DEMARINI DESERT CLASSIC//ELLER MEDIA STADIUM & STEPHANIE LYNN PARK//FEB. 16-19

Tournament Central // DeMarini Notes

GAME ONE:

UNLV VS. NORTHERN IOWA // Thursday, Feb. 16 // 6:45 p.m. // Eller Media Stadium

GAME TWO:

UNLV VS. WEBER STATE // Friday, Feb. 17 // 2:30 p.m. // Eller Media Stadium

GAME THREE:

UNLV VS. UTEP // Friday, Feb. 17 // 4:45 p.m. // Eller Media Stadium

GAME FOUR:

UNLV VS. MEMPHIS // Saturday, Feb. 18 // 4:45 p.m. // Eller Media Stadium

GAME FIVE:

UNLV VS. IDAHO STATE // Sunday, Feb. 19 // 1:30 p.m. // Eller Media Stadium

LIVE STATS/VIDEO/UPDATES
Live stats for all five games are available at www.UNLVRebels.com. Live updates can also be found by following @UNLVSoftball on twitter. Thursday's Northern Iowa game will also be streamed live at www.unlvrebels.com/videos.

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV Softball had a productive opening weekend of the 2017 season, going 3-2 in the 10th Annual Sportco Kick Off Classic at Eller Media Stadium. Two of the wins came over ACC foes Louisville and Virginia Tech, with the Louisville win being especially big as the Cardinals were picked to finish second in the ACC and are coming off their 13th-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The season opener didn't quite go as planned as the Rebels mustered plenty of offense with weekend-high 12 hits, but their pitching and defense came up a little short in an 11-5 loss to Indiana State. The team was able to bounce back that same day as the offense continued to roll with 10 more hits in a 10-2 win over Virginia Tech. After the offense was the start on day one of the 2017 season, it was the pitching on day two that stole the show. Entering Saturday morning's matchup against Louisville, the Cardinals had scored 30 runs in their two wins on Friday. They looked like they were going to keep rolling at senior Kwyn Cooper gave up two runs to start the game, but after UNLV gave her the 4-3 lead after two inning, she settled down and held them scoreless the rest of the way before Morgan Ettinger came in for the final two outs and the save. Ettinger went on to start later in the day against Southern Utah, pitching a one-hitter over 5.0 innings. Freshman Breana Burke came in and pitched two scoreless innings to preserve the shutout. The weekend didn't end the way the Scarlet and Gray wanted as they dropped their Sportco finale 5-1 to CSU Bakersfield, but head coach Lisa Dodd was encouraged what she say in weekend one and knows they will only continue to grow and get better from here.

The Rebels have a quick turnaround as the host a home tournament for the second-straight weekend. UNLV will welcome 15 teams to Las Vegas for the DeMarini Desert Classic, which will take place at Eller Media Stadium and Stephanie Lynn Park in Henderson from Thursday, Feb. 16 - Sunday, Feb 19. All five of the UNLV games will take place at Eller Media Stadium. They open their tournament slate against Northern Iowa on Thursday night at 6:45 p.m., followed by matchups against Weber State and UTEP on Friday at 2:30 pm. and 4:45 p.m, respectively in the team's only double header of the weekend. The Rebels' Saturday game is slated for 4:45 p.m., while they will wrap up the DeMarini Classic on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. against Idaho State.

For list of full tournament participants and schedule please visit unlvrebels.com.

