March 13, 2006
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX UNLV will leave the friendly confines of Earl E. Wilson Stadium for the first time in close to a month, as the Rebels travel to play UCLA on Tuesday. The first pitch is slated for 6:00 p.m. (PST) at Jackie Robinson Stadium and the road game follows 12-straight at home. This will the second-straight Pac-10 opponent for UNLV, which hosted Cal last weekend.
LAST TIME OUT UNLV won the final two games of its series with Cal after dropping the opener 5-1 on Friday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. In the opener, the Rebels scored the first run of the game but would get no more, as they finished the night with just six hits. From there though, UNLV's offense got back on track, scoring 14 runs in the next two ball games. UNLV scored the final three runs of Saturday's game, with Michael Brenly getting the game-winning hit in the Rebels 9-6 win over Cal.With the score knotted at six in a back-and-forth ball game, Brenly hit a double to the gap in left-center field, scoring Keith Smith and giving the Rebels a 7-6 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning. Brenly wound up at third on an error by the centerfielder, who bobbled the ball, and then the freshman catcher scored on a single by Ryan Kowalski to make the margin 8-6. Willie Bowman added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with a sacrifice fly. The Rebels then held off the Golden Bears on Sunday, getting two scoreless innings of relief from Jabe Beard to secure a 5-4 Rebel win after the Golden Bears had crept to within a run. Smith finished the game with three hits and a run scored, and Kowalski added a pair of hits as well.
UNLV(9-11, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(81-64, 3rd year; Overall, same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters Tuesday's game against UCLA with a 9-11 record after it took two of three games against Cal. Zach Borba leads the Rebel regulars in batting average with a .377 clip (26-69) and his 26 hits are tops on the team. Chris Bonnell paces the team with 20 RBI while Keith Smith and Mike Cruz each have 11. Chris Saddoris (2-3) has a 5.51 ERA and leads the Rebel staff with six starts and 32.2 innings of work from the mound. Jabe Beard has made 11 appearances out of the Rebel bullpen and leads the team with three saves. Tuesday starter Matt Luca will be making his first appearance on the mound this season for UNLV.
UCLA(11-11, 0-0 Pac-10 Conference)Head Coach: John Savage(26-52, 2nd year;Overall, same)
The Bruins: UCLA comes into Tuesday's game with a .500 record after winning two games in a three-game series with Ole Miss. The Bruins have won six of their last eight and have played a ranked opponent in 12-consecutive games. Hector Ambriz leads the Bruin regulars with a .350 batting average and Chris Jensen has four home runs and 16 RBI. Brandon Crawford has nine extra-base hits.
THE SERIES UNLV trails the all-time series with UCLA 23-2. The two teams last met in 2001, when the Rebels were swept by the Bruins in a three-game series in Los Angeles.
