April 24, 2008
UNLV Baseball Media Notes 
IN THE BATTER'S BOX: UNLV (18-21, 7-8 MWC) travels up I-15 for a three-game series against Utah (14-20, 3-8 MWC) that will actually be played in Ogden at Lindquist Field due to scheduling conflicts in Salt Lake City. The first two games of the set will be Friday and Saturday at 5:00 p.m. (PST), with the final game of the series Sunday at 12:00 p.m. The Rebels are coming off an 8-7 loss at UCLA that saw the Rebels score six runs in the eighth and ninth innings to tie the game at seven, only to lose the game in the bottom of the 11th on a two-out, RBI single. UNLV junior first baseman Xavier Scruggs continued his torrid hitting at the plate, drilling his 15th home run of the year in the seventh inning while adding a two-run single in the eighth. He was recently named CollegeBaseballInsider.com's National Player of the Week following a torrid last week in which he hit five home runs, drove in 14 and scored 12 runs over a five-game span at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
THE UNLV REBELS: UNLV is being led at the plate by Xavier Scruggs, who is hitting .433 (68-157) with 15 home runs, 52 RBI and 49 runs scored ... For the second time this season Scruggs slugged three home runs in a game, drilling a trio against San Diego State on April 19, as he went 3-for-6 with 8 RBI ... He first did it against Maine on March 1, as he went 5-for-5 with 7 RBI ... He was recently named the MWC Player of the Week on April 21, the third time this season that he has won the award (3/3 & 4/7) ... Braden Walker is hitting .352 (44-125) and the Rebels have eight regulars hitting .307 or better ... On the mound, reliever Adam Moser is 5-4 with a 3.79 ERA and five saves in 23 appearances out of the bullpen ... Saturday's starter Corey Hales is 4-2 with a 5.01 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 13 appearances, 10 of them starts ... This is the fifth year for head coach Buddy Gouldsmith, who currently has a career record of 143-140 (.505), which is the third-most victories in Rebel history.
THE UTAH UTES: Utah enters Friday's game following a 9-6 win at home against Southern Utah on Tuesday ... That snapped a six-game losing streak ... The Utes are being paced at the plate by Cory Shimada, who is hitting .370 (50-135) with four home runs and 20 RBI ... Overall the Utes have seven regulars hitting .323 or higher and they are hitting .315 as a team ... On the mound Saturday starter Brian Budrow is 4-4 with a 2.78 ERA in nine starts and he has struck out a team-high 51 batters against just 12 walks ... The Utes have played just eight games at home this year while playing 26 either on the road or at a neutral field ... Utah head coach Bill Kinneberg is in his fifth year with the Utes and he currently has a record of 115-137 (.448) and he is in his 12th season overall as a collegiate head coach with a career record of 360-320 (.529).
SERIES HISTORY: UNLV leads the all-time series with Utah by a 75-34 (.688) margin, and the Rebels finished the 2007 season with a 4-3 mark against the Utes. They two teams split six regular-season meetings, but UNLV earned a 6-5 win in the opening round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
