Feb. 22, 2007
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV returns home to Earl E. Wilson Stadium for the first time following a four-game road trip and the Rebels will host No. 17 Arizona. The two teams will play a three-game set, with the first one slated for 6:30 p.m. (PST) on Friday, with game times at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and 1:00 p.m. on Sunday. It will be the third-straight ranked opponent the Rebels will play at home to open the season.
THE SERIES: UNLV and Arizona are knotted in the all-time series, splitting the 16 games the two schools have played. The Rebels traveled to Tucson last year and took two of three from the Wildcats at Jerry Kindall Stadium.
UNLV(7-6, 0-0 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(School: 108-89, 4th Year - Career: Same)
The Rebels: UNLV enters this weekend's series above the .500 mark (7-6) after the Rebels beat LMU 3-2 on Tuesday. It is the first time since UNLV won the season opener at Cal State Northridge that the Rebels have been above .500. Efren Navarro Jr. is leading the Rebels at the plate with a .408 average (20-49) and his 12 RBI are second on the team. Blake Gailen is pacing the team with 14 runs scored and a .660 slugging percentage. Michael Brenly has driven in 13 runs. Overall the Rebels have five regulars hitting .310 or better. On the mound starter Craig Heyer (2-2) has a team-leading 18 strikeouts in 24.1 innings. Out of the bullpen Marc Baca is 2-0 with two saves and he has given up just one earned run in eight appearances. The sophomore has struck out 13 batters and has a 0.61 ERA
ARIZONA(9-2, 0-0 Pac-10 Conference)Head Coach: Andy Lopez(School: 176-124-1, 6th Year - Career: 863-541-7, 25th Year)
The Wildcats: Arizona saw its nine-game winning streak come to end last weekend at Cal State Fullerton, losing the final two games a three-game set. Before that the nine-game winning streak to open the year matched the team's best start under head coach Andy Lopez. They are led offensively by C.J. Ziegler, who is hitting .438 (14-32) with two home runs and 13 RBI. Jon Gaston is hitting at a .400 clip and four other Wildcats have a batting average of .326 or higher. On the mound Preston Guilmet is the ace of the staff, sporting a 2.0 record and a 1.23 ERA in three starts. Arizona has a 2.69 ERA as a team. Former Rebel pitcher Daniel Schlereth has three saves out of the bullpen for Arizona.
REBELS' LAST TIME OUT: For the third straight game UNLV used an eighth-inning rally to earn a road victory, this time scoring two runs in the frame for a 5-3 win against Loyola Marymount on Tuesday at Page Stadium. The victory wrapped up a four-game road trip for the Rebels in which they went 3-1, taking two of three from Cal over the past weekend. UNLV junior Craig Heyer (2-2) came out of the bullpen to earn the win and sophomore closer Marc Baca worked a scoreless ninth in picking up his second save of the year. Ryan Kowalski finished the game 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI to lead the Rebels, which also got two hits from Efren Navarro Jr. UNLV stole five bases in the game and took advantage of nine walks issued to them by LMU pitchers.
