May 16, 2007
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IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV concludes its regular season with a three-game series at home against Air Force at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The first game of the series is set for 6:30 p.m. (PT) on Thursday night, and the second game is Friday evening at the same time. The final game of the series is Saturday at 2:00 p.m., and the UNLV seniors will be honored before the first pitch.
SENIOR SENDOFF ON SATURDAY: UNLV will honor 10 seniors before Saturday's game. They are: Calvin Beamon, Chris Bonnell, Alex Chalfant, Blake Gailen, Ryan Kowalski, Chad Miller, Koji Pupo, Chris Saddoris, Keith Smith and Ryan Tabor.
REBELS THE SIXTH SEED: UNLV will be the sixth seed in the upcoming 2007 MWC Tournament, which will be played at Earl E. WIlson Stadium on May 23-26. Defending tournament champion TCU will be the top seed for this year's championship.
UNLV(19-34, 7-14 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Buddy Gouldsmith(School: 120-117, 4th Year - Career: Same)
The Rebels: UNLV beat Southern Utah this past Tuesday, 9-5, on a walk-off grand slam from Michael Brenly. Keith Smith is leading the Rebels at the plate with a .345 average (76-220) and he has also driven in 37 runs, which is a team high. Blake Gailen has scored 43 runs, driven in another 31 and has roped 13 doubles. Overall the Rebels have four regulars hitting .302 or better. Calvin Beamon had a 17-game hitting streak earlier this year and he has also stolen a team-high 17 bases. On the mound starter Craig Heyer (5-8) has team highs of 71 strikeouts and 98.0 innings. Out of the bullpen Marc Baca is 2-2 with four saves and he has struck out 24 batters and has a 3.06 ERA in 35.1 innings of work. Adam Moser also has four saves for UNLV and is 5-2.
AIR FORCE(8-41, 0-20 Mountain West Conference)Head Coach: Mike Hutcheon(School: 33-172, 4th Year -Career: 272-312, 13th Year)
The Falcons: Air Force enters this weekend's series still in search of its first MWC win of the year. This series will be the final three-games for the Falcons this year, as they will miss the MWC Tournament. Karl Bolt leads the Falcons with a .358 average and he has eight home runs and 45 RBI. Mitch Brown is 2-10 with a team-leading 5.75 ERA in 72 innings of work and he has 46 strikeouts.
THE SERIES: UNLV leads the all-time series with Air Force 60-13 (.821) and this will be the first time this season that the two teams have met. The Rebels went 4-0 against the Falcons in 2006.
REBELS' LAST TIME OUT: Sophomore catcher Michael Brenly hit a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth inning with one out to give UNLV baseball a 9-5 win over Southern Utah on Tuesday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. In the Rebels' final non-conference game of the regular season, they went into the bottom of the ninth tied with the Thunderbirds at five, but got a single, double and then a walk to load the bases. Brenly then delivered in the clutch, hitting a towering drive that fell just short of the scoreboard past the left-field fence.
