April 24, 2006
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX
UNLV hits the road for eight games on the road, beginning Tuesday night against UC Riverside at 6:00 p.m. (PDT). This will be the second time this year that the Rebels have played the Highlanders, with UNLV winning 14-8 back on April 4.
LAST TIME OUT
UNLV won the first game of its series with San Diego State but the lost the next two at Earl E. Wilson Stadium over the weekend. It took extra innings, but the Rebels snapped their three-game losing streak in dramatic fashion on Friday night. With the scored tied at five with one out in the bottom of the 12th, Keith Smith ended it with a walk-off solo home run to center field for a 6-5 win. Jabe Beard was tough in relief, coming into the game in the ninth and tossing six scoreless innings of relief. He gave up just two hits and struck out six in collecting the win. The other two games went to SDSU, as the Rebels were outscored 24-14 in the two games. In the second game the Rebels rallied with four runs in the bottom of the eighth to get within 8-6, but could not come all the way back. In the final game of the set, SDSU jumped out to an early 13-0 lead and didn't look back in winning 16-8. UNLV scored eight runs over the final three innings but it was not enough. Blake Gailen hit a two-run shot and a three-run home run, the first multi-homer game for a Rebel this year. CJ Lang hit a three-run home run as well.
UNLV(17-24, 4-9 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(89-77, 3rd year; Overall, same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters Tuesday's game against UCR with a 17-24 record after the Rebels dropped two of three games against San Diego State this past weekend at home. Keith Smith leads the Rebel regulars in batting average with a .346 clip (47-136), RBI with 42 and his eight home runs are tied for the team lead. CJ Lang's 49 hits and 11 steals are tops on the club. Tuesday starter Ryan Tabor (2-3) has a 6.44 ERA and 21 strikeouts in seven starts. Jabe Beard has made 17 appearances out of the Rebel bullpen and has recorded four saves, both tops on the staff.
UC RIVERSIDE(20-15, 3-3 Big West Conference)Head Coach: Doug Smith(48-38-0, 2nd year; Overall, same)
The Highlanders: UC Riverside will look to get even on its four-game homestand after the Highlanders dropped two of three to Cal Poly this past weekend. The Highlanders are led offensively by Brett Bigler, who is hitting .376 (50-133) on the year. Five different UCR hitters have two home runs and eight have 15 or more RBI on the year. Bigler also leads the club with 19 steals in 22 attempts. Tuesday starter Marc Rzepczynski is 1-1 on the year with a 7.03 ERA in five starts. Daniel Stange has recorded eight saves with a 3.71 ERA in 18 appearances out of the bullpen.
THE SERIES
UNLV trails the series with UC Riverside 3-7 (.300) but the Rebels won the first meeting between the two teams this year 14-8. In that contest UNLV scored seven runs in the seventh to come back an win on April 4.
