Feb. 19, 2014

UNLV-Tennessee Game Notes

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - No. 29 UNLV baseball (4-0) will head on the road for the first time in 2014 this weekend as the team travels to Knoxville, Tenn. to face the Tennessee Volunteers. The Rebels are coming off of a four-game sweep over Central Michigan at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. UNLV opened the season by recording its first shutout in Las Vegas since 2011. Behind strong pitching performances by junior Erick Fedde and sophomore Brayden Torres, the Rebels beat the Chippewas 5-0 on opening night. Their strong pitching carried over into the second day as the Rebels swept a doubleheader over CMU, beating the Chips 5-2 in the first game and rallying to win 11-8 in the second. The strong pitching theme finished on Sunday as the Rebels won 6-2 behind complete game performance by sophomore Bryan Bonnell. Bonnell struck out a career-high 11 and only allowed one earned run on five hits.

No. 29 UNLV baseball (4-0) is coming off a four-game sweep over Central Michigan last weekend. The key to the Rebels' success in the first weekend of the year was their dominant starting pitching rotation. Junior RHP Erick Fedde (1-0) earned Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors after he went 7.1 innings and struck out 11 batters while giving up only one hit. Batters are averaging .043 against him, which leads the Mountain West. He is tied with teammate sophomore Bryan Bonnell (1-0) for a MW leading 11 strikeouts. Bonnell, who pitched Sunday against the Chippewas, went the distance for UNLV to record his first career complete game. He gave up one earned run and allowed five hits in picking up his first win. Junior John Richy (1-0) and sophomore Kenny Oakley (0-0) started for the Rebels on Saturday. Richy, who started the first game of the double-header, went 7.1 innings and gave up two runs on two hits while striking out seven. Oakley, who started the evening game, went 6.0 innings and gave up one earned run on five hits and also struck out seven. Sophomore Brayden Torres (1-0, 1 save) came in for relief on Friday night to earn his first save of the year and also pitched 2.2 innings on Saturday night to earn his first win of the year. In total, Torres allowed no runs on four hits and struck out four batters in 4.1 innings. Sophomore Joey Armstrong led the Rebels from plate, averaging .389, over the weekend. He recorded a MW high seven hits, including a triple, and

SCOUTING THE VOLUNTEERS

The Tennessee Volunteers (4-0) battled the weather in getting the season started and ended up playing three games in two days against Purdue. The Vols swept the Boilermakers beating them 3-0 and 20-2 on Sunday and 8-2 on Monday. They also beat Appalachian State 5-3 on Wednesday. Sophomore David Houser has played in three of the four games this season and leads the team with a .500 batting average. Christin Stewart is hitting .467 and has recorded seven hits, five of which have been for extra bases (four doubles and one triple), and leads the team with seven RBI. Scott Price is hitting .429 and has hit the lone home run for the Vols this season. Senior Nick Williams (1-0) leads the Volunteers from the mound and is slated to start against the Rebels on Friday night. Williams pitched 5.0 innings against Purdue and allowed no runs on no hits and struck out two while walking two. Freshman Kyle Serrano (1-0), who is the son of the Volunteer's head coach Dave Serrano, is the probable starter against the Rebels on Saturday. Serrano owns a 3.60 ERA and allowed two runs on four hits and recorded two strikeouts. Sophomore Andrew Lee (1-0), who is the Vols probable starter for Sunday, allowed one run on four hits in 5.0 innings against Purdue to get the win.

UNLV-TENNESSEE HISTORY

UNLV will play its first road games of the 2014 season this weekend. The Rebels will travel to Knoxville, Tennessee to play the Tennessee Volunteers, who opened the 2013 season at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. UNLV took three-of-four games from the Vols last year and this will serve as UNLV's return trip. This will also be the first time that the Rebels and Volunteers have played in Tennessee. UNLV has a 4-2 overall record against the Tennessee. Before last season, the teams met twice in 1988.

ON DECK

After the Rebels' first road trip of the year, UNLV will return home to open Mountain West play against Air Force. The Rebels went 5-1 against the Falcons last year, including a sweep at Earl E. Wilson Stadium in Las Vegas. UNLV has won eight of the last 10 meetings and have not lost to the Falcons in Las Vegas since March 22, 2009. The UNLV - Air Force rivalry dates back to 1969 and the Rebels lead the overall series 83-24. Friday will serve as "Fill It Up Friday" and fans are invited out to Earl E. Wilson Stadium to attempt to break the attendance record of 2,143 set on March 5, 2006 when Texas visited UNLV. Fans can purchase their tickets to any home games online and save money. Visit UNLVtickets.com to purchase a ticket for just $5 and select the "Free Will Call" option. The deal expires three hours before the first pitch of every home game. Prices for individual games are $8 for adults, $6 for faculty/staff and seniors and $5 for groups of 15 or more (group tickets must be purchased at least one day in advance for the game). Children 12 and under and UNLV students with a valid student I.D. are free.