2015 UNLV Softball Weekly Notes: Week Two

2015 Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic Tournament Central

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV Rebels hosts their second tournament in as many weeks with the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 12 through Monday, Feb. 16.

The two major differences between the Desert Classic and last week's Sportco Kick Off Classic are the amount of teams (18 to six) and fields (four to one).

Besides UNLV's Eller Media Stadium, which will host 15 games, the tournament will also be played at Stephanie Lynn Craig Park in nearby Henderson. SLC is a three-field complex that will house the remaining 30 contests.

Eight NCAA Div. I conferences will be represented in Las Vegas this weekend. The Mountain West will have the most representation by any conference with five members in attendance: UNLV, Boise State, New Mexico, Utah State and Nevada, Reno. The Big West will have Cal State Fullerton, Hawai'i, Long Beach State and Northridge in attendance.

The Big 10 (Indiana and Northwestern) and WAC (Seattle and Utah Valley), while the Big Sky (Portland State), CUSA (UTEP) and West Coast (BYU) will also be represented.

UNLV'S WEEK 2 SCHEDULE

Friday, Feb. 1303:45 pm    UNLV vs. BYU
Saturday, Feb. 1403:45 pm    UNLV vs. Northwestern
Sunday, Feb. 1509:00 am    UNLV vs. UTEP
Monday, Feb. 1610:00 am    UNLV vs. Utah

LIVE STREAMING: Two of the UNLV Rebels' four games at the Wilson/DeMarini Desert Classic will be streamed in conjunction with the Mountain West Network. The BYU and Utah contests on Friday, Feb. 13 (3:45 pm) and Monday, Feb. 16 (10:00 am) can be found online at UNLVRebels.com.

ON DECK: The UNLV Rebels hit the road for the first time in the 2015 campaign with their first of four trips to the Golden State with a stop in Cathedral City at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic (Feb. 20-22).

This will be UNLV's third straight appearance and 10th in the past 11 seasons to the tournament hosted at the Big League Dreams' site.

The Rebels are slated to play five games beginning with a doubleheader on Feb. 20 versus Ohio State (10:00 am) and Notre Dame (1:00 pm). They'll also square off against Maryland (Feb. 21), UC Santa Barbara (Feb. 22) and Cal Poly (Feb. 22).

LOOKING BACK A WEEK: The UNLV Rebels began the 2015 season at home in their own Sportco Kick Off Classic. UNLV went 3-2 in the three-day event with victories over Louisville (4-0), UC Davis (12-4 in six innings) and Bakersfield (10-0 in five). The Rebels suffered defeats to a pair of ranked foes: #11/14 Washington (10-7) and #15/15 Minnesota (14-3 in five).

UNLV's offense hit at a .336 clip with seven batters owning .300 or better batting averages with a minimum of three hits.

Newcomers Merina Ili and Jade Yadao-Valdez led the group with identical .429 tallies with three hits in seven at-bats.

Garie Blando scattered a team-best six hits, led to a .300 batting average. She also chipped in four RBI and four runs to go along with a pair of stolen bases.

Jamie DePippo and Fahren Glackin had five hits apiece and both hit .417 with a total of 12 at-bats. Alyssa Cordova went 4-for-12 for a .333 average, while Emily Haslinger also had a .333 effort (3-for-9).

DePippo and Cordova topped all Rebels with six run each, while Samantha Juarez was close behind with five.

Cordova, who smashed two home runs, led the team with six RBI. Glackin was next with five.

In the circle, the Scarlet & Gray sent five hurlers to the circle with two of the three wins picked up by Kwyn Cooper. The sophomore tossed 13.1 innings in three starts.

Francesca Foti registered the third win. Foti tossed 6.0 innings with three appearances, which includes one start.