June 2, 2005
Click Here For UNLV Baseball Tempe Regional Release
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV will play Coastal Carolina in the first game of the Tempe Regional on Friday at 2:00 p.m. (PT) at Bobby Winkles Field at Packard Stadium in Tempe, Ariz. This will be the third-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Rebels and 10th overall. Also in the regional are host Arizona State and East Carolina, who play at 7:00 p.m. on Friday evening.
LAST TIME OUT: UNLV won its third consecutive Mountain West Conference Tournament last weekend, beating BYU twice on championship Saturday to capture the crown. The Rebels beat the Cougars 9-5 in the first game Saturday to force a decisive second game later that evening, which the Rebels also won 7-4. Matt Wagner was stellar in the two games against BYU, throwing a combined 7.2 innings in the two games and allowing just one run. He was named the MVP of the tournament for his performance. UNLV opened the MWC tournament by beating Utah 5-3 before it lost to BYU 7-2 to drop the Rebels into the losers bracket. UNLV fought back to beat San Diego State 14-3 to earn a rematch against BYU in the championship game.
UNLV REBELS(34-27, 23-7 MWC)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(71-51, 2nd year)
UNLV won the Mountain West Conference regular-season title with a 23-7 league record and followed that up with the MWC Tournament title. The Rebels averaged 11.5 runs per game in 30 league contests. As a team UNLV is hitting .311 on the season with 67 home runs. The pitching staff comes into this weekend's games with a 5.33 ERA. Leading the UNLV offense is Zeke Parraz who is hitting .338 with a team-high 62 RBI. Justin Tellam leads the club with 16 home runs. JC Sibley has settled into the lead off spot as he is hitting .383 and has stolen nine bases in 13 attempts with a .481 on-base percentage. Matt Luca has a 5-6 record with a 4.45 ERA and he is second on the team with 60 strikeouts. Koji Pupo sports a 5-0 record and a 5.83 ERA while Derek Rodriguez is 5-5 and he leads the squad with 72 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 eight saves and he has a 4-1 record out of the bullpen with a 3.57 ERA in 27 appearances.
Coastal Carolina(48-14, 21-3 Big South)Head Coach:Gary Gilmore(325-221, 10th year;628-323 overall, 16 years)
Coastal Carolina is the No. 1 seed at the Tempe Regional and has an overall record of 48-14 and won the Big South regular-season title with a record of 21-3. The Chanticleers lost to Winthrop in the Big South Tournament championship game. As a team CCU is hitting .304 with 103 doubles and 42 home runs while also stealing 101 bases. The pitching staff sports a 3.84 ERA with 448 strikeouts. Mike Costanzo leads the team with a .388 average with 15 home runs and 61 RBI. Costanzo is also CCU's top reliever with an 8-1 record, 13 saves and a 1.75 ERA. UNLV vs. Coastal Carolina: The Rebels have never played the Chanticleers.
LISEN TO THE REGIONAL ON THE RADIO: Fans can listen to UNLV at the Tempe Regional on the radio and Jon Sandler will handle the play-by-play for the Rebels. Friday's game against Coastal Carolina can be heard on ESPN Radio 920 AM while the rest of the Rebel games at the regional will be aired on KSHP 1400 AM.
