LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Rebels return to Las Vegas for a stretch of five home games in a span of six days, with a pair of nonconference series against the St. John's Red Storm and Houston Cougars at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The homestand gets started Friday night (6:05 pm) with the first of three straight contests against St. John's in a series that continues through Saturday (2:05 pm) and concludes Sunday (1:05 pm).
 
The Rebels will have Monday off before they resume action Tuesday (6:05 pm) and Wednesday (1:05 pm) against Houston.
 
FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow the three-game, nonconference series between UNLV and St. John's 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 social media channels.
 
Additionally, Saturday's game will be broadcast live on the radio – 920am The Game (KBAD) – and online at LasVegasSportsNetwork.com.
 
Inning-by-inning updates will be provided on the team's official Twitter account, @UNLVbaseball.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: UNLV and St. John's rekindle a series that dates back to the turn of the century. The Rebels and Red Storm have squared off twice, with the former winning an 11-5 decision on March 8, 2002, and the latter claiming a 9-6 triumph on June 6, 2004, in the Stanford Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
 
ON DECK: UNLV welcomes the American Athletic Conference's Houston Cougars to Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium for a two-game, midweek series that will take place Tuesday and Wednesday. The Rebels and Cougars will open the nonconference set Tuesday evening at 6:05 pm and close it out with a Wednesday matinee at 1:05 pm.
 
UNLV and Houston have met three times previously – all in the Lone Star State – with the former winning the first meeting 17-8 on April 5, 1988. The Cougars, on the other hand, took the second and third meetings last year by 2-0 and 9-2 scores, