March 4, 2010
UNLV-Columbia Series Notes
LEADING OFF
UNLV (7-3, 0-0 Mountain West Conference) returns home looking to start another winning streak after having its seven-game run snapped this week, as the Rebels will play visiting Columbia (0-0, 0-0 Ivy League) in a four-game series that gets underway Friday night at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with game times at 2:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., and the Rebels and Lions will close out the series on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. The Rebels, who were playing on the road for the first time in 2010, beat the Wildcats 12-10 on Tuesday night but Arizona earned a split of the series with a 5-4 win in 13 innings on Tuesday. The 13-inning affair was the longest game the Rebels had played in since losing to San Francisco, 8-7, at Earl E. Wilson Stadium on March 7, 2008, in a game that also went 13 innings.
REBELS AT A GLANCE
UNLV improved its record to 7-3 by splitting a pair of games at Arizona earlier this week in the first road games of the year fo the Rebels ... UNLV's season opener went 11 innings, the first opener to go extra innings since the 2004 season opener, when UNLV lost at Cal State Fullerton, 9-8, in 11 innings on Feb. 6, 2004 ... Runs have not been hard to come by for the Rebels, as they have scored a total of 106 through 10 games, including 18 on Feb. 21 against Sacramento State and 22 against Temple on Feb. 26 ... UNLV is hitting .314 as a team, with 13 home runs, 16 doubles and 90 RBI ... Brandon Bayardi leads the UNLV regulars with a .405 (17-42) average, and the freshman has hit safely in his last 10 games ... Drew Beuerlein is also hitting .405 (17-42) with four doubles and 10 RBI ... R.J. Arnold and Jarred Frierson have each hit three home runs for the Rebels ... UNLV closer Matt Hutchison is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA and also has three saves in seven appearances, striking out 16 and walking three in 8.1 innings of work ... UNLV is in its seventh season under head coach Buddy Gouldsmith, who has a career record of 180-191 (.485), and his 180 victories are the second most in school history.
LIONS AT A GLANCE
These will actually be the first games of the 2010 season for Columbia ... Last season the Lions went 11-32 overall and 7-13 in the Ivy League ... Six starters and three weekend pitchers return ... Columbia won the Ivy League championship two years ago ... Columbia returns its six top hitters from the 2009 season, including Bobby O'Brien, who hit .337 with seven doubles and two home runs ... The Lions also return every starter on the mound except one ... Columbia enters its fifth season under head coach Brett Boretti, who is 62-122-1 in his tenure with the Lions and 178-204-1 overall in his collegiate coaching career.
UPCOMING REBEL GAME PROMOTIONS
Friday (3/5) - "Throwback 90s and High School Weekend"
Saturday (3/6) - "High School Weekend"
Sunday (3/7) - "High School Weekend"