QUICK HITTERS

• This is the third-consecutive year the Rebels have started 3-2 under Lisa Dodd.
• If the Rebels can go 4-1 on the weekend to get to 7-3, they will capture their best start under Dodd and second-best start since they went 8-2 to start the 2008 season.
• Dodd's head coaching record currently sits at 99 wins, all coming at UNLV. One more win this weekend will give her 100 career wins.
• Fast starts - the Rebels scored at least one run in the first inning of all but one game on opening weekend, with multi-run first innings against Louisville (4) and Southern Utah (3).
• Senior Brianna Gatlin has started the season on a five-game hitting streak. Gatlin transferred from Utah Valley this past offseason, and had an impressive start to her Rebel career. She currently leads the team in batting average (.500), runs (4), hits (8), double (2), triples (2) and tied for the lead in RBIs. Three of those RBIs came on her triples, one in the big win against Louisville and two more in the win against Southern Utah.
• The Rebels have the Cardinals number. The two teams have faced off three times in the the series history, with all games coming in the last four years. UNLV has now won all three matchups, including a knockoff of the 18th-ranked Cardinals in their first-ever meeting on Feb. 8, 2013.
• The wins over Louisville and Virginia Tech marked the first time the Rebels have beaten two ACC teams in the first five games of the year.
• Pitcher Morgan Ettinger was stellar on the mound in the first weekend of her senior campaign, picking up two wins and a save with a 1.20 ERA, giving up just two runs in 11.2 innings pitched, with 11 strikeouts and four walks. In a 4-0 shutout against Southern Utah, Ettinger held the Thunderbirds hitless through four innings, before giving up her only hit in the fifth.
• It was a big weekend for the newcomers. In addition to Gatlin, sophomore transfer Kiley Harrison also had a big first weekend at UNLV, hitting a home run in just her second at bat in the loss to Indiana State in the season-opener. She went on to start three games at catcher during the weekend, hitting .462, good for second behind Gatlin, with six hits, three runs and four RBIs. Harrison and the veteran Brooke Stover should be a great platoon behind the plate this season.
• The freshmen also made their early. Justine Federe, Mara Kemmer and Emily Vela collected 14 starts between the three of them, with Federe starting at shortstop, Kemmer in right field/designated player and Vela at second base. All three were solid in the field, not looking intimidated by the speed of the college game. Federe and Kemmer were particularly comfortable at the plate as the two combined to hit .258 with eight hits, two runs and seven RBIs.
• Jade Yadao-Valdez led all returners at the plate, where she batted .357 with five hits, three runs and one RBI. She was especially good at getting on base with her speed and putting pressure on the opponents with her threat to steal. Yadao-Valdez also had a solid weekend at third base after spending most of the last season in the outfield. Junior Janine Petmecky and sophomore Myranda Bueno were also strong in the outfield, while Petmecky carried over her consistency from last season at the plate, hitting .375 with six hits and two runs on the first weekend.
• After committing six errors in the season-opener, the Rebels settled down with just three over their final four games of the weekend.

SCOUTING NORTHERN IOWA
Northern Iowa hosted an opening weekend tournament as well, going 4-1 with wins over Toledo (8-0), Montana (10-2), South Dakota State (3-2) and Nebraska-Omaha 4-0. The Panthers lone loss came in a 1-0 decision to Wisconsin. As a team, UNI is hitting .237, led by Bailey Lange with a .417 average with five hits, four runs and four RBIs. Lange is also a dual threat as she went 2-1 in the cirlce with a .053 ERA on opening weekend. As a whole, pitching has been their strong suit in the young season as Lange and two other Panther pitchers have accounted for all their innings so far, sporting a 1.13 ERA with 36 strikeouts.

SCOUTING WEBER STATE
The Wilcats had a daunting opening weekend slate at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament hosted by No. 6 UNLV. Not only did they face the Bruins twice, WSU also took on No. 22 Notre Dame in addition to Long Beach State and San Diego State. Overall, the Wildcats finished 0-4-1 on the weekend, with the tie coming against LBSU. As a team, the WSU is hitting .270, with Sara Hinsberer leading the way with a .500 average, seven hits, two RBIs and three runs. Facing talented offenses, the pitching staff had some struggles with an 11.41 ERA that's sure to drop as the season continues for the Big Sky preseason favorites.

SCOUTING UTEP
UTEP also had a challenging start to their 2017 campaign a the Kajikawa Claasic in Tempe, Ariz. The Miners went 0-5 after falling to Stanford (10-1), Arizona State (8-0 [5]), Saint Mary's College (3-1), Virginia (5-4) and no. 17 Utah (9-0 [5]). The Miners hit .189 and scored six runs. The pitching staff tallied an 8.06 ERA, while walking 33 batters. Taylor Sargent got off to a solid start, hitting .385 (5-of-13) and producing 31 putouts in five starts at first base.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS
The Tigers went 3-2 on weekend number one of the 2017 season, with two wins over Georgetown (2-1, 9-7) and one over FIU (3-2), and two losses to FIU (12-4, 2-3). The team hit .290 behind the plate, with senior Lindsay Crowdus in front with a whopping .786 average after going 11-of-14 at the plate with three RBIs and four runs. In the circle, American Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week Molly Smith went 1-1 with a 1.11 ERA in 12.2 innings pitched, finishing the weekend with eight strikeouts and two earned runs allowed. As a pitching staff, the Tigers hold a solid 2.04 ERA with 24 strikeouts.

SCOUTING IDAHO STATE
Idaho State did not play on opening weekend, so the DeMarini Desert Classic will be the team's first action of 2017. The Bengals are coming off 28-23 record and a second place finish in the Big Sky Conference in 2016. Idaho State returns three-time first-team all-conference player, Kacie Burnett. Last season the Idaho State outfielder led the league in batting average at .454. She had 79 hits and 27 stolen bases. ISU also returns starters Alex Portesi, Ashlyn Ames, and Sarah Hayes.

-UNLV-