May 13, 2010
UNLV vs. Utah Game Notes
LEADING OFF
UNLV (26-21, 10-8 MWC) concludes the home portion of its Mountain West Conference schedule this weekend, hosting Utah (19-24, 7-11 MWC) in an important three-game series that gets underway Friday at 7:00 p.m. (PT), and that game will be carried live on KSHP 1400 AM, with Bob Blum and 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 that game will also be carried live on KSHP 1400 AM. Sunday's game will also be Senior Day, and the Rebels' six seniors will be honored before the game. 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 on the heels of an 11-7 non-conference loss at UC Riverside on Tuesday. This will be the second time this season that the Rebels have played the Utes, as UNLV swept a three-game series Utah when the two played up in Salt Lake City on April 9-11. UNLV is currently tied for third in the MWC standings with San Diego State, and then Utah and BYU are tied for fifth with 7-11 league marks. No. 7 TCU leads the league with a conference record of 16-4, followed by New Mexico in second with a record of 13-7 with just two weeks remaining in the regular season.
REBELS AT A GLANCE
Runs have not been hard to come by for the Rebels, as they have scored a total of 382 in 47 games, including 23 on May 1 against Air Force and 22 against Temple on Feb. 26 ... That is an average of 8.1 runs per game ... UNLV is hitting .317 as a team, with 39 home runs, 96 doubles and 336 RBI ... Drew Beuerlein has been UNLV's most consistent hitter, posting a .353 (65-184) average ... He had a 17-game hitting streak earlier this season and he has team highs of eight home runs and 47 RBI ... Freshman left fielder Brandon Bayardi is hitting .370 (74-200) and he also has laced 20 doubles, driven in 46 runs and hit six home runs ... Overall the Rebels have seven players who are hitting .315 or better ... Friday-night starter Tanner Peters leads the MWC and is 19th in the country with 90 strikeouts ... Peters is averaging 11.05 strikeouts/per nine innings, which is 19th in the NCAA ... Rebel starter Matt Hutchison is 5-3 with a 4.02 ERA and also has four saves in 19 total appearances, striking out 56 and walking 20 in 65.0 innings of work ... Hutchison, who has made eight consecutive starts, actually opened the season as the team's closer ... UNLV is in its seventh season under head coach Buddy Gouldsmith, who has a career record of 199-209 (.488), and his 199 victories are the second most in school history.
UTES AT A GLANCE
Utah enters the series having lost seven in a row and nine of its last 10, including a three-game sweep at USC last weekend by scores of 8-1, 6-5 and 11-6 ... The Utes are hitting .296 as a team and leading the offense is C.J. Cron, who is hitting .422 (68-161) with 15 home runs, 10 doubles and 56 RBI ... Nik Gumeson has hit 10 home runs and is hitting .333 on the year for the Utes ... Utah has a staff ERA of 4.96 ... Friday-night starter Jordan Whatcott is 4-7 with a 5.43 ERA, striking out 48 batters and walking 28 ... Utah is in its seventh season under head coach Bill Kinneberg, and he has a record of 174-200 (.465) with the Utes and an overall record of 419-383 (.522) in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach.
SENIOR DAY SUNDAY
UNLV will honor six before its game against Utah on Sunday at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The ceremonies will start at approximately 12:30, and the seniors who will be honored are: Glenn DeWeese, Jarred Frierson, Brian Gilbertson, Matt Hutchison, Kyle Kretchmer and Stephen Singer.
