April 29, 2010
UNLV-Air Force Game Notes
LEADING OFF
UNLV (21-19, 5-7 MWC) continues a seven-game home stand when it hosts Air Force (11-30, 1-9 MWC) in a three-game Mountain West Conference series that gets underway Friday at 7:00 p.m. (PT), and that game will be carried live on KSHP 1400 AM, with Adam Candee calling the action. Game two is Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and the finale is Sunday at 1:00 p.m., and fans can follow all three games of the series via a live video stream or on Gametracker by going to www.UNLVRebels.com. The Rebels come into the series having lost six straight, including the last five of a nine-game road trip that saw UNLV play at Utah, Tulane and at then-No. 8 TCU. The Rebels dropped a non-conference game at home to UC Riverside, 18-10, on a windy Tuesday night at Wilson Stadium in UNLV's first home game since April 6. The two teams combined to hit eight home runs, with UNLV drilling three and UCR connecting on five round trippers.
REBELS AT A GLANCE
Runs have not been hard to come by for the Rebels, as they have scored a total of 304 in 40 games, including 18 on Feb. 21 against Sacramento State and 22 against Temple on Feb. 26 ... That is an average of 7.5 runs per game ... UNLV is hitting .307 as a team, with 33 home runs, 79 doubles and 265 RBI ... Drew Beuerlein leads the UNLV regulars with a .373 (59-158) average ... He had a 17-game hitting streak earlier this season and he has team highs of seven home runs and 41 RBI ... Freshman third baseman R.J. Arnold has also slugged six home runs while fellow rookie Brandon Bayardi is hitting .371 (62-167) and he also has laced 16 doubles and driven in 37 runs ... Overall the Rebels have seven players who are hitting .316 or better ... Sunday starter Matt Hutchison is 4-3 with a 3.62 ERA and also has four saves in 16 total appearances, striking out 48 and walking 14 in 54.2 innings of work ... Hutchison, who has made six consecutive starts, actually opened the season as the team's closer ... Friday-night starter Tanner Peters leads the MWC and is 19th in the country with 77 strikeouts ... Peters is averaging 11.49 strikeouts/per nine innings, which is 14th in the NCAA ... UNLV is in its seventh season under head coach Buddy Gouldsmith, who has a career record of 194-207 (.484), and his 194 victories are the second most in school history ... UNLV has played in three extra-inning games this season, starting with its season opener that went 11 innings, the first opener to go extras since the 2004 season opener, when UNLV lost at Cal State Fullerton, 9-8, in 11 innings on Feb. 6, 2004
FALCONS AT A GLANCE
Air Force enters the weekend coming off a doubleheader sweep at Creighton on Tuesday, winning by scores of 4-3 and 6-2 ... The Falcons are hitting .303 as a team and leading the offense is Matt Alexander, who is hitting .343 (57-166) with six home runs, 11 doubles and 36 RBI ... AFA has six regulars hitting .304 or better ... Air Force is struggling on the mound, however, as the staff has a combined ERA of 10.56, with no pitcher below 8.56 ... Air Force is in its seventh season under head coach Mike Hutcheon, and he has a record of 76-275 (.217) and an overall career record of 315-415 (.432) in his 16th season as a collegiate head coach.
AIR FORCE WEEKEND AT WILSON STADIUM
UNLV baseball's three-game series this weekend against Air Force at Earl E. Wilson Stadium will be Air Force Weekend and Sunday's final game of the series will also be Kid's Day. Air Force personnel from both Creech and Nellis Air Force Bases, and all veterans will be able to attend all three games for free, as they will simply need to show their military I.D. at the Wilson Stadium ticket office. Also, during Sunday's game UNLV will recognize veteran returnees from Iraq and Afghanistan. The Air Force Honor Guard and Nellis National Anthem singers will be at each game, and fans will enjoy promotions throughout all three games at Wilson Stadium as the Rebels play the Falcons in Mountain West Conference action. Sunday will also be Kids' Day at the ballpark, and before the game there will be a baseball bounce house, raffles and drawings, and kids will also be able to take the field with the Rebels before the first pitch of the game.
