LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team will remain home this weekend at Eller Media Stadium, where the Rebels will host Cal Baptist for a three-game series, April 25 and 26. The first-ever meeting between these two programs will feature a Friday doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. with the series wrapping up Saturday at noon. Saturday's finale will also be a special "Bark In The Park" edition with dogs welcome to attend the game (guidelines below).
This will be the first back-to-back home weekends since early February and the Rebels will hope some more home cooking will help them return to early season form. It will be a welcome break for UNLV after dropping three straight conference series and it will give the Scarlet and Gray the chance to reset before the final two weekends of the Mountain West regular season. Two of the three series losses have come at home in heartbreaking fashion with the Rebels giving up seventh-inning leads in the rubber match games.
Heading into the weekend, UNLV sits at 28-13 and 9-8 in conference play. The Rebels are currently in sixth place in the standings, but just a half game back from Boise State, Fresno State and UNR, who are all tied for third at 8-7. After the Cal Baptist series, the final two weekends will see the Rebels going north to Reno for their annual Silver State series showdown with UNR, May 3-5, before wrapping conference play up, May 9-11, hosting New Mexico on senior weekend at Eller Media Stadium.
BARK IN THE PARK INFORMATION - SATURDAY, APRIL 27
• All owners with dogs much fill out a waiver and bring proof of shot records. Link to online waiver:
https://unlvrebels.com/documents/2019/4/23/Waiver_UNLV_revised.pdf
• Collapsible Dog Bowl to the first 250 fans
• Dogs must stay on leashes at all times
• We will have a dog friendly area as well as dog-free areas
• Areas for dogs to relieve themselves
QUICK HITTERS
• The 27-11 record through 38 games was the third-best in program history and best since the 1995 squad went 29-9. The 1991 team went 30-8
• UNLV has three wins over ranked teams at the time the Rebels played them (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; Stanford, was receiving votes in the two major polls when UNLV beat them twice and they have one win over a Colorado State team that was receiving votes in the NFCA poll
• The Rebels' wins over Stanford marked the first time since 1995 UNLV had beat the same Pac-12 twice in the same season
• The sweep over SDSU, March 29-31, was the first three-game sweep over the Aztecs in program history and first series win in San Diego since 2005. Ninth series win over the Aztecs overall and just fourth time they've gone unbeaten in the regular season against SDSU [1986 (4-0), 1994 (2-0) and 2005 (4-0)]
• UNLV is now 1-1 in extra inning games in 2019 after dropping a 5-3 contest in 12 innings to San Jose State in game two on Friday, April 19; UNLV's 17-inning showdown at SDSU on Sunday, March 31 was the longest game in the country this year (innings-wise) and was the third-longest game in program history program behind an 18-inning 2-1 loss to #14 Long Beach State on April 13, 1991 and a 20-inning 1-0 loss at Fresno State on April 24, 1987;
• The Rebels have lost three straight Mountain West series and six of its last nine games, but have yet to lose three games in a row at any point this year
• UNLV has winning streaks of six games and three different four-game win streaks this season, while its longest losing streak of two has happened four times this year. The Rebels will head into the CBU series on a two-game skid
• During conference play, UNLV is 6-0 in series openers, but haven't fared as well in game twos as they are 1-5
• The Rebels need just five wins to match last year's total of 33 with nine games still left to play
• Head coach
Kristie Fox needs just five wins to reach 200 in her head coaching career
• The offense has been strong in 2019, hitting .316 (ranks tied for 21st in the country) with 214 runs in 41 games, while UNLV has outscored its opponent 214-105 this season and have only been shut out four times
• UNLV has scored six or more runs in 19 of 41 games and are 19-0 in those games. The Rebels have been held to four hits or fewer just seven times this year
• UNLV has also been patient at the plate, drawing 128 walks in 41 games, and for the most part have been lights out with runners in scoring position as they hit .320 in those situations compared to .226 for their opponents
• Scoring first and early has been key in 2019 as the Rebels are 23-3 when they score first and 20-2 when they lead after four innings; On the flip side, when the opponents score first they are 5-10
• Four of UNLV's six series have come down to the rubber match game, with a fifth almost being decided on the third game before the finale at Utah State got canceled. The Rebels have lost two of those series in the seventh inning of game three, allowing a go-ahead home run in the 7th by Fresno State and four runs in the final frame last weekend to San Jose State. The three-run lead against SJSU was the largest blown lead for UNLV in 2019
• Pinch-hitting has been successful for Fox and the Rebels this year as they are hitting .333 (22-for-66) in those situations. Freshman
Statia Cermak has been deadly in the role as she is 8-for-12 (.667)
