March 30, 2009
IN THE BATTER'S BOX
UNLV (13-13) wraps up its non-conference road swing, traveling to Northridge, Calif., to play Cal State Northridge (11-14) in a two-game series that gets underway Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. (PT) and ends Wednesday at 3:00 p.m., with both games being played at Matador Field. The series concludes a string of seven-straight road games for the Rebels, the team's longest such stretch of the season, and UNLV is 0-5 thus far after losing three games at Long Beach State this past weekend. UNLV started the trip by losing a pair of games last week at No. 17 Oklahoma State. UNLV is still searching for its first road win of the season, as the Rebels are 0-8 after dropping the three games to the Dirtbags. Fans can follow every game of the series live via gametracker and can also listen to an audio broadcast of each game by going to www.unlvrebels.com. UNLV will return home this weekend and host Utah in a three-game series that gets underway Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
REBELS AT A GLANCE
UNLV is now 13-13 overall and 2-4 in the MWC after dropping three games at Long Beach State this past weekend ... The Rebels lost by scores of 7-4, 4-0 and 13-4, running the team's losing streak to six, and the last five of those have been on the road ... Overall the Rebels are 0-8 on the road this year and 13-5 at home ... Senior outfielder J.J. Sferra currently has a 17-game hitting streak, which started in the second game of a doubleheader against Saint Peter's College on Feb. 28. During that span Sferra is hitting .507 (35-69) with 35 hits, two doubles, two triples and 21 runs scored. He has had 12 games during the streak with two or more hits, including collecting four in a game twice ... Overall he leads the Rebels with a .424 batting average ... Jesse Wight has hit a team-high five home runs while Drew Beuerlein has knocked in a team-leading 22 runs ... Extra bases have been easy to come by for the Rebels, as they have 91 such hits, including 18 triples and 21 home runs ... Freshman pitcher Tanner Peters is leading the Rebels on the mound, having made a strong debut with a 3-2 record to go with 3.32 ERA in six starts ... UNLV head coach Buddy Gouldsmith has a career record of 160-169 (.486) and is in his sixth season ... The 160 wins are the second most in school history ... The Rebels opened the season by playing their first 14 games at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, which is tied for the third-longest such stretch in the nation.
MATADORS AT A GLANCE
Cal State Northridge enters this week's series with an 11-14 record wining the final two of a three-games series with UC Santa Barbara last weekend ... The Matadors are 11-7 at home and are also winless on the road at 0-7, while sitting 2-1 in the Big West Conference ... At the plate CSN is hitting .295 as a team, paced by Richard Cates, who is hitting .388 (40-103) with seven doubles and 12 RBI ... Ryan Pineda is the top power threat for the Matadors, as he has slugged seven hom runs and driven in 27... As a team, the Matadors pitching staff has a 5.48 ERA ... Cal State Northridge is coached by Steve Rousey, who is 127-233-1 in his eighth year with the Matadors.
