RENO, Nev. (UNLVRebels.com) -- UNLV baseball (12-15, 2-10 Mountain West) will resume conference play on Thursday as it travels to face in-state rival Nevada, Reno. The Rebels and Wolf Pack met earlier this season in Las Vegas, where UNR took two-of-three from UNLV. The series between the two teams starts on Thursday instead of Friday and will have Easter Sunday off. Sophomore D.J. Myers will get the nod for the Rebels on Thursday and he is scheduled to face the Wolf Pack's Jason Deitrich. The Friday and Saturday starters have yet to be announced for UNLV, while UNR is slated to send Christian Stolo and Cameron Rowland to the mound, respectively.

SCOUTING THE REBELS
UNLV baseball (12-15, 2-10 Mountain West) was on the wrong end of a series sweep last weekend as San Diego State won all three games against the Rebels. It was the first time since 2012 that UNLV was swept at home. Earlier this week, in midweek action, the Rebels lost to Long Beach State 5-4. Before the series with SDSU, the team collected a midweek victory over Grand Canyon and three wins over Northwestern. The team defeated GCU 7-1 on March 17 and followed up with a 3-1 series victory over the Wildcats. UNLV defeated Northwestern 9-8 in 15 innings, 11-8 in the second game of the doubleheader on Saturday and 7-2 on Sunday. The Rebels' lone loss came in the first game of the doubleheader as the team fell 13-12. UNLV opened the season with a series victory over No. 23 Nebraska, but dropped its series opener with the Huskers in front of a record 3,173 fans 2-0. The Rebels bounced back to defeat Nebraska 5-3 on Saturday and then recorded a shut out with a 3-0 win on Sunday. It was the first series win over a ranked team since 2014 when the Rebels swept No. 24 New Mexico. It was also the first time since the Rebels joined the Mountain West that they shut out a ranked team. Sophomore D.J. Myers (2-2, 3.32 ERA) is scheduled to start for UNLV on Thursday. The Friday and Saturday starters will be announced later. The team's bull pen has been anchored by two of the best closers in school history: juniors Zack Hartman and Brayden Torres. Senior Joey Lauria (2-1, 2.66 ERA) owns the best strikeout-to-walk ration on the team as he has recorded 26 punch outs against only three walks in 23.2 innings of work. From the plate, the Rebels have been led by senior Dylan Ellis, who is hitting .403. Ellis, who has been a reserve for most of his career, has worked his way into the lineup after swinging a hot bat and has started 18 of the team's 26 games. He has recorded 10 games with multiple hits, which is also leads the team. Classmate Erik VanMeetren leads the team with four home runs and is hitting .330 on the year with 17 RBI. Freshman Payton Squier is hitting .343 and leads the team with 37 hits. He has also recorded seven steals, which is tied for a team-high with classmate Austin Anderson, who is hitting .312. Senior Morgan Stotts is hitting .269 and leads the team with 21 RBI.

SCOUTING THE WOLF PACK
Nevada, Reno (23-6, 9-3 Mountain West) comes into its series with UNLV having won 10 of its last 12 games. The only two losses in that stretch came at San Jose State last Friday and earlier this week in midweek action at Santa Clara. The Wolf Pack dropped the series opener to the Spartans 5-4 before bouncing back to beat SJSU 22-1 and 4-2 on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The Broncos shut out UNR 3-0 on Monday. The Wolf Pack is led by its offense and Ryan Howell leads the team with a batting average of .385 with a team-high nine home runs and 40 RBI. Cal Stevenson (.372), Austin Byler (.344), Bryce Greager (.325) and Trenton Brooks (.320) are all hitting over .300 for the team. From the mound the squad is led by Thursday's starting pitcher Jason Deitrich, who owns a 4-1 record to go with a 2.20 ERA. Friday night's scheduled starter Christian Stolo leads the team with 35 strikeouts.

UNLV - NEVADA, RENO SERIES HISTORY
The Rebels and Wolf Pack have met 130 times and UNLV leads the overall series 78-52. The schools met earlier this season, when UNR took two of three from the Rebels, winning 5-4 in the Friday contest and 8-5 in the Sunday game. UNLV captured its only victory over its rival 1-0 in the Saturday meeting. Junior Kenny Oakley pitched a complete-game shutout and earned Mountain West pitcher of the Week honors for his efforts. The Rebels and Wolf Pack last met in Reno during the 2013 season, where UNLV captured a sweep of UNR.

ON DECK
After its three-game series with in-state rival Nevada, Reno, UNLV will play four non-conference games. The Rebels will first host Arizona State on Tuesday before traveling to face Ohio State Friday through Sunday. The game against the Sun Devils returns a midweek trip after UNLV lost to ASU 5-4 on March 11 in Phoenix, Ariz. The Sun Devils lead the overall series 60-14-1. The matchup between the Rebels and Buckeyes will mark the second series meeting between the two programs. The only other time UNLV and Ohio State met on the diamond was in 1998 where they split a two-game series.

GOVERNOR'S SERIES PRESENTED BY NV ENERGY
UNLV and Nevada, Reno are in the midst of the third year of the Governor's Series Presented by NV Energy and sponsored by Barrick Gold. Three points will be awarded to the winner of the six-game baseball series as the Wolf Pack travels to Las Vegas March 6-8 and the Rebels will travel to Reno, Nev. April 2-4.

On October 8, 2012 Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval announced the launch of the Governor's Series, presented by NV Energy. This historic, new competition establishes a formal head-to-head athletic and academic challenge between longtime rivals -- the UNLV Rebels and the Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack. The all-encompassing competition will annually crown one school the winner of the Governor's Series.

The series is currently trailing tied at 12 points per school. The Rebels, who have won the series each of the first two years, captured points in volleyball, women's indoor track and field and men's basketball this season. The Wolf Pack received points for their higher finishes in cross country and women's swimming and their football victory. The two teams split the women's soccer and women's basketball points. Other sports with points still available are men's and women's tennis (three points each), softball, men's and women's golf (three points each), women's outdoor track and field and points for APR.