Oct. 26, 2006
LAS VEGAS - The 2007 UNLV softball schedule was released today by head coach Lonni Alameda. On the docket for 2007 are a possible 63 games spread out from Feb. 8 to May 12. UNLV has scheduled contests against 15 squads that competed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament and could possibly face another three through regular-season tournament action.
The Rebels have the luxury of staying in Las Vegas for four of the first five weekends of play, with a trip to Palm Springs, Calif., thrown into the mix. UNLV will play host to the Alexis Resort Kick Off Classic (Feb. 8-11), the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Feb. 15-19), the UNLV Invitational (March 2-5) and the Eller Media Stadium Classic (Mar. 8-10). The Rebels will hit the road for the Palm Springs Classic (Feb. 23-26) on the third weekend and to Tampa, Fla., for the USF-Speedline Invitational (March 17-19) in week six.
"We are excited about being able to open up the 2007 season with four home tournaments and the chance to play 22 of our first 27 games at Eller Media Stadium," said Alameda. "We are fortunate to be able to stay home at the start of the schedule with the climate we have early in the season, this includes hosting the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. The Classic is one of the premier tournaments in college softball and this year it will be expanded to 27 teams."
Prior to the trip to Florida the Rebels will hit the road for a doubleheader in Fullerton, Calif., against Texas and Fordham on March 13. Following the two games in Fullerton and a possible six in Tampa, the team will stay on the road for a round robin tournament against Sacramento State and Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
After the three straight road swings, the Rebels return home to open up Mountain West Conference play. UNLV will play 20 contests against its league foes. The conference altered the doubleheader format which had been in place since the league began play in 2000. For example, when the Rebels would travel to BYU and Utah, the team would play doubleheaders against both. In the new format, the team will play a doubleheader at BYU and then split its two games against Utah over a two-day period. Also, gone from the MWC schedule is the conference tournament. In place of the tournament, the six member institutions were able to schedule more games in its place and the conference season runs through what would have been the tournament weekend.
The Rebels face 15 teams that reached postseason play in 2006, and those squads are: UCLA, San Diego State, Kent State, Fresno State, Tulsa, Notre Dame, Texas, Utah, BYU, Southern Utah, Penn State, Long Island, Arizona State, Oregon State and California. Five of those 15 advanced to Super Regional play with UCLA, Texas, Arizona State, Oregon State and California winning their Regionals. Of those five, California was the only team not to make it to the Women's College World Series in Oklahoma City, as they had to face Oregon State in the Super Regional.
UNLV is coming off of a 26-37 injury plagued season. The Rebels went 8-12 in MWC play and finished fourth. The Rebels return 14 players including Brittany Freight and Shannon Crisp. Freight was selected to the regular season all-conference team, while Crips earned all-tournament honors. The 2005 edition saw Brittany Meade and Jennifer Newman's seasons cut short before the first pitch was thrown, while Jaci Hull went down in the second weekend. Marissa Nichols, a 2005 NFCA First-Team All America, played in only 26 games last season, but looks to come back strong in 2007. The Rebels welcome nine fresh faces to the program with eight freshmen and one junior college transfer.
2007 UNLV Softball Schedule
Alexis Resort Kick Off Classic (Las Vegas)Feb. 8 Tulsa 06:00 pmFeb. 9 Butler 06:00 pmFeb. 10 Marshall 06:00 pmFeb. 10 Illinois-Chicago 08:15 pmFeb. 11 Nicholls State 03:45 pm
Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Las Vegas)Feb. 15 Oregon State 07:00 pmFeb. 16 Florida International 03:00 pmFeb. 16 Central Florida 08:00 pmFeb. 17 UCLA 08:00 pmFeb. 19 Utah State 01:30 pm
Palm Springs Classic (Palm Springs, Calif.)Feb. 23 vs. Virginia 05:30 pmFeb. 24 vs. Penn State 10:30 amFeb. 24 vs. Cal Poly 01:00 pmFeb. 25 vs. Notre Dame 10:30 pmFeb. 25 vs. Ole Miss 05:30 pmFeb. 26 vs. Maryland 01:00 pm
UNLV Invitational (Las Vegas)Mar. 2 Southern Utah 08:15 pmMar. 3 DePaul 11:15 amMar. 3 Fresno State 01:30 pmMar. 4 Cal 03:45 pmMar. 5 Delaware State 05:00 pmMar. 5 Delaware State 05:00 pm
Eller Media Stadium Classic (Las Vegas)Mar. 8 Oregon 05:00 pmMar. 8 Oregon 07:00 pmMar. 9 Harvard 06:00 pmMar. 10 Miami (Ohio) 06:00 pmMar. 10 Longwood 08:15 pm
Mar. 13 vs. Texas (in Fullerton, Calif.) 05:00 pmMar. 13 vs. Fordham (in Fullerton, Calif.) 07:00 pm
USF-Speedline Invitational (Tampa, Fla.)Mar. 17 vs. Kent State 03:00 pmMar. 17 vs. Long Island 05:30 pmMar. 18 vs. Rhode Island 12:30 pmMar. 18 vs. Bracket Play 03:30 pmMar. 19 vs. Bracket Play TBAMar. 19 vs. Bracket Play TBA
Pacific/Sacramento State Round Robin (Stockton, Calif.)Mar. 24 Two games TBAMar. 25 Two games TBA
Apr. 5 Utah (DH) 05:00 pmApr. 6 BYU 07:00 pmApr. 7 BYU 02:00 pmApr. 13 at New Mexico (DH) 01:00 pmApr. 14 at Colorado State 03:00 pmApr. 15 at Colorado State 01:00 pmApr. 18 at Southern Utah (DH) 01:00 pmApr. 21 San Diego State 06:00 pmApr. 22 San Diego State 02:00 pmApr. 24 at Arizona State (DH) TBAApr. 27 Colorado State (DH) 05:00 pmApr. 28 New Mexico 06:00 pmApr. 29 New Mexico 12:00 pmMay 5 at San Diego State 06:00 pmMay 6 at San Diego State 01:00 pmMay 10 at BYU (DH) 05:00 pmMay 11 at Utah 03:00 pmMay 12 at Utah 12:00 pm
May 18-20 NCAA RegionalsMay 25-26 NCAA Super RegionalsMay 31 - Jun 6 NCAA Women's College World Series
Note: All game times are local to the time zone that they are played it.
