April 27, 2006
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX
UNLV remains on the road, traveling to Salt Lake City to play Utah in a three-game series that begins Friday. The first pitch is slated for 5:00 p.m. (PDT) while Saturday's and Sunday's start times are 12:00 p.m. Fans can follow the series live on the internet via Gametracker at www.unlvrebels.com.
UNLV REBELS(17-25, 4-9 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(89-78, 3rd year; Overall, same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters Friday's game against Utah with a 17-25 record, 4-9 in the MWC after the Rebels lost Tuesday at UC Riverside 6-4. Keith Smith leads the Rebel regulars in batting average with a .353 clip (49-139) and his 42 RBI are also tops on the team. Chad Miller and Smith both lead the team with eight home runs while Smith also paces the team with 14 doubles and three triples. Chris Saddoris (5-5) leads the Rebel staff with 11 starts and 67.0 innings of work from the mound. Jabe Beard has made 17 appearances out of the Rebel bullpen and has recorded four saves, tops for UNLV. Saddoris leads the Rebels with 39 strikeouts and 10 different UNLV pitchers have recorded at least one win this season, with Saddoris leading the group with five.
UTAH UTES(21-18, 4-6 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Bill Kinneberg(70-76, 3rd year; Overall, 315-259, 11th year)
The Utes: Utah comes into its series against UNLV having snapped a three-game losing streak by beating Utah Valley State 14-1 on Tuesday. The past weekend the Utes were swept on the road by New Mexico in a three-game set. Utah has one of the most prolific offenses in the Mountain West Conference and they are led by Ryan Khoury, who is hitting .453 (72-159) in 39 games this year. Khoury leads the team with 10 home runs and 43 RBI and his 72 hits are tops on the squad. Four players overall are hitting .349 or better for Utah. Josh Cooper leads the Utes on the mound with a 3.54 ERA and 51 strike outs.
THE SERIES
UNLV leads the all-time series with Utah by a margin of 69-30 (.696), including winning six-straight last year after Utah won the first meeting 9-5 at home. The Rebels beat the Utes 5-3 in the first round of last year's Mountain West Conference Tournament, held in Salt Lake City.
LAST TIME OUT
UNLV baseball scored four runs in the fourth inning to grab a one-run lead but could not hold on in losing 6-4 to UC Riverside in a non-conference game Tuesday night at the Riverside Sports Complex. Trailing 3-0 entering the top of the fourth, Keith Smith drew a one-out walk and then scored on back-to-back Highlander errors that put runners on second and third and made the score 3-1. Braden Walker and Chad Miller followed with run-scoring singles to tie the game and then Xavier Scruggs hit a run-scoring ground out that gave UNLV a 4-3 lead. UCR scored the next three runs of the game to get the win.
CELEBRATING MOTHER'S DAY
In honor of Mother's Day weekend, tickets will be $3 for all ladies who attend UNLV's games against New Mexico on May 12-14. That Sunday is also senior day for the Rebels and they will be honored before the game.
May 12 at 6:30May 13 at 2:00May 14 at 1:00 * Senior Day$3 for ladies in honor of Mother's Day weekend (all weekend)$5 Faculty/Seniors/12 and under$7 Regular adult
