4/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game Notes | 2016 Quick Facts | Record Book
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV softball heads onto the road for the second time in Mountain West play to face Boise State this weekend. The Rebels and Broncos square off Friday at 3:00 p.m. to kick off the weekend series. The two teams will then play on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and 11:00 a.m. on Sunday in the series finale.
UNLV has taken the last two series, winning five of the past six games against Boise State.
STREAMING LIVE
All three games will have a live video stream as part of the Mountain West Network that can be accessed directly at BroncoSports.com/videos.
SCOUTING UNLV
The Rebels, under fourth-year head coach Lisa Dodd, stand 18-20 overall and 2-7 in Mountain West play. After 38 games, senior 2B Alyssa Cordova is the Rebels' leading hitter with a .368 batting average and .443 on-base percentage. She has a team-best eight doubles and 20 runs and shares the team lead with 12 walks in addition to 17 RBI. Sophomore CF/IF Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez follows with a .353 batting average and 18 runs on 30 hits and 13 RBI. The speedster Yadao-Valdez leads the team in stolen bases, swiping eight bases in 10 attempts. Senior 3B/1B Jamie DePippo has hit a team-best five home runs and 21 RBI. DePippo (.297) also leads the team with 25 runs on 35 hits, three doubles and five stolen bases. Sophomore UTL/RHP Janine Petmecky (.345), one of six Rebels with a batting average over .300, shares the team lead in walks with Cordova and senior SS Garie Blando and has a team-high 40 hits, seven doubles and 19 RBI. Even with just 59 at-bats, senior C Emily Haslinger has 18 RBI, three doubles, two triples, three home runs and a team-high .593 slugging percentage.
In the circle junior 1B/RHP Kwyn Cooper (3.17 ERA) sports a 7-8 record in 90.2 innings pitched and 16 starts, the most of any Rebels. Cooper's struck out 25 batters, walked 28 and hit only two batters. Freshman 1B/RHP Alyssa Batastini (3.78) has made 10 starts and 26 appearances, the most of the pitching staff. Batastini has fanned 32 batters and walked 28. Petmecky (4.40) has started seven games and made 20 appearances. With a 3-4 record, she has 15 strikeouts and 12 walks in 55.2 innings pitched.
SCOUTING BOISE STATE
The Broncos, under the guidance of second‐year head coach Cindy Ball, stand 10-27 overall and 2-7 in Mountain West play. Freshman C/3B Morgan Lamb boasts a team-high .368 batting average and also leads the team with nine doubles. Freshman INF Rebekah Cervantes (.360), the only Bronco to start all 37 games, leads the team in runs (23), hits (36), home runs (eight) and slugging percentage (.650). Senior OF/1B Teauna Hughes (.357) has started in the second most games (34) and has 20 runs, 35 hits, seven doubles, six home runs and a team-high .434 on-base percentage. Junior OF Izzy Serrano (.314) is the only other Boise State player to have a batting average over the .300 mark, and has 27 hits, 10 RBI and nine walks.
In the circle five different pitchers have combined to throw all but 3.1 innings. Junior P Jenna Bassler (5.47 ERA) has the top ERA of the staff and sports a 1-9 record in 48.2 innings pitched, 16 appearances and 10 starts. Bassler has walked 37 batters with 25 strikeouts. Senior P Nicole Wilson (5.72) has pitched a team-high 67.1 innings in 23 appearances and seven starts with a 4-6 record. Wilson has 20 walks and 32 strikeouts. Junior P Mackenzie McGill has been the other primary starter with 10 starts in 15 appearances. In 44 innings pitched McGill has struck out 14 hitters and walked 26.
WHERE THE REBELS RANK IN THE MW
• UNLV ranks first in the Mountain West in six offensive categories: hits (298), triples (9), total plate appearances (1,134), sac bunts (40), stolen bases (39) and steal attempts (49). The Rebels also rank first in two pitching categories: innings pitched (247) and intentional walks allowed (1).
