March 27, 2008
By Brian Sternberg
LAS VEGAS - When the 2008 UNLV baseball season began there was a lot of speculation of what kind of team head coach Buddy Gouldsmith had for his fifth season at the helm when the Rebels opened their season at the end of February. With 22 newcomers, 17 returnees and two new assistant coaches, it was uncertain what the focal point of the club would be, but first baseman Xavier Scruggs has emerged as the team's unquestioned leader at the plate.
Scruggs, in his junior year out of San Diego, Calif., moved over to first base this season after spending the majority of the past two seasons on the opposite side of the diamond at third. The versatile Scruggs, who also pitched out of the Rebel bullpen as a freshman, has made an almost seamless transition from the hot corner to first.
"When coach asked me to move over to first base I was a little tentative, but I knew I had to do what was best for the team," Scruggs said. "I feel like I have been able to adjust over there and it isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I just want to continue to be solid and improve."
Simply labeling Scruggs' play this season as solid would be a major understatement.
Through the first 21 games for the Rebels, the 6'1", 215-pounder has been on a tear at the plate. He is ranked number one in the Mountain West Conference in batting average (.465), slugging percentage (.860), on-base percentage (.524), hits (40), runs batted in (25), home runs (6), doubles (12), total bases (74) and is fourth in runs scored (24). His numbers have also propelled him to be ranked among the best in the nation with the bat in his hands.
"My expectations coming into this season were to lead the team," he said. "I was expected to do big things by the coaches and some of my teammates around me, so I expect bigger things from myself."
In his first season as a full-time starter last year, he played in 51 games (47 starts) and hit a respectable .289 with 13 doubles, one triple, nine home runs, 36 RBI and 20 walks in 173 at-bats for a team that went 24-36. The fact that his numbers have ballooned to the impressive heights they are now can be traced back to an improved approach at the plate.
"Xavier's most improvement from year one until now has been his plate discipline," Gouldsmith said. "His ability to lay off pitches that are not strikes and pitches that he would not be able to do a lot with have helped him from the plate."
Scruggs continued his torrid performance this season against in-state rival Nevada, Reno this past Tuesday evening in the Rebels' 9-4 victory over the Wolf Pack at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The junior went 2-for-3 with a run-scoring single and double, while also driving in another run with a sacrifice fly to help UNLV end an eight-game losing skid to UNR.
Although everyone is focusing on his bat, his play in the field has been just as strong. Putting in his first full season at first base, Scruggs has made play after play with his glove and has a .991 fielding percentage.
"I feel like if he continues to play at the next level, he is going to be a first baseman," Gouldsmith said. "He never quite became the offensive player that he could become early in his career because of the time he had to spend working on his defense when he was at third."
Scruggs and the rest of his teammates will step back on the dirt Friday at 6:30 p.m. (PDT) against TCU and its head coach Jim Schlossnagle, who was the head man at UNLV from 2002-03 before taking over the Horned Frogs. Schlossnagle is 7-0 against the Rebels since leaving and his Horned Frogs have won the last two MWC regular season and tournament titles.
"I kind of take it personally that they came into our league and they just started beating up on people," Scruggs said about the upcoming series with TCU. "We need to show them that this is our league by getting back to the team that we were, a team that was winning the league."
