LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team is off to another strong start under second year head coach
Kristie Fox as the Rebels are 11-3 through the first 14 games for the second consecutive year. The record marks just the fifth time in the program's 35-year history that a team has started at 11-3 or better. Despite going 2-2 at UC Riverside's Amy S. Harrison Classic last weekend, the Rebels have been clicking on all cylinders through the first weeks, leading the Mountain West offensively, defensively and in the circle in several major statistical categories (see below under Rebels in the Rankings).
UNLV will head out on the road again this weekend, traveling east to South Carolina for Coastal Carolina's Chanticleer Showdown, March 1-3. It will be a weekend of first meetings for the Rebels, who will be taking on Austin Peay, Radford and Coastal Carolina for the first ever meetings between the programs. UNLV will open the weekend Friday morning against Austin Peay at 8:45 a.m. PT and finish day one with a 3:30 p.m. contest against Jacksonville - the only team the Rebels had faced once before in the past. Saturday will begin with a 6:30 a.m. game against Radford with a 8:45 a.m. matchup with host Coastal Carolina to followed immediately after. The weekend will conclude with a second matchup against Coastal Carolina at 8:15 a.m. PT Sunday.
The Rebels will return home for a midweek contest on Thursday, March 7 as they host San Diego at 1 p.m. at Eller Media Stadium. Immediately after that game they will fly to Stanford, California for a third straight road tournament, March 8-10, hosted by the Cardinal. UNLV will return home March 15-17 to host defending Mountain West Champion Boise State in its conference home-opening series.
QUICK HITTERS
• The 11-3 start marks just the fifth time in program history the Rebels have started at 11-3 or better. The 6-0 record to begin the season was the best start in program history
• UNLV has winning streaks of six games and four games already this season, while its longest losing streak is only two
• The offense has been explosive over the first two weeks, hitting .329 with 86 runs in 14 games, while UNLV has outscored its opponent 86-35 this season and have only been shut out twice
• UNLV has also been patient at the plate, drawing 51 walks in 10 games, and have been lights out with runners in scoring position as they hit .357 in those situations compared to .236 for their opponents
• The defense has also been outstanding, committing just five errors in 10 games with a .987 fielding percentage, which currently ranks sixth in the country. For the season, the Rebels have yet to commit more than one in a game
• The pitching has been a consistent force as the trio of
Charlie Masterson,
Breana Burke and
Jenny Bressler have combined for a 2.48 ERA so far this year. Masterson leads the way with a 2.13 ERA, while Bressler, the 2018 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year, has had a stellar start to her career going 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA and a team-high 39 strikeouts
• The Rebels success has come in part to their ability to strike early, with 58 of their 86 runs coming in the first four innings. Scoring first has also been key as they are 8-0 when they do so
• UNLV went 20-for-20 on stolen base attempts to start the season. After going 5-for-7 on stolen bases this past weekend in California, UNLV is now 30-for-33 in 14 games after swiping just 31 bases all of last season
• The Rebels have five players hitting over .300 (minimum 20 at-bats), led by junior
Lauren Tycksen, who is hitting .478 with 22 hits, 20 runs scored, 10 RBI, three doubles and two triples
• UNLV has hit seven home runs through 14 games after hitting just 20 in 53 games last season
• Tycksen and fellow junior
Reina Bondi have been a lethal 1-2 punch at the top of lineup, combining to go 38-for-97 (.291) with 38 runs scored and 14 RBI. The two have also combined to go 21-for-22 on stolen bases, with Bondi's 11-for-11 a new career high
• The core returners (
Mia Trejo,
Myranda Bueno,
Samantha Diaz and
Justine Federe, not including Bondi) have also been productive at the plate, going 36-for-107 (.337 with 26 runs scored, three home runs and 37 RBI)
• Tycksen leads the way with seven multi-hit games this season, while Bondi is right behind her with six.Tycksen also leads with four multi-RBI game.
• Federe, who is tied for the team lead with 12 RBI, will enter the weekend in South Carolina on a seven-game hitting streak. Tycksen's hitting streak currently stands at four games. Tycksen and Bondi have both had hitting streaks of six games this season, while Trejo and Bueno are stretches of five games with a hit.
•
Samantha Diaz had the longest on-base streak of the season at 10 games and freshman
Statia Cermak matched that Sunday against UC Riverside.
• Cermak has made the most of her opportunities at the plate this season as she is 9-for-15 (.600), which includes 5-for-5 with four RBI in pinch-hit situations
• Junior transfer Tycksen, who was an NFCA Junior College All-American at Salt Lake City Community College last spring, earned her first Mountain West Player of the Week award on Feb. 12 after hitting .625 with 10 runs scored, two triples, five RBI and five stolen bases. She was also named College Sports Madness' Mountain West Player of the Week and was recognized as a Top Performer by the NFCA
RANKING THE REBELS
• NCAA: The Rebels rank 26th in the country in batting average (.329); 41st in runs per game (6.14); 22nd in stolen bases per game (2.14) and sixth in fielding percentage (.987). Junior
Lauren Tycksen is 10th in runs per game (1.43) &
Reina Bondi is tied for 17th (1.29). Tycksen also ranks tied for 16th in the country in hits (22). Junior
Justine Federe is tied for third nationally in sacrific flies (3) In stolen bases per game, Bondi ranks tied for 22nd (.79); Freshman
Jenny Bressler ranks tied for 19th with six wins.
• Mountain West: Rebels rank at the top or near the top in most major offensive, pitching and defensive statistical categories. They rank first in batting average (.329), on-base percentage (.409), runs (86) and hits (119), second in RBI (76) and third in slugging percentage (.436). UNLV's ERA of 2.48 and 93.0 inning pitched rank second and its 35 runs allowed ranks third. Defensively, UNLV's .979 fielding percentage ranks first in the conference. Tycksen ranks first in runs scored (20), batting average (.478) and hits (22) while
Reina Bondi ranks second in run scored (18), first in at-bats (51) and first in stolen bases (11).
LIVE STATS/UPDATES
Live stats links for all four games are available at www.UNLVRebels.com. Live updates can also be found by following @UNLVSoftball on twitter.
