Feb. 21, 2007
LAS VEGAS -
Week Three Release in PDF Format
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Leading Off: The 2007 softball season is two weeks old and the Rebels hold onto a 9-3 record heading into the Palm Springs Classic (Feb. 22-25) held in Cathedral City, Calif., at the Big League Dreams Sports Park. The Rebels will face Virginia on Thursday. UNLV will then play twice on Friday (Penn State and Cal Poly) and Saturday (Notre Dame and Mississippi) and once on Sunday (Maryland).
On Deck: After a brief trek away from Las Vegas, the Rebels return home for the UNLV Invitational (March 2-5). The Rebels will host Southern Utah, DePaul, Fresno State, California and Delaware State (twice). Nebraska will come to the desert, as well, but they are not scheduled to play UNLV.
Alameda Reaches Century Mark, Plus: As the dirt settled after the Alexis Resort Classic, UNLV left Eller Media Stadium with a 5-0 record and head coach Lonni Alameda walked away with win #100. Alameda entered the 2007 season with an overall record of 95-91 (.523) through three seasons of play. Currently, she sits at 104-94 (.525) through 12 games played in 2007.
Since the rebirth of the softball program in 1985, the Rebels have had three coaches: Frances Cox (1985-86), Shan McDonald (1987-2003) and Alameda (2004-Present). McDonald is the all-time winningest coach in the program's history with 511 wins. McDonald holds a winning percentage of .521 with 469 losses and two ties. Currently, Alameda's .525 winning percentage is slightly better than McDonald's. Cox went 46-64-0 in two seasons at the helm.
Alameda reached the 100-win plateau quicker than McDonald 16 games faster (191 games to 207).
2007 Mountain West Conference Preseason Poll: In a vote by the six Mountain West Conference's head coaches, the Rebels collected 19 points for a second-place selection. San Diego State was chosen to repeat as regular season champions, as they took five of the six first-place votes and 25 points overall. BYU was tabbed third, as they tallied one first-place vote and 17 points. Utah (14 points), Colorado State (10) and New Mexico (five) rounded out the fourth through sixth spots.
Rebels Improve To 9-3 Overall After LSDC Classic: The UNLV Rebels came out one-game up in their seven games played in the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic. UNLV defeated four squads (Florida International, Central Florida, Illinois and Utah State), while dropping its three contests to Top-10 competition (#7/7 Oregon, #6/8 Northwestern and #9/9 UCLA).
The Rebels began the classic with a hard-fought game versus Oregon State. The Beavers jumped out to a 4-1 lead only to watch UNLV chip away and tie it at 5-5. A solo-home run by OSU in the top of the seventh was the difference maker as UNLV left the tying run stranded at third when the final out was recorded.
UNLV got back on the winning track with two wins last Friday against Florida International and Central Florida. The Rebels used two solo-home runs to defeat FIU, 2-0. Against UCF, the Rebels scored seven runs in the third inning to take a commanding lead before ending the game in the fifth by invoking the eight-run rule after five innings with a single run.
Saturday's action was less than desirable for the Rebels, as Northwestern and UCLA won both contests in run-rule fashion. NU blanked UNLV 10-0 in six innings, while UCLA won 8-0 in five.
The Rebels closed out the classic with wins on Sunday and Monday over Illinois and Utah State, respectively. UNLV jumped ahead of Illinois 4-0, but saw the Fighting Illini rally and tie the score with a grand slam in the sixth. The Rebels countered with a two-run double to eventually take the game by a 6-4 margin.
Against Utah State, the Rebels quickly defeated the Aggies, 4-1, by scoring four individual runs in four of the first five innings.
LSDC Offense: In the seven games of the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, UNLV had four batters, with 16 or more at-bats, hit above the .400 mark.
Brittany Freight led all Rebels with her .529 BA and .647 slugging percentage. Freight collected a team-high nine hits over the weekend in a total of 17 at-bats. She scattered two doubles and seven singles, while collecting two RBI and scoring three runs. She held an on-base percentage of .579.
Kendall Fearn hit for a .412 average, while collecting seven hits in 17 at-bats. Fearn tied Freight in slugging with a .647 percentage of her own, with help from a home run and a double. She knocked in four RBI and scored two runs. She held an on-base percentage of .524.
Caitlyn Paus hit for a .316 average, while 6-for-19 at the plate. Paus held a slugging percentage of .526, which was aided by a home run and a double. She had three RBI and three runs scored.
Jaci Hull hit for a .313 average, while connecting on five of 16 opportunities. Hull held a slugging percentage of .563, which was helped by a home run and a double. She knocked in three RBI and scored five runs from her lead-off slot.
LSDC Pitching: In the seven games of the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, UNLV hurlers held a mark of 4-3 and an overall ERA of 5.52.
Christie Robinson led the squad with a 2-1 record in three appearances (two starts). Robinson amassed and ERA of 4.05 in 13.1 innings of work. She allowed six earned runs on 14 hits. She struck out six and walked four.
Shannon Crisp went 1-0 in two appearances, both of which were starts. Crisp held and ERA of 3.72 in 9.2 innings of work. She allowed four earned runs on six hits. She struck out three and walked two.
Stephanie Bregante went 1-1 in four relief appearances. Bregante held an ERA of 3.86 in 11.2 innings of work. She gave up five earned runs on nine hits. She struck out 13 and walked only three.
