March 13, 2017 2017 UNLV Weekly Notes
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball team (8-8) returns to Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium for the backend of a five-game homestand Tuesday and Wednesday against the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Tuesday's affair is slated for a 6:05 pm first pitch while Wednesday's is at 2:05 pm.
UNLV and GCU played twice last season with the visiting squad coming out on top in each contest. The 'Lopes defeated the Rebels, 10-8, in Las Vegas on March 22. UNLV countered with a 7-2 showing in Phoenix on April 4.
TUNE IT, WATCH & LISTEN: Both Tuesday and Wednesday's games of the midweek series agaist the Grand Canyon Antelopes will be streamed free of charge via the Mountain West Network. Additionally, links for live stats as well as the streams can be found at UNLVRebels.com.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS OF INTEREST
Tuesday, March 14 - $2 Tuesday: Tickets and hot dogs are $2 apiece; beer will be discounted $2 ... Free St. Patrick's Day t-shirt to the first 150 fans.
Wednesday, March 15 - Lunch at the Ballpark: Show your business card for free entry ... Enjoy a $5 lunch combo from Smoke 'N Sam's BBQ!
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING ... NCAA NUMBERS BY THE TEAM: The UNLV baseball team is ranked within the top 100 of 13 different NCAA statistics for games played through March 12. UNLV is ranked as high as 25th in batting average (.313) and 27th in hits (170). The team is also 32nd in triples (six), 36th in on-base percentage (.401) and 40th in triples per game (0.40).
Rounding out the other categories, the Rebels are 56th in slugging percentage (.439), 57th in doubles (30), 62nd in doubles per game (2.00), 66th in runs (100), 70th in scoring (6.7), 72nd in stolen bases (18), 86th in walks (67) and 88th in stolen bases (1.20).
WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC UPDATE: The UNLV baseball team has three alumni participating in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Both Blake Gailen (2006-07) and Dean Kremer (2016) are playing for Israel while Efren Navarro (2005-07) is representing Mexico.
Israel swept through "Pool A' competition (March 6-1) in Seoul with wins over Korea, Chinese Taipei and Netherlands. The team is now in the midst of "Pool E" action in Tokyo with Japan, Cuba and Netherlands. Currently, Japan leads the quartet at 1-0. Netherlands and Israel are tied for second at 1-1; however, the former owns the tiebreaker with a 12-2 win over the latter. Cuba sits fourth at 0-1.
Israel needs to defeat Japan Wednesday (3:00 am PT) to have a chance of advancing to Los Angeles and Dodgers Stadium as one of the final four.
Gailen has played in five games and is hitting .308 with four hits in 13 at-bats. He has knocked in three RBI.
Kremer has only seen action in one game with 0.2 innings of work. He struck out one against one run and three hits.
Mexico, on the other hand, went 1-2 in "Pool D" play with its lone win, 11-9, coming in its finale against Venezuela.
Navarro hit at a .444 clip with four hits in nine at-bats. He scored three runs and plated one RBI.
ON DECK: With the conclusion of the midweek series against Grand Canyon, the UNLV Rebels will hit the road for five straight. UNLV will travel to America's Finest City - Friday-Sunday - for three in Mountain West play against the San Diego State Aztecs. The Rebels will then head to the West Texas plains for a two-game set against the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who are ranked as high as No. 4 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Top 25 Poll, in Lubbock.
HITTIN' THE ROAD: With the conclusion of the midweek series against Grand Canyon, the UNLV Rebels will play 14 of their next 17 contests on the road. Trips to San Diego and Lubbock, Texas, will take place before UNLV returns to Earl E. Wilson Stadium to face New Mexico (March 24-26). The Rebels also trek to Phoenix (March 28 and April 11 at Arizona State), Iowa City, Iowa (March 31-April 2) and Colorado Springs, Colorado (April 7-9 at Air Force). In between the jaunts to the Hawkeye and Centennial States will be a game in Las Vegas against Utah Valley (April 4).
BACK HOME AGAIN AT EARL E.: The UNLV Rebels return to Las Vegas for a three-game, Mountain West series against the New Mexico Lobos in two weeks (March 24-26).
GET YOUR TICKETS: Fans can purchase tickets for $5 online and in advance at UNLVTickets.com. Tickets purchased at the Wilson Stadium box office are $8 for adults, $6 for senior/faculty/staff, while kids 12 and under as well as UNLV students are free.
