May 3, 2017 2017 UNLV Baseball Weekly Notes
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV baseball returns to Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium for a three-game, Mountain West series against the Fresno State Bulldogs, which gets underway Friday evening at 6:05 pm. Games two and three will follow Saturday (2:05 pm) and Sunday (1:05 pm).
TUNE IN, WATCH & LISTEN: Fans can follow along with the UNLV-Fresno State baseball series via live video provided by the Mountain West Network free of charge. Links to the streams as well as live stats will be provided at UNLVRebels.com.
PROMOTIONAL ITEMS OF INTEREST
Friday, May 5 - "Cinco de Mayo": Fans 21 years of age and older can purchase $1 beers for the first 600 pours courtesy of Miller-Coors and the UNLV Baseball Club ... Smoke 'N Sam's BBQ will also have $2 street tacos and $5 nachos.
DOWN THE STRETCH THEY COME: The UNLV baseball team has nine games remaining in their 2016 regular-season campaign, all of which are against Mountain West competition. Six of the nine contests - three each against Fresno State and San Jose State - will take place at home while three more are on the road against Nevada, Reno.
With the MW changing its postseason tournament format - only the league's top-four teams qualify, the Rebels, who sit in seventh place, are still in striking distance of one of four spots. Currently, Fresno State (11-10) and Air Force (10-13) are third and fourth, respectively, while Nevada, Reno (9-14) and San Jose State (8-14-1) are just one-to-two games ahead of UNLV.
ON DECK: The UNLV baseball team will hit the road for the final time during the 2017 regular season next weekend (May 12-14) and venture to Northern Nevada to square off against the Nevada, Reno Wolf Pack.
Not only do next week's games have implications in the Mountain West's standings, but also towards the Governor's Series presented by NV Energy and Barrick Gold. To date, UNLV leads UNR by three points, 21-18, in the fifth iteration of the head-to-head athletic and academic competition between the Silver States two NCAA Division I programs. The Rebels have won all four competitions dating back to the competitions inaugural year (2012-13).
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.
NATIONALLY SPEAKING: The UNLV baseball team has scattered 501 hits and produced a .299 batting average to rank ninth and 37th, respectively, in those two categories amongst NCAA Division I programs through April 30. The hit haul ranks third in the Mountain West, while the average is fifth best in the Conference.
With assistance from the hit total, the Rebels sit 58th in slugging percentage (.436) and 121st in on-base percentage (.367). They are in the top 100 in all three extra-base categories: 15th in triples (16), 22nd in doubles (93) and 93rd in home runs (35). In turn, those hits have helped place the team 87th in runs (265) and 135th in scoring (5.6).
Individually, Ernie De La Trinidad ranks as high as ninth in hit-by-pitch (16). De La Trinidad is also 39th in triples (four), 42nd in on-base percentage (.473), 69th in hits (62) and 74th in batting average (.369).
Payton Squier comes in fourth overall in toughest to strikeout (21.0) and sits behind De La Trinidad in hits at No. 87 (61).
REACHING BASE ONE GAME AT A TIME: Entering this weekend's series against Fresno State, UNLV baseball's Ernie De La Trinidad has reached base in 40 straight games. That impressive haul is the fifth-longest streak to-date; however, it's the third longest of those that are still active with Murray State's Brandon Gutzler and Air Force's Tyler Jones run of 43 tied atop the list.
Most recently, Air Force's Bradley Haslam had his run off 44 games snapped, as did, the 42 straight amassed by Western Carolina's Bryson Bowman.
