March 10, 2008

UNLV Baseball Media Notes

IN THE BATTER'S BOX

UNLV wraps up a four-game homestand by hosting Southern Utah on Tuesday night at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, with the first pitch slated for 6:30 p.m. (PT). The game will be available live via video streaming and on Gametracker at www.unlvrebels.com. The game concludes a span of 12 home games out of the Rebels' first 14 to start the 2008 season. UNLV is coming off a three-game series against San Francisco which started the current homestand, and the Rebels lost two of three to the Dons. The first game of the series went 13 innings before USF pulled out an 8-7 win but then the Rebels rebounded behind Corey Hales' complete game for a 6-1 win on Saturday afternoon. In the final game of the series UNLV carried a three-run lead into the top of the ninth but allowed six runs as the Dons stunned the Rebels by a score of 11-8. Following the game on Tuesday, the Rebels will embark on a six-game road trip, beginning with the Mountain West Conference opener at New Mexico this Friday.

THE UNLV REBELS

UNLV is being led at the plate by Xavier Scruggs, who is hitting .512 (30-57) with five home runs, 16 RBI and 17 runs scored ... Scruggs slugged three home runs against Maine on March 1, as he went 5-for-5 with 7 RBI ... Steve Rinaudo is hitting .412, and overall the Rebels have six regulars hitting .313 or higher ... On the mound, Corey Hales is 2-0 with a 1.66 ERA, and in his latest outing he threw a two-hit complete game against San Francisco on March 8 ... Reliever Adam Moser is 2-1 with a 1.35 ERA in seven appearances out of the bullpen ... The Rebels opened their season with eight straight games at home, part of a string of 12 in 14 games that will be played at Earl E. Wilson Stadium to open the year ... This is the fifth year for head coach Buddy Gouldsmith, who currently has a career record of 131-126 (.510), which is the third-most victories in Rebel history.

THE SOUTHERN UTAH THUNDERBIRDS

Southern Utah brings a 5-4 record to Las Vegas after the Thunderbirds dropped three games to Utah this past weekend ... SUU didn't score a run in the first two games of the series, losing by scores of 10-0 and 6-0 ... The Thunderbirds made the final game of the series a little closer, losing 13-10 ... Ray Wright leads the SUU offense, hitting .469 with eight RBI ... On the mound, Tuesday starter Dustin Witwerr is 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA in three starts ... SUU is coached by David Eldredge, who is 69-105 in his fourth year at the helm, and he has an overall record of 194-183-1 in more than 12 years of coaching.

SERIES HISTORY

UNLV leads the all-time series with Southern Utah by a 101-30-1 (.769) margin, with the Rebels beating the Thunderbirds last year by a score of 9-5 at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.