• The defense has also been outstanding, committing just 27 errors in 41 games with a .978 fielding percentage, which currently ranks ninth in the country. The Rebels have committed more than one error in a game only four times this year and are 15-6 when they don't commit an error
• Outside of a few hiccups as of late, the pitching staff has been outstanding this year. The trio of
Jenny Bressler,
Charlie Masterson and
Breana Burke have combined for a 2.33 ERA, which leads the MW and ranks 34th in the NCAA
• Despite hitting a bit of a rough patch the last few weeks, Bressler, the 2018 Michigan Gatorade Player of the Year, has had a stellar start to her career going 17-5 with a 2.08 ERA. She now has 114 strikeouts on the year, which is first in the MW
• Burke, a junior, is also having a career year as she is now 7-6 with an ERA 2.00, which leads the team and the Mountain West. Unfortunately she was tagged with both losses last weekend after the Spartans got to her in the 12th inning Friday and their game-winning run in game three was charged to her in relief
• UNLV has allowed three runs or fewer in 26 of 41 games this year
• UNLV went 20-for-20 on stolen base attempts to start the season and is currently 52-57, almost doubling their season total of 31 a year ago and marking the most since swiping 68 in 2016. Juniors
Lauren Tycksen and
Reina Bondi have combined for 39 of the 52 stolen bases in 2019
• Against SJSU, the Rebels saw two more home runs from
Mia Trejo and
Samantha Diaz to give them 28 for the season after hitting just 20 in 53 games a season ago
• Overall, Trejo has had another stellar season, especially during Mountain West play, as she's hitting .404 with 23 RBI, two doubles, a triple, five home runs, 12 runs scored and 15 walks. For the season, she's drawn a team-high 31 walks, 16 more than the next closest Rebel. She has been intentionally walked three times.Her home run in the series opener gave her a home run in all five MW series. The eight home runs are a new career high for the sophomore
• Federe owns the Rebels' longest hitting streak of the season at 15 games while Trejo, Harrison and junior
Lauren Tycksen each have a nine-gamer under their belts
• Tycksen continues to be a consistent force at the plate. Her .399 (min. 50 at-bats) average and 55 hits lead the team
• The Rebels have eight players hitting over .300 (Harrison, Bueno, Diaz, Trejo, Bondi, Federe, Cermak and Tycksen) including one at .400 (Cermak)
• Tycksen and fellow junior
Reina Bondi have been a lethal 1-2 punch at the top of lineup, combining to go 93-for-254 (.366) with 75 runs scored and 33 RBI. Tycksen had four more stolen bases over the weekend to give her a team-best 21 this year, while the two have also combined to go 39-for-42 on stolen bases
• Returners
Justine Federe,
Mia Trejo,
Myranda Bueno &
Samantha Diaz have also been productive at the plate, going 168-for-486 (.354) with 83 runs scored, 19 home runs and 112 RBI
• Tycksen leads the way with 18 multi-hit games this season, while Federe is second with 13. Trejo has a team-best 11 multi-RBI games
• Freshman
Statia Cermak has made the most of her opportunities at the plate this season as she is 20-for-50 (.400), including 8-for-12 (.667) as a pinch-hitter
• Trejo earned her first career Mountain West Player of the Week award on April 2 after hitting .400 with five RBI, a three-run home run, four runs scored and five walks
• 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:
- On April 23, the Rebels received one vote in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll
- On April 2, the Rebels received a vote in the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 Poll for the second straight week and returned to the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25 Poll after receiving a vote in that one as well.
- 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. 43
• NCAA: The Rebels rank ninth in fielding percentage (.978); tied for 21st in the country in batting average (.316); 10th in double plays per game (0.54), tied for 45th in win-loss percentage (.683) and 34th in ERA (2.33). Sophomore
Mia Trejo is 20th in walks per game (0.76); junior
Justine Federe is tied for 22nd in sacrifice flies (4); and freshman
Jenny Bressler is 32nd in wins (17).
• Mountain West: Rebels rank at the top or near the top in most major offensive, pitching and defensive statistical categories. They rank second in hits (357), third in batting average (.316), fourth in on-base percentage (.388), RBI (196) and runs (214). UNLV ranks first in ERA (2.33), runs allowed (105) and walks allowed (81). They rank tied for third in batters struck out (202) and third in batters struck out looking (67) and fourth in opposing batting average (.261). Defensively, UNLV's .978 fielding percentage and 27 errors each rank first in the conference. Tycksen ranks second in hits (55), third in batting average (.399), runs scored (39) and in stolen bases (21).
Reina Bondi ranks tied fifth in run scored (37) and fifth with 18 stolen bases, while
Mia Trejo is second in on-base percentage (.493), tied for second in RBI (41) and tied for sixth with eight home runs. Junior
Breana Burke is first in the MW with a 2.00 ERA and freshman
Jenny Bressler is third at 2.08, while Bressler leads in innings pitched (141.2), strikeouts (114), batters struck out looking (42) and wins (17).
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.
