Feb. 8, 2006
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX Returning to California for the second-straight weekend, UNLV readies for a three-game series against No. 9 Cal State Fullerton, with the first game set for Friday at 7:00 p.m. (PST) at Goodwin Field. Saturday's game time is set for 6:00 p.m. and Sunday's start time is slated for 1:00 p.m. It will be the first time this season that the Rebels have played at night under the lights.
LAST TIME OUT UNLV opened its 2006 season by winning one of three games on the road against then-No. 13 ranked Pepperdine in California. The Rebels had a 4-2 lead entering the bottom of the seventh inning in the opener, but the Waves scored two runs with two out in the seventh and then scored the game-winning run with no out in the bottom of the ninth for the victory. Xavier Scruggs and Chad Miller both homered in their Rebel dubuts. UNLV earned its first win of the 2006 season the next afternoon, using a five-run fifth inning to propel it to a 6-3 win. Chris Saddoris worked six solid innings in his first start as a Rebel to pick up the win. Scruggs hit another home run and Ryan Bird added a solo shot as well. Pepperdine then took the final game of the series, scoring eight runs over the first four innings of the game Sunday to win 8-2.
UNLV(1-2, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(73-55, 3rd year; Overall, same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters this weekend's series against No. 9 Cal State Fullerton with a 1-2 record and will be back in California for the second-consecutive weekend. Xavier Scruggs made an impressive debut last weekend and the true freshman third baseman leads the Rebels with two home runs and three RBI. Mike Cruz leads the Rebels in hitting with a .571 average (4-7) and is one of four UNLV players to hit a double. He has also drawn a team-high three walks and has been hit by pitches three times as well for a .769 on-base percentage. Cruz and Chad Miller each have four hits to lead UNLV. On the mound Chris Saddoris has the lone win for the Rebels after tossing six strong innings against Pepperdine. Matt Wagner came out of the bullpen to record the save in that game. Saddoris leads the Rebels in strikeouts with three.
CAL STATE FULLERTON(0-3, 0-0 Big West Conference)Head Coach: George Horton(402-175-1, 10th year; Overall, same)
The Titans: Cal State Fullerton was swept in a three-game series by Stanford last weekend to open up the season. Wes Roemer had a strong start for the Titans, going seven innings and allowing just four hits but he did not get a decision in the season opener. In the second game of the series Stanford scored the winning run on a balk in the bottom of the 10th inning. Brandon Tripp and Danny Dorn lead the Titan offense as Tripp is hitting .600 (6-for-10) with a pair of doubles. Dorn added five hits on the weekend and has a .385 (5-for-13) average. The Titans have struggled to get runners home, hiting just .083 with runners in scoring position against Stanford. The Titans' 3-4-5 batters hit just .138 (5-for-36) in the series against the Cardinal.
