March 26, 2007
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV concludes a 10-game homestand by hosting No. 24 UC Irvine on Tuesday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The first pitch is slated for 6:30 p.m. and it will mark the fifth ranked opponent that the Rebels will have played at home this season.
THE SERIES: UNLV trails the all-time series with UC Irvine by a mark of 33-44-2 (.446). The two teams split a pair of meetings last year, with the Rebels winning 10-7 in Las Vegas and then the Anteaters prevailing 4-3 in Irvine.
UNLV(11-19, 1-2 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(School: 112-102, 4th Year - Career: Same)
The Rebels: Keith Smith is leading the Rebels at the plate with a .342 average (41-120) and his 20 RBI are second on the team. Smith is also one of only two Rebels to start every game this year, along with Braden Walker. Blake Gailen and Calvin Beamon each have scored a team-leading 25 runs and Gailen leads the team with 22 RBI and he has a .495 slugging percentage. Overall the Rebels have six regulars hitting .300 or better. Beamon had a 17-game hitting streak snapped earlier this season, which is the longest of the season for UNLV. On the mound starter Craig Heyer (3-3) has team highs of 38 strikeouts and 55.2 innings of work. Out of the bullpen Marc Baca is 2-1 with four saves and he has given up just four earned runs in 17 appearances. The sophomore has struck out 21 batters and has a 1.52 ERA while walking just nine batters.
No. 24 UC Irvine(19-5-1, 0-0 Big West Conference)Head Coach: Dave Serrano(School: 86-54-1, 3rd Year - Career: Same)
The Anteaters: UC Irvine enters Tuesday's game on a seven-game winning streak but had last weekend off. During that stretch the Anteaters have beaten Nevada, Reno, Portland and New Mexico. At the plate Matt Morris is leading UCI, as he is hitting .444 (40-90) with four home runs and a team-leading 23 RBI. Cody Cipriano leads the club in home runs with five and Taylor Holiday has hit five doubles. Tuesday's starter will be Wes Etheridge, who is 7-0 with a 1.44 ERA in 10 appearances, which includes four starts. Blair Erickson has eight saves and a 0.84 ERA.
REBELS' LAST TIME OUT: UNLV battled another ranked opponent at Earl E. Wilson Stadium last weekend, dropping two close ball games before winning on Sunday afternoon. On Friday night the Rebels fell behind early in a 6-4 loss to the Toreros. The Rebels dug an early 6-1 hole, but battled back and scored a pair of runs in the ninth to pull within two, but could not come all the way back. It was the same thing on Saturday, as the Rebels again gave up the game's first runs and tried mounting a comeback only to fall short 5-4. In the capper to the series UNLV broke through and scored first, which helped set the tone for the rest of the game, a 3-2 Rebel victory. Willie Bowman broke a 2-2 tie by drawing a bases-loaded walk and the UNLV bullpen tossed three scoreless innings of relief to preserve the win. Matt Hutchison earned his first career victory and Adam Moser picked up his first career save.