• Janine Petmecky is eighth in total bases (61), fifth in hits (40), fourth in plate appearances (132) and at-bats (116), tied for six in striking out batters looking (14), ninth in appearances (19), tied for seventh in least home runs allowed (five) and fourth in putouts (190).
• Alyssa Cordova ranks 10th in the MW in on-base percentage (.443), tied for sixth in hits (39) and third in assists (92).
• Jamie DePippo is tied for sixth in the conference in runs scored (25), tied for eighth in hits (35), tied for second in plate appearances (134) and tied for fourth in assists.
• Kwyn Cooper is tied for second in hit by pitches for pitching (two) in the conference and 13th nationally, tied for 10th in stolen bases (six), fifth in ERA (3.17), tied for third for appearances (24), fifth in innings pitched (90.2), eighth in wins (seven) and fourth in games started (16).
• Alyssa Batastini ranks second in the MW in appearances (26), first in games in relief (16) and ninth in innings pitched (70.1).
• Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez ranks tied for sixth in stolen bases (eight) in the conference while junior OF Courtney Beavers is ninth with seven.
• Sophomore C Brooke Stover has been the primary catcher for the Rebels, starting in all but two games, is first in runners picked off (four) in the conference and tied for fifth in caught stealing by (five).
• Despite missing the first eight games, Garie Blando ranks seventh in assists (83).
• The Rebels have used sac bunts all season long to advance baserunners, placing first in the conference. Four different Rebels place in the top ten for sac bunts so far this season: DePippo has eight to rank third and freshman OF Myranda Bueno, Cooper and senior OF Francesca Foti are all tied for sixth with six.
• UNLV has been one of the best at turning double plays in the nation, ranking 27th in the NCAA (.47 per game). In the MW, Cordova (10) is tied for fifth in fielding double plays while Petmecky is tied for eighth (eight).
THE REBELS GO WHERE THE OFFENSE GOES
The offense has primarily dictated the end result for UNLV. The Rebels are 13-1 when scoring at least six runs but are winless in 10 games when scoring below three runs. When UNLV out-hits opponents they are 12-2 but 3-16 when they are out-hit. UNLV has maintained a lead after four innings 15 of 17 games, but have only come back for wins trailing after four innings three of 20 games.
OTHER UNLV NOTES AND TRENDS
• Three Rebels- Alyssa Cordova, Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez and Janine Petmecky- have started every game this season.
• Senior C Emily Haslinger has been one of the better power hitters in UNLV history during her four years donning the Scarlet and Grey. She ranks ninth in program history in home runs with 30 and fifth in slugging percentage with .594.
• UNLV defeated Santa Clara 20-1 on March 11 in the Rebel Classic and tied two school records in the blowout win. The Rebels tied the record for runs scored in a game with 20. The previous time the Rebels scored 20 runs was on May, 2 1981 against Redlands. Bueno tied the school record for most doubles in a game with three, joining Jaci Hull (Mar. 24, 2007 versus Sacramento State) as the only Rebels to do so.
• UNLV faced five non-conference opponents for the first time in program history: Lamar, South Dakota, Robert Morris, Valparaiso, and Grand Canyon.
• The Rebels opened MW play at home against San Diego State, capturing the last two wins of the series.
• All six Division I schools in Utah have played multiple games in Las Vegas. Utah State swept this past weekend and also played five games in the DeMarini Desert Classic (Feb. 19-21) and five more in the Rebel Classic (Feb. 11-13). Utah Valley played five games in the Sportco Kick Off Clasic (Feb. 12-14) and lost to UNLV 11-1 in five innings on Feb. 14. Weber State, BYU and Utah all played in the DeMarini Desert Classic. Southern Utah played UNLV twice in the DeMarini Desert Classic and UNLV Classic (March 3-6).
ON DECK
UNLV returns home to face in-state rival Nevada, Reno next weekend. The Rebels and Wolf Pack will play next Friday at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday at 1:00 p.m. and end the series on Sunday at 12:00 p.m.
