March 2, 2006
Click Here For The UNLV Baseball Game Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
IN THE BATTER'S BOX UNLV remains at home, hosting Texas in a three-game series that begins Friday at 6:30 p.m. (PST) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The series continues Saturday and Sunday, with games times at 2:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. each day. This marks the first time that the Rebels have hosted the Longhorns, who won the NCAA Championship last year, the program's sixth in its history. Following this series the Rebels will complete their Texas two-step, hosting Texas Tech on Monday and Tuesday.
LAST TIME OUT UNLV baseball took advantage of three errors in the eighth inning by UC Irvine to plate five runs as the Rebels came from behind Tuesday night for a 10-7 victory at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. Trailing 7-5 heading into the bottom of the frame after the Anteaters had scored three runs in their half of the inning, Rebel outfielder Blake Gailen came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs. Gailen hit a ground ball to UCI second baseman Josh Tavelli, who misplayed it, allowing two runs to score, knotting the game at seven. Chris Bonnell then hit a roller to third base that Taylor Holiday overthrew to first, bringing home two more Rebel runs to make the score 9-7. Efren Navarro Jr. capped the scoring for UNLV with an RBI single that pushed the margin to 10-7.
UNLV(4-8, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(75-61, 3rd year; Overall, same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters this weekend's series against Texas with a 4-8 and riding a three-game winning streak. UNLV's offense has been hitting on all cylinders as of late, plating 58 runs over its last four games. The squad is 3-1 at home while hitting .383 with an on-base percentage of .488. Zach Borba has raised his average to .444 (16-36) while Chris Bonnell is close behind with a .380 clip (19-50). Bonnell has an eight-game hitting streak heading into this weekend's series and he also leads the team with 13 RBI. Mike Cruz has drawn a team-high seven walks while Xavier Scruggs paces the team in home runs with two. Chris Saddoris (2-2) has a 3.47 ERA in a team-high 23.1 innings of work. Kevin Skogley leads the team with 13 strikeouts while Matt Wagner and Koji Pupo each have a save on the year.
TEXAS(9-6, 0-0 Big 12 Conference)Head Coach: Augie Garrido(400-199-1, 10th year; Overall, 1,551-723-1, 38th year)
The Longhorns: Texas enters this weekend's series on a four-game winning streak and are winners of nine of their last 12. Texas has been strong at home, posting a 6-0 record, but away from Austin they are just 1-5. Kyle Russell leads the Longhorns in hitting with a .481 average and over his last five games the rightfielder is hitting .643 with nine RBI and five runs scored. Two other UT players are above the .300 mark and five different Longhorns have driven in 10 or more runs. Drew Stubbs leads the Longhorns with three home runs. Saturday's starter Adrian Alaniz has posted a 1.48 ERA and is 3-0 in four starts with 19 strikeouts. Kenn Kasparek has two saves in eight appearances.
