Feb. 18, 2009
LAS VEGAS - When UNLV takes the field on opening day against Maine, regulars to Earl E. Wilson Stadium probably won't need their program to match numbers with names of those wearing the Scarlet and Gray in 2009. That is because as many as six Rebels who were starters last year will be back in the starting lineup, coupled with a plethora of experience returning to the mound, giving the Rebels one of their most experienced clubs in years.
But while fans won't be asking "Who's On First", the question will be if all of that experience coming back for UNLV will result in the program moving back toward the top of the Mountain West Conference standings.
Veteran coach Buddy Gouldsmith, who enters his sixth season at the helm of the Rebels and has guided the program to a pair of MWC Tournament titles and NCAA Tournament bids, is confident that will be the case.
"We have a lot of experience coming back, including a lot of guys who have started at this level and for us," Gouldsmith said. "So far I have liked what I have seen during practice and during intra-squad games, and it will be up to them to take their game to another level."
In all, 22 letterwinners are on the roster, including 11 pitchers who saw time on the bump for the Rebels, who went 22-37 last year and 9-15 in MWC play before going 1-2 in the league tournament to close out the year. Joining that group will be 11 rookies who will be making their debut for UNLV this year, and while competition for playing time figures to be stiff with so many veterans on the team, several newcomers will be in the mix to set foot on the diamond immediately in 2009.
Gouldsmith will be assisted by pitching coach David Martinez, who returns for his second season directing the Rebel hurlers, and joining the coaching staff this year is Jeff Prieto, who comes to UNLV after a very successful prep coaching career at Clovis East High School in Clovis, Calif. Volunteer coach Bob Fenn rounds out the staff, as he will work with the outfielders and assist with the Rebel hitters and base runners.
While most of the squad returns, there are still a few holes that need to be filled, most noticeably at first base where All-American Xavier Scruggs will surely be missed, although not by opposing coaches and pitchers. Scruggs put together one of the most dominating seasons in Rebel history, drilling 20 home runs, driving in 65 runs and hitting .379, as he earned the league's triple crown and was named the MWC Player of the Year.
"I don't think we can count on one person to step in and fill the shoes of Xavier," Gouldsmith said. "It is going to be a group of guys that need step up their games and begin to have more success offensively. We won't be able to sit around and wait for Xavier to hit a three-run home run."
INFIELDERS
The Rebel infield will feature the same double-play combo from a year ago paired with two new starters on the corners, which are two of only three spots on the field that will feature new starters from last year.
First base is a battle between senior Jesse Wight, and junior Kyle Kretchmer, both left-handed hitters. Wight was a regular in the Rebel lineup a year ago, playing 46 games in the outfield. He is making the move to provide UNLV with an athletic, left-handed bat at first and in the middle of the order. Wight was second on the team last year with a .328 average, hitting one home run and driving in 24 runs while hitting 14 doubles, which was also second on the club. Wight used the fall to get used to playing first base and the intricacies that come with the position, and although he is still a work in progress, Gouldsmith has been pleased with the progress.
Kretchmer (.276, 1 RBI), a big, left-handed hitter who has seen spot playing time the past two years but looks primed for an expanded role heading into his junior season. Brian Gilbertson, a two-way player who transferred to UNLV from Merced College, could also see time at first base on days that the junior does not pitch.
"Wight has done a great job in making the move to first base and his bat will provide a lot of offense for us this year," Gouldsmith said. "Kretchmer probably has the most power of anyone on the team, and he will get the chance to show that with more at-bats this season."
Down the base path at second is the steady Bryan Resnick, who came in and started 56 games at second and showed great range while flagging down most everything hit his direction. Resnick, a senior from Orange, Calif., showed occasional pop in his bat with three home runs and 26 RBI while hitting .272 and scoring 34 runs, which was fifth on the team.
To his right is senior Anthony Morel, who ran out of the gate quickly last year before a stress fracture in his foot limited him in the final month-and-a-half, hit .294 with four doubles and 18 RBI. Fully healed, Morel was back to his smooth-fielding ways at shortstop this fall and will team with Resnick to give the Rebels a pair of sure-handed fielders to anchor the defense.
