April 23, 2013
2013 Game Notes - Week 10 
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Rebels (27-13, 11-7 Mountain West) resume Mountain West play at No. 24 New Mexico (24-16, 14-4 MW). UNLV went 4-0 last week, starting with a 24-11 victory over UC Riverside. The Rebels recorded 29 hits in the game and sophomore T.J. White finished a spectacular 7-for-7. UNLV continued its winning ways, sweeping San Diego State for the first time since 2007. The Rebels outlasted the Aztecs for a 9-8 win in 17 innings on Friday night. The 17 innings set a record for being the longest game in Earl E. Wilson Stadium history and tied for the longest game in school history. UNLV rallied to win 4-3 on Saturday and rallied again on Sunday, winning 5-2. On Wednesday, UNLV fell to No. 8 Arizona State 5-2.
SCOUTING THE REBELS
Junior college transfer Patrick Armstrong leads the Rebels from the plate this season and is hitting .380 in 32 games played. He also has a team-high 12 doubles. Sophomore T.J. White had a red hot week and now is second on the team with a .331 average, and lead the team with 55 hits. Senior Brandon Bayardi has a .323 average and leads the team with seven home runs. Mark Shannon leads the club with 35 RBI and is tied for a team-high nine steals with freshman Joey Armstrong. Junior Buddy Borden (5-1) currently has a 2.25 ERA which is not only the best on the Rebels' pitching staff, but is also the best in the Mountain West. Sophomore Erick Fedde (4-1) sports a 3.76 ERA and leads the team with 59 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. From the bullpen, senior Andrew Beresford has seen the most action, pitching 21.0 innings of relief. He owns a 5-1 record and four saves to go along with a 2.57 ERA.
SCOUTING THE LOBOS
New Mexico, predicted to be the best team in the Mountain West this season by the coaches' preseason poll, got off to rough start to the 2013 season. UNM lost its first series of the year on opening weekend to Oklahoma State, winning only one game. The Lobos then traveled to the Kleberg Bank College Classic in Corpus Christi, Texas and beat Texas A&M Corpus Christi but lost to Iowa and No. 16 Oklahoma. Next up was a trip to Nebraska where UNM lost two games. They were able to string three together, beating La Salle twice and the first game of a four-game series against UC Riverside. The Lobos lost 4-3 to Arizona State before coming to Las Vegas and taking two of three from the No. 21 Rebels. After the first meeting between the two teams, UNM split with Missouri State and took two of three from Nevada, Reno and San Diego State. The Lobos lost at New Mexico State to open the month of April but beat Texas Tech the next day. They returned to MW play by winning two of three against Air Force before splitting with No. 10 Arkansas. Since that split, UNM has won the last seven, including sweeps over Fresno State and Nevada, Reno and a single game against New Mexico State. Leading the Lobo charge is All-American DJ Peterson. He is hitting .400 on the year and leads the team in runs (44), RBI (50) and home runs (12). Peterson was named the MW player of the week for Week 4 after going 12-for-15 with three home runs in the four-game series against UC Riverside. He is also the reigning Co-MW Player of the Year, an award he shared with his teammate Mitch Garver. Garver is hitting .374 this season and leads the Lobos with 61 hits. Drew Bridges has evolved into a Friday night starter from the mound the Lobos and has a 2-1 record to go with a 3.86 ERA. Projected Saturday starter for UNM against UNLV will be Sam Wolff who is 3-3 with a 4.25 ERA. He leads the team with 39 strikeouts. Josh Walker and Gabe Aguilar are the top relievers for New Mexico and have pitched well this season as Aguilar has allowed only nine earned runs in 24.2 innings and has 26 strikeouts. Walker has struck 35 in 41.1 innings pitched and leads the team with seven saves on the season.
NEW MEXICO SERIES HISTORY
UNLV and New Mexico (game-by-game results on Page 4) have a very rich baseball history where the Rebels hold a 80-62 advantage over the Lobos. However, New Mexico has won eight of the last nine games, including two in Las Vegas earlier this year. The Lobos own the longest win streak in the series as they were able to beat the Rebels 10 straight times from 1999 until 2001.
ON DECK
After the weekend series game against New Mexico, UNLV will return home for the last time this season. The Rebels will play five games in a matter of six days. Their first opponent will be UC Riverside on April 30 and will then resume Mountain West play against Fresno State May 3-5. UNLV will then host San Diego for one game on Monday, May 6.
17-INNING MARATHON
On April 19, UNLV and San Diego State played its series opener at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. SDSU took an 8-3 advantage after six innings, but the Rebels scored three runs in the seventh and one run in the eighth and ninth innings to tie the game and send it into extra innings. After eight extra frames, the five hour and one minute marathon was over when UNLV loaded the bases and scored after an Aztec error, winning the game 9-8. It ties for the longest game in UNLV history and is the longest game ever played on Roger Barnson Field at Earl E. Wilson Stadium.
