- Friday, March 29 | 6 p.m. at San Diego State | San Diego, CA | Live Stats | Live Video
- Saturday, March 30 | 6 p.m. at San Diego State | San Diego, CA | Live Stats
- Sunday, March 31 | 12 p.m. at San Diego State | San Diego, CA | Live Stats
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team will be itching to get back on the field this weekend after its series at Utah State was cut short when rain wreaked havoc on the schedule in Logan. The Rebels played a doubleheader Saturday and routed the Aggies 12-0 in five innings in game one before dropping a close 4-3 contest in game two. With Sunday's rubber match cancelled, the series ended in a 1-1 stalemate. The weekend split moved the Scarlet and Gray to 22-7 overall on the year and a 3-2 mark in Mountain West play. That is the third-best record through 29 games in program history and best start since 1995.
The Rebels will now turn their attention to San Diego State, who they've lost two straight series to the last two years. The three-game tilt will take place March 29-31 at SDSU Softball Stadium with series first pitch set for Friday at 6 p.m. PT.
UNLV, who received votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll last week for the first time since 2009, garnered votes in a different poll this week as the Rebels received a pair of votes in the ESPN/USA Today DI Collegiate Top 25 poll. Through two weeks of play, UNLV is fourth in the conference standings, with Colorado State on top with a 6-0 mark in Mountain West games.
After spending four of its past five weekends away from Eller Media Stadium, the Rebels will finally return home April 5-7 for a three-game series against Fresno State, who they swept in Fresno last spring. The following weekend will be a big one as the Rebels will travel to Fort Collins to take on the red-hot Rams, April 12-14.
QUICK HITTERS
• The 22-7 start is the third-best through 29 games in program history. The 1995 squad owns the best record at 24-5 and the 1991 team's 23-6 record is second best
• UNLV has three wins over ranked teams (in USAToday/NFCA and/or USA Softball Top 25 poll) this year marking the first time since 2005 the Rebels have beaten three ranked teams in the same season
• UNLV has winning streaks of six games and two different four-game win streaks this season, while its longest losing streak is only two
• The Rebels need just 11 wins to match last year's total of 33 with 22 games still left to play
• With the 1-1 split against USU, the Rebels weren't able to earn their first series win over the Aggies since 2015, but if a make up game is necessary later in the season they will have that chance
• The Rebels will be looking for their first series win over SDSU since 2016 - last year in Las Vegas the Aztecs took two of three and the previous year UNLV was swept in San Diego State
• The offense has been strong in 2019, hitting .334 (ranks 13th in the country) with 164 runs in 29 games, while UNLV has outscored its opponent 164-60 this season and have only been shut out three times
• UNLV has scored six or more runs in 16 of 29 games and are 16-0 in those games. The Rebels have been held to four hits or fewer just six times this year. The 12 runs scored against Utah State in game one Saturday were a season-high
• UNLV has also been patient at the plate, drawing 89 walks in 29 games (best in the MW), and have been lights out with runners in scoring position as they hit .349 in those situations compared to .224 for their opponents. They are also hitting .348 with two outs
• Pinch-hitting has been successful for Fox and the Rebels this year as they are hitting .333 (14-for-42) in those situations. Freshman
Statia Cermak leads the way at 5-for-7 (.714)
•
Mia Trejo has a team-high 19 walks, 8 more than the next closest Rebel
• The defense has also been outstanding, committing just 13 errors in 29 games with a .983 fielding percentage, which currently ranks fourth in the country. For the season, the Rebels have committed more than one error in a game only twice and are 15-3 when they don't commit an error
• Outside of a few hiccups, the pitching staff has been outstanding this year. The trio of
Jenny Bressler,
Charlie Masterson and
Breana Burke have combined for a 2.15 ERA, which leads the MW. Bressler, the 2018 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year, has had a stellar start to her career going 14-3 with a 1.70 ERA and a team-high 79 strikeouts
• This past weekend in Logan, Bressler went 1-1 after pitching 3.0 scoreless innings in the 12-0 shutout in game one to pick up her 14th win, but was tagged with the loss in game two after the Aggies used a three-run fifth for the come-from-behind, handing the freshman just her third loss of the year. When Bressler allowed a fourth-inning run in game two to tie the game at one, it was only her second allowed run in her last 37.0 innings pitched. Her three runs in the fifth were the most allowed by the right-hander since she gave up two to Portland State on Feb. 23. Was also just the fourth time in 21 appearance she'd allowed more than two runs