Pushing those two for the starting job at both positions will be junior infielder Jarred Frierson, who can play both shortstop and second base and even third if necessary. The left-handed hitter showed panache for the dramatic last year, coming up with clutch hits on his way to hitting .277 with two home runs and 15 RBI.
Manning the hot corner is talented freshman Trent Fuller, one of the few rookies who will be on Gouldsmith's lineup card at the start of the season. Fuller, who prepped at Fairfield High School in Fairfield, Calif., played solid defensively during the fall and also performed well at the plate leading into his first collegiate regular season.
"The middle of our infield remains the same and should be a strength defensively and I expect Morel and Resnick to produce at the plate for us as well," Gouldsmith said. "Fuller has had a great preseason while Frierson provides great depth off the bench for us."
Behind the dish is the area that is a work in progress for the Rebels, with just one player returning that has seen extensive time calling games, blocking balls in the dirt and throwing out base runners at the collegiate level.
Junior Drew Beuerlein, who came in as a rookie and made 12 starts behind the plate two years ago before spending most of his time as a DH last year as he was recovering from an arm injury, will get the first look handling the Rebel pitchers. Backing him up is a group that includes sophomore Chad Claus, senior Joe DiMaggio and junior Justin Aldridge. Claus played in just one game as a rookie last year, DiMaggio is moving from the outfield to catcher and Aldridge is a junior from Delgado Community College.
"It is probably the most untested position we have on our roster," Gouldsmith said. "Beuerlein slated to probably start but his backup is still being determined from a large group of players. I have been really impressed by DiMaggio, who is adapting very well to moving back there as well and actually has the best arm of the group."
OUTFIELDERS
Patrolling the outfield will be the group of Scott Berke, Rance Roundy, J.J. Sferra and Ryan Thornton, who made a combined 145 starts last year for the Rebels. Tyson Mehlhoff and DiMaggio will also be in the mix to earn playing time in the outfield.
Roundy enters his junior season and after making the transition from second base to right field a year ago, the Henderson, Nev., native is poised for a breakout season for the Rebels in 2009. He posted solid numbers as a sophomore, hitting .283 with two home runs and 30 RBI while hitting near the top of the lineup. Backing him up will be the versatile DiMaggio, who played 21 games mostly as a late-inning sub.
Back for his senior season is Sferra, the dynamic leadoff hitter who provided a spark at the top of the UNLV lineup last year, hitting .325 with 80 hits, 13 doubles and three triples to go with a .389 on-base percentage. The speedy centerfielder covers a lot of ground in the outfield, taking away fly balls that looked destined for the gap, and Sferra combines with Resnick and Morel to give UNLV a formidable defense up the middle.
In left field is where the most competition is, as Berke and Thornton are locked in a battle to see who will be starter come opening day. Thornton (.284, 1 HR), has a powerful frame and is one of the most athletic players on the team, capable of playing all three outfield spots, and led UNLV with 10 steals in 11 attempts last year. Berke (.274, 1 HR), is a lefty that can also play center field, and whoever does not get the nod in left will likely find themselves in the starting lineup as the DH.
"Our outfield looks mostly the same from a year ago, and it is an athletic group that can interchange depending on what we need," Gouldsmith said. "This group will have to produce more offensively and not necessarily just hitting home runs, but doubles and triples as well."
PITCHERS
One of the things that will make or break the Rebels' season is the number of freebies Gouldsmith's pitching staff gives the opposition and it will be imperative that UNLV's pitchers reduces the number of walks and hit batters. He likes what he has seen from his staff heading into the year and he feels he has about 12-13 viable options to send to the mound in either a starting or relief role as the year opens.
"We walked and hit way too many guys last year and with the depth we have on the mound, guys who do that this year won't pitch," Gouldsmith said. "That has to be something that we improve on this year. Regardless of whether we are able to strike batters out, we are not going to walk batters".
Competing for starting roles will be a group that includes veterans Jeff Urlaub, Corey Hales, Stephen Singer and Matt Hutchinson, while newcomers Andrew Beresford, Glenn DeWeese, Brian Gilbertson and Tanners Peters will also be in the mix.
