2005 regular season with a three-game series against Utah beginning Thursday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium at 6:30 p.m. (PT). The series with the Utes will be the last three games at home for six Rebel seniors: Zeke Parraz, Derek Rodriguez, Kyle Tabeek, Chris Huseman, Matt Fry and JC Sibley.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV starter Matt Wagner allowed just one run over five innings and the bullpen kept Western Illinois off the board the rest of the way as the Rebels won 7-1 Tuesday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium to start a four-game homestand that closes out the regular season. Wagner gave up four hits, did not walk anyone and struck out two in moving his record to 4-3 on the year. Alex Kringen worked two innings of scoreless relief and Eric Brock and Wayne Foltin each threw an inning to close out the game. The trio gave up just three hits over the final four innings, as each allowed one. The Rebels got on the board first, scoring a run in the bottom of the opening inning on a fielder's choice by Chris Bonnell that drove in CJ Lang. UNLV added two more runs in the second as Mike Cruz hit a single with the bases loaded that scored Ryan Kowalski and Tyler Beranek. Two costly errors by WUI allowed the Rebels to put the game out of reach in the fourth inning as the Rebels scored four runs, all unearned.
UNLV REBELS(27-26, 20-7 MWC)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(64-50, 2nd year):
UNLV (20-7) is one game ahead of BYU (19-8) in the race for Mountain West Conference regular season title with three league games remaining. 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 5.44 ERA. Leading the UNLV offense is Zeke Parraz who is hitting .345 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.
UTAH UTES:(18-31, 10-17 MWC)Head Coach: Bill Kinneberg(48-53, 2nd year; 293-236, 10 years):
Utah enters this series on a downward slide, having dropped seven of its last eight games, including two to Air Force last weekend. The Utes are hitting .319 as a team and their pitching staff carries a 6.89 ERA. Doug Beck and Jay Brossman have been the Utes' most consistent hitters as both have .377 averages through 49 games. Beck leads Utah with 52 RBI and three triples while Brossman leads the team with seven home runs and 19 doubles. A total of six players are hitting over .300 for Utah. On the mound Josh Cooper is 3-0 with a 3.65 ERA in four starts and 22 total appearances. Matt Crocket is 4-8 with a 6.37 ERA and Jason Price has struck out 72 batters in 95.1 innings of work and has a 4-7 record.
ON DECK: UNLV travels to the Mountain West Conference Championship, held in Salt Lake City, Utah, at Franklin-Covey Field on May 25-28. The tournament begins next Wednesday and the Rebels, who will be either the one or two seed, will not play until Thursday.
