May 17, 2006
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX
UNLV closes out its regular season with a three-game series against Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo. The first game of the series is scheduled for Thursday at 1:00 p.m. (PDT) and the early start of the series is because of the MWC Tournament, which starts next week in Las Vegas. Friday's game between the Rebels and Falcons starts at 1:00 p.m. and Saturday's first pitch is set for 10:00 a.m. at Falcon Field.
UNLV REBELS(24-28, 9-10 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(96-81, 3rd year; Overall, same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters Thursday's game against Air Force with a 24-28 record, 9-10 in the MWC after the Rebels swept New Mexico last weekend. CJ Lang leads the Rebels in hitting (.348), hits (71), runs (52), stolen bases (14) and on-base percentage (.421). Chad Miller leads the team with 11 home runs while Keith Smith paces the team in RBI with 49. Chris Saddoris (5-7) leads the Rebel staff with 13 starts and 72.2 innings of work from the mound. Jabe Beard has made a team-high 23 appearances out of the Rebel bullpen and has recorded four saves, tops for UNLV. Kevin Skogley leads the Rebels with 55 strikeouts and 10 different UNLV pitchers have recorded at least one win.
AIR FORCE FALCONS(10-33, 1-18 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Mitch Hutcheon(25-128, 3rd year; Overall 264-266, 12th year)
The Falcons: Air Force comes into the last weekend of regular season play looking to snap a 17 game losing streak. AFA's last win was April 4, a 4-3 victory over Northern Colorado. Karl Bolt is the Falcon's top hitter with a .313 average with six home runs and 26 RBI. Josh Meents is the top home run hitter for the Falcons with seven. Mitch Brown, who will open the series on the mound for the Falcons, is 3-9 with a 5.57 ERA. He has a team-high 48 strikeouts and Paul Vignola has six saves out of the bullpen this season.
THE SERIES
UNLV leads the all-time series with Air Force 54-14 (.794) and the Rebels took all six meetings last year between the two clubs. The Rebels have won the last 20 meetings with the Falcons.
LAST TIME OUT
UNLV swept a three-game set from New Mexico at home to close out the Rebels' regular season home slate at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. In the first game Braden Walker delivered the clutch hit, a walk-off grand slam with no out to lift the Rebels to a 12-8 win. In the second game UNLV scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth to come back and beat the Lobos on Senior Saturday. UNLV completed the sweep with a 13-10 victory, as Albert Zerega Jr. hit his first career home run, a three-run shot to help pace the Rebels. Jabe Beard came out of the bullpen to earn victories in Friday's and Sunday's games. The eight seniors honored before Saturday's game were: Jabe Beard, Ryan Bird, Eric Brock, Mike Cruz, CJ Lang, Matt Luca, Matt Wagner and Albert Zerega Jr.
MWC TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The 2006 Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship will be played May 23-27 at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on the campus of UNLV. Fans who will be attending the tournament can either buy single game tickets or an all-session pass good for every game of the tournament. Prices for single games are $10 for adults and $8 for youth/seniors. All-session passes are $60 for adults and $35 for youth/seniors. Fans can purchase tickets before the tournament by logging onto www.unlvtickets.com or by calling (702) 739-FANS.
