May 24, 2010
UNLV vs. BYU 2010 Mountain West Conference Tournament Game Notes
LEADING OFF
UNLV (27-27, 11-13 MWC) will be the fifth seed at the 2010 Conoco Mountain West Conference Championship, and the Rebels open with fourth-seeded BYU (25-29, 12-12 MWC) at Tony Gwynn Stadium at 3:00 p.m. (PT) on Tuesday. That is the first of two games, as No. 3 San Diego State will play No. 6 Utah at 7:00 p.m., while top-seeded TCU and second-seeded New Mexico have first-round byes and will play the winners on Wednesday. Every game of the tournament will be shown live on the Mtn., (Cox Cable 313/DirecTV 616) with James Bates, Todd Christensen and Roger Bailey calling the action. Fans can also follow along via Gametracker by going to www.UNLVRebels.com. The Rebels come into the tournament on a five-game losing streak after they were swept by San Diego State in a three-game road series to close out UNLV's regular season. UNLV and BYU have played six times this season, with the two teams each winning three, and the Rebels and Cougars last played each other in the MWC Tournament last year, with BYU ending UNLV's season with a 5-4 victory in Fort Worth, Texas.
REBELS AT A GLANCE
Runs have not been hard to come by for the Rebels, as they have scored a total of 431 in 54 regular-season games, including 23 on May 1 against Air Force and 22 against Temple on Feb. 26 ... That is an average of 8.0 runs per game ... UNLV is hitting .317 as a team, with 46 home runs, 115 doubles and 380 RBI ... Drew Beuerlein has been UNLV's most consistent hitter, posting a .357 (76-213) average ... He had a 17-game hitting streak earlier this season and he has team highs of 10 home runs and 59 RBI ... Freshman left fielder Brandon Bayardi is hitting .355 (81-228) and he also has laced 21 doubles, driven in 53 runs and hit nine home runs ... Senior designated hitter Kyle Kretchmer is hitting .398 (47-118) and has a 16-game hitting streak ... Tuesday starter Tanner Peters leads the MWC with 101 strikeouts ... Peters' K total marks the first time since 1996 that a Rebel hurler reached the century mark in strikeouts in a single season ... Matt Hutchison is 5-4 with a 4.61 ERA and also has four saves in 22 total appearances, striking out 61 and walking 25 in 70.1 innings of work ... Hutchison, who has made 10 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 200-215 (.482), and his 200 victories are the second most in school history.
COUGARS AT A GLANCE
BYU enters the series taking two-of-three from Air Force to close out the regular season, winning by scores of 16-6 and 18-4 before losing the final game of the series, 22-19 ... The Aztecs are hitting .331 as a team and leading the offense is Brandon Relf, who is hitting .368 17 doubles and 58 runs scored ... BYU has three players who have hit 11 or more home runs, lead by Sean McNaughton's 16 round trippers ... BYU will send Chris Capper to the mound on Tuesday, as he is 4-1 with a 4.68 ERA to go along with 44 strikeouts and 17 walks in 75.0 innings of work ... BYU is in its 11th season under head coach Vance Law, and he has a record of 342-292-2 (.539) with the Cougars.
