Feb. 27, 2014

Week 3 UNLV Baseball Game Note | Air Force Baseball Game Notes

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV baseball (4-3) returns to Las Vegas to open Mountain West play with a three game set against Air Force (3-3) starting on Friday. The Rebels will also play one game on Monday against UC Riverside (3-5) to complete the four-game homestand. UNLV, which is coming off of its first road trip of the season, lost three straight games at Tennessee. On Friday, they lost 8-7, despite scoring six runs in the top of the ninth inning. The team also had to battle back on Saturday, but fell 5-4 to the Volunteers after putting up multiple runs in the ninth inning for the second day in a row. The injury plagued Rebels also fell to UT 4-2 in the series finale on Sunday.

SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV baseball (4-3) returns to Las Vegas after losing three straight at Tennessee last weekend. Despite losing all three games, the Rebels played and pitched well. Friday night starter Erick Fedde (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits and was able to strike out seven Volunteers in 6.0 innings of work. Saturday starter John Richy (1-0) was the only UNLV starter to not factor in a decision over the weekend as the Rebels' rallied in the top of the ninth inning. Richy allowed four runs, three of which were earned, on five hits and struck out two in 7.0 innings of work. Sophomore Kenny Oakley (0-1) took the loss after allowing an unearned run on no hits in 1.2 innings of work. Bryan Bonnell (1-1), who got the starting nod on Sunday, allowed four runs, two of which were earned, on eight hits and struck out two in 6.0 innings of work. Joey Lauria and Brayden Torres also pitched well in their relief efforts. Lauria allowed four unearned runs on one hit and struck out three in 2.0 innings of work. Torres didn't allow a baserunner and struck out the side in the bottom of the eighth inning on Sunday. From the plate, Erik VanMeetren led the charge for UNLV. VanMeetren went 4-for-9 (.444) with two RBI and scored two runs. Edgar Montes finished 4-for-11 (.364) and had a team-high three RBI in the series. Joey Armstrong recorded three hits over the weekend, including a triple on Saturday, and scored a team-high four runs. T.J. White started the weeekend strong, going 3-for-6 with an RBI, but left half way through the second game and didn't play in the series finale because of an injury.

SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Air Force Falcons (3-3) are coming off of a series win over rival academy Navy in the Freedom Classic. The Falcons dropped the first game 3-0, but rallied to beat the Midshipmen 2-0 on Saturday and 9-1 on Sunday. The Falcons opened the season with a 14-9 win over Washington and then dropped games to Michigan and Texas State. Air Force is tied for the youngest team in the Mountain West with 14 freshman and is tied for the fifth youngest starting lineup in the country with four freshman starters. Freshmen Tyler Jones and Griffin Jax lead the Falcons from the plate. Jones has started all six games for the academy and is averaging .333. He leads the team with seven hits, five RBI and his three double are tied for a team high. Jax owns a .267 batting average and has scored a team-high six runs. The Rebels will face senior Cameron White (0-1) on Friday night. White owns a 5.11 ERA but has recorded a team-high 12 strikeouts. Saturday's starter will be Steven Trojan (1-1), who owns a 0.77 ERA and has allowed only one earned run on six hits in 11.2 innings of work. Jax (1-1), who also pitches for Air Force, will get the nod on Sunday. He owns a 2.57 ERA and has struck out 10 batters in a team-high 14.0 innings of work.

UNLV-AIR FORCE HISTORY
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.

SCOUTING THE HIGHLANDERS
UC Riverside (3-5) started the 2014 season strong, taking two of three from San Francisco and beat Washington State to wrap up its four game homestand. The Highlanders took to the road and were swept by Texas State in San Marcos, Texas and returned home to host San Diego State but lost 8-7. Before traveling to Las Vegas, UCR will be on the road for a three game set against Cal State Bakersfield. Through eight games, the Highlanders have four batters hitting over .400. Joe Chavez leads the way for UCR with a .424 batting average. He has swiped a team-high six bases, but also leads the team with 11 strikeouts. Nick Vilter is hitting .414 and owns a team-high three home runs. Francisco Tellez is hitting .421 and has a team-high 15 RBI. From the mound the Highlanders are led by Jacob Smigelski (1-1) who owns a 2.25 ERA and has allowed three runs on seven hits and has recorded 11 strikeouts in 12.0 innings of work. Dylan Stuart has made a team-high five appearances owns a 3.24 ERA in 8.1 innings of work.

UNLV-AIR FORCE HISTORY
UNLV will wrap up its four game homestand with a rare Monday contest against UC Riverside. The Rebels trail the Highlanders 21-13 in the overall series, but are coming off of two straight victories last season and have won three of the last four meetings. Last year, UNLV recorded its two biggest wins over UCR, beating them 24-11 in Riverside, Calif. and 20-6 in Las Vegas. The two teams will also meet on April 29 in Riverside, Calif.

ON DECK
After the four-game homestand, the Rebels return to the road to face conference foe New Mexico. UNLV went 1-6 against the Lobos last season, and they were swept by UNM at Lobo Field. The Rebels hold an 80-66 overall record against the Lobos, despite only winning two games in the last 14 meetings. UNLV will then return to Earl E. Wilson Stadium and host a midweek game against West Virginia. It will be the second meeting between the two schools and the first since 2000, which West Virginia won 15-6.