LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV baseball program opens the 2020 season at Earl E. Wilson Stadium Friday night against the Central Michigan Chippewas. The contest, which is slated for a 6:05 pm first pitch, is the first of four against CMU in a nonconference series that runs through Sunday afternoon.
 
The Rebels and Chippewas, who hail from the Mid-American Conference, will also square off twice Saturday with game one of the doubleheader scheduled for 2:05 pm, while the second affair is tentatively set for 6:05 pm. Sunday's finale will commence at 1:05 pm.
 
FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow this weekend's season-opening series between UNLV and CMU through live stats, live video and social media. Links to stats and live video can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the team's baseball page as well as on the team's official social media channels.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: UNLV and CMU have played each other 15 times dating back to their first meeting, which took place at the NCAA West II Regionals in Tempe, Arizona on May 27, 1988. The Chippewas claimed that initial encounter, 10-7; however, the Rebels own an 11-4 edge in the head-to-head series since it became Las Vegas-based with a two-game set in 2004.
 
The Rebels held a slight one-game lead, 4-3, following the conclusion of a three-game series in February 2008, but has since hosted the Chippewas eight times over a pair of four-game series in 2011 and 2014 to increase the advantage to seven. Delving deeper, UNLV owns a six-game win streak over CMU since the third game (Feb. 26) of the 2011 series.
 
REBELS PICKED FOURTH: UNLV was predicted to finish the 2020 conference season in fourth place by the MW's eight head coaches. The Rebels were slotted behind San Diego State (46 points/four first-place votes), Fresno State (42 points/two votes) and UNR (38 points/two votes) who were picked to finish first through third, respectively.
 
New Mexico was fifth overall (23 points), while Air Force and San Jose State tied for sixth (17 points each), and league newcomer Boise State was eighth (seven points).
 
REBELS TRIO TABBED TO MW'S PRESEASON TEAM: UNLV's Ryan Hare, Edarian Williams and Jack-Thomas Wold were named to the Mountain West's Preseason All-Conference Team, which was voted on by the league's eight head coaches.
 
Hare, a redshirt senior from Lakewood, California, is coming off a junior campaign where he earned First Team All-MW Conference recognition. The right-hander made 16 appearances on the mound last year with 11 starts and five relief stints and posted an 8-4 record and 3.52 ERA in 79.1 innings of work. He only allowed 31 earned runs (34 total) and held the opposition to a .217 batting average, while striking out 52 against 24 walks.
 
Williams garnered MW Co-Freshman of the Year honors and was named to Collegiate Baseball's Freshman All-America Team in 2019. The sophomore from Las Vegas (Rancho HS) started 56 of 57 games that he played in last year, with 46 starts at second base and nine more as the designated hitter. He led the team in hits (80) and at-bats (234), and finished second in batting average (.342) and RBI (36). He registered .419 slugging and .399 on-base percentages with help from 15 extra-base hits (13 doubles, one triple and one home run). Additionally, he was tops on the squad with a 34-game reached-base streak and a 17-game hit streak, and second with 23 multiple-hit games.
 
Wold, a junior from Henderson, Nevada (Basic Academy), started all 41 games that he played in last season, with 32 of those coming at first base and nine more as the DH. Despite missing part of the year to a hand injury, he compiled a .331 batting average with 55 hits, 33 RBI and 32 runs. With the help of 15 extra-base hits (nine doubles and six home runs), 16 walks and five hit-by-pitches, he had .494 slugging and .398 on-base percentages.
The Rebel trio were selected to Perfect Game's Preseason All-MW Team, too. Moreover, Hare was chosen the MW's Preseason Pitcher of the Year by both Perfect Game and D1Baseball.
 
SCOUTING THE REBELS: UNLV went 29-29 last year, with a share of third place in the Mountain West with a 14-16 mark. The Rebels concluded 2019 – like the year before – in the title game of the MW Championship.
 
The Scarlet & Gray returns 20 letterwinners from last year's team, and that includes five positional starters and six starting pitchers – 10 pitchers in all. In a college baseball rarity, every pitcher that made a start on the mound for the Rebels in 2019 is back for 2020.
 
Additionally, there are 14 newcomers donning the Scarlet & Gray this season, with eight of those bringing previous collegiate baseball experience to the mix.
 
SCOUTING THE CHIPPEWAS: Central Michigan, which are No. 38 in Collegiate Baseball Newspaper's Fabulous 40 Preseason Poll, were picked to repeat as Mid-American regular-season champions this year by the league's head coaches. CMU ended the 2019 campaign in Starkville, Mississippi at an NCAA Regional that featured Mississippi State, Miami and Southern. The Chippewas, who won the MAC behind a 22-5 mark, knocked off Miami in the first games, but was unable to get past host MSU and Miami.
 
Like UNLV, CMU returns five positional starters and 10 pitchers, two of which were starters one year ago. There are 18 newcomers on this year's roster.
 
2020 SEASON: UNLV opens the 2020 season in two weekends, and has a front-loaded home slate with 15 of its first 18 contests at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, including the first seven to start the year. The Rebels kick off the campaign with a four-game series against the Central Michigan Chippewas (Feb. 14-16) in what is being billed as "First Pitch Weekend Powered by Marucci." The run continues with three three-game series versus Alabama (Feb. 21-23), Creighton (Feb. 28-March 1) and St. John's (March 6-8) and two against Houston (March 10-11). 
 
In addition to the 21 Mountain West contests, the Scarlet & Gray's season slate is highlighted by 31 nonconference games against 13 squads that hail from nine different leagues. Overall, these 13 teams compiled a .629 winning percentage, and 12 of those finished with winning records and claimed a minimum of 30 games last season. Delving deeper, five – Cal Baptist (WAC), Central Michigan (MAC), Creighton (Big East), Texas Tech (Big 12) and UC Santa Barbara (Big West) – claimed at least a share of their respective conference's regular-season titles and three more took third place – Nebraska (Big Ten), St. John's (Big East) and Saint Mary's (WCC).
 
Creighton, Fresno State, Texas Tech and UC Santa Barbara all finished the year ranked in at least three top-25 polls. Baseball America was the lone survey to have all four included with Texas Tech, which went 7-3 overall in the postseason and advanced to the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, ending the year at No. 4, while Fresno State (No. 21), UCSB (No. 24) and Creighton (No. 25) rounded out the quartet. Texas Tech was ranked as high as No. 4 in four polls, while UCSB's best showing was No. 18 by Collegiate Baseball, Creighton's was No. 22 by D1Baseball and Fresno State was No. 21 by Baseball America.