• UNLV has allowed three runs or fewer in 14 of its last 16 games and one run or fewer in nine of its last 11 games. UNLV's 12-0 win over USU Saturday was its ninth shutout of the year and the seventh run-rule win
• The Rebels success has come in part to their ability to strike early, with 99 of their 164 runs coming in the first four innings
• UNLV suffered its first loss of the season when scoring first in the 4-3 loss to Utah State Saturday. They had been 17-0 coming into the weekend when scoring first. Scoring first and early has still been key as they are 17-0 when leading after four innings
• UNLV went 20-for-20 on stolen base attempts to start the season and is currently 40-44 (steal and attempts both lead the MW), far surpassing their season total of 31 a year ago
• For the second weekend in a row, Trejo hit one over the wall. Her two-run shot in the fifth gave the Rebels a 12-0 lead and for the game she went 3-for-4 with four RBI and two runs scored. In the two games she was on fire, going 5-for-7 with six RBI, two runs scored, one double and one home run
• The Rebels now have 17 home runs through 29 games after having just 20 in 53 total games last year
•
Myranda Bueno will enter the weekend on a four-game hitting streak, where she's gone 6-for-9 (.333)
• Junior
Justine Federe owns the Rebels' longest hitting streak of the season at 15 games while
Lauren Tycksen is second with a nine gamer. Bondi enters the weekend on a three three-game streak
• Junior
Lauren Tycksen continues to be a consistent force at the plate. Her .442 average leads the team while her 42 hits rank tied for 22nd in the NCAA
• The Rebels have eight players hitting over .300 (Harrison, Bueno, Diaz, Trejo, Bondi, Federe, Cermak and Tycksen) including two over .400 (Cermak and Tycksen)
• Tycksen and fellow junior
Reina Bondi have been a lethal 1-2 punch at the top of lineup, combining to go 77-for-191 (.404) with 63 runs scored and 29 RBI. The two have also combined to go 29-for-31 on stolen bases, with Bondi's 15-for-15 a new career high
• Returners
Justine Federe,
Mia Trejo,
Myranda Bueno &
Samantha Diaz have also been productive at the plate, going 112-for-312 (.358) with 56 runs scored, 12 home runs and 84 RBI
• Tycksen leads the way with 14 multi-hit games this season, while Bondi is second with 11. Federe and Trejo are tied for a team-best seven multi-RBI games
• Freshman
Statia Cermak has made the most of her opportunities at the plate this season as she is 14-for-35 (.400)
•
Jenny Bressler earned back-to-back Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honors on March 12 & March 19, becoming the first Rebel to win the award in back-to-back weeks since Amanda Oliveto in 2013
• 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
• Top 25 DI Polls:
- This week, the Rebels received two votes in the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 Poll
- On. March 19, UNLV received 15 votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll Tuesday, marking the first time since April 1, 2009 they had received votes in that poll
• RPI: UNLV debuted in the season's first RPI at No. 36 on Monday, March 18. This week, they currently sit at No. 41
• NCAA: The Rebels rank fourth in fielding percentage (.983); 13th in the country in batting average (.334); tied for 24th in win-loss percentage (.759) and 33rd in ERA (2.15). Junior
Lauren Tycksen is 34th in batting average (.442), 22nd in hits (42) and 34th in runs per game (1.07). Junior
Reina Bondi ranks 26th in runs per game (1.10) and 52nd in stolen bases per game (.52). Junior
Justine Federe and sophomore
Mia Trejo are tied for 22nd nationally in sacrifice flies (3). Freshman
Jenny Bressler is ninth in wins (14) and 21st in shutouts (4).
• Mountain West: Rebels rank at the top or near the top in most major offensive, pitching and defensive statistical categories. They rank tied first in hits (247), first in batting average (.334), second in on-base percentage (.404), tied for second in RBI (150) and third in runs (164) and slugging percentage (.468). UNLV ranks first in ERA (2.15) and runs allowed (60), second in batters struck out (145) and fourth in opposing batting average (.249). Defensively, UNLV's .984 fielding percentage and 13 errors rank each first in the conference. Tycksen ranks first in hits (42) and batting average (.442) and third in runs scored (31).
Reina Bondi ranks second in run scored (32) and tied for second with 15 stolen bases, while
Justine Federe is tied for third in the MW with 28 RBI. Freshman
Jenny Bressler leads in innings pitched (99.0), tied for first strikeouts (79) and first batters struck out looking (28) and wins (14).
LIVE STATS/UPDATES
Live stats links and video links are available at
www.UNLVRebels.com. Live updates can also be found by following @UNLVSoftball on twitter.