Hales was the Rebels' most consistent presence on the mound last year as a junior, making 13 starts and posting a 4-3 record with a 5.14 ERA, striking out 38 batters and walking 30 in 70 innings of work. Hales, who tossed UNLV's lone complete game of the season last year, will be expected to be an anchor on the staff and a fixture in the weekend rotation.
Penciled in to join Hales as part of the weekend rotation is Urlaub and Singer, a pair who have taken different paths to become starters as Urlaub missed most of last season due to surgery and Singer pitched almost exclusively out of the bullpen.
With the Rebels playing several midweek games as well as four scheduled double-headers, multiple starts will be up for grabs outside of the weekend, and leading the group for those innings is Hutchinson. The junior has started 30 games the past two seasons and is one of the most experienced starters on the UNLV staff.
The Rebel relief corps returns a plethora of experience and will be headlined by right-hander Marc Baca, who will return to his closer role to open the season. Baca recorded five saves as a sophomore and split time between set-up man and starter last year and has the type of dominating stuff to be a stopper at the end of games.
Junior lefty Michael Goodman once again pitched well in his role as long reliever a year ago, eating up a lot of innings while making 29 appearances, the second most on the team. Displaying pin-point control, he struck out 39 batters and walked just 12 over 48.1 innings of work. More of the same will be expected of the big left hander by Gouldsmith.
Kelby Aase, Justin Baca, Jon Birds, David Bumstead, Kyle Conroy, Chad Nading and Thomas Whitsett will all see innings out of the Rebel pen, with Bumstead, Nading and Whitsett possibly in late-inning set-up roles.
"Nine or 10 guys will pitch over the course of the year and it is nice to say that right now that we have a lot of options to choose from," Gouldsmith said. "We are going to have to use all of them with our schedule, since we have a lot of weeks with five or more games."
SCHEDULE
UNLV opens it 2009 slate with a 14-game home stand at the friendly confines of Earl E. Wilson Stadium in a schedule that features matchups with four teams that went to the NCAA Tournament, including hosting Pac-10 power Arizona. For the second consecutive year the start of the season is in late February as a result of the NCAA rule regarding the start date for baseball. Arizona, which advanced to an NCAA Super Regional last year, St. Peters College and Butler University are the other opponents in UNLV's season-long home stand that starts the campaign.
"It is a very competitive schedule that is also pretty balanced," Gouldsmith said. "Opening up at home with 14 straight games should give us the chance to get off to a strong start and we have some challenging midweek games against some perennial powers such as Arizona, Oklahoma State and Long Beach State."
New to the Rebels' slate this year will be five scheduled doubleheaders at home, with two games being played against Maine, St. Peters College (twice), Butler and Northern Colorado. The addition of the doubleheaders will help Rebel student-athletes miss less class time due to the schedule change.
UNLV's first trip away from Las Vegas will also open up MWC play for the Rebels, as they travel to San Diego State for a three-game series with the Aztecs that begins on March 13. The two teams will play again at Wilson Stadium on April 9-11, and UNLV will also play league-rival Air Force twice, March 20-22 at home and April 24-26 in Colorado Springs. UNLV will play home series with MWC opponents Utah and TCU while traveling to New Mexico and BYU.
Following the home series with the Falcons, the Rebels will hit the road for back-to-back series with teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament, traveling to play Oklahoma State and then Long Beach State. UNLV then travels to California for a two-game set with Cal State Northridge, ending the Rebels' longest road trip of the season, a span of seven games.
Other non-conference series include a four-game set at home against Northern Colorado, a two-game series at Texas Tech and two games at home against Cal State Northridge. The Rebels will also host UC Riverside for a single game on May 5, then return the trip the following week by heading to Riverside on May 12.
"The conference will once again be very tough and every series will be a challenge," Gouldsmith said. "We finish up league play against TCU at home, so hopefully the impact of that weekend will be tremendous for us before heading to the league tournament."
The MWC Tournament will again be hosted by TCU this season and be played at Lupton Stadium in Fort Worth on May 19-23, where the league's automatic bid for the NCAA Tournament will be up for grabs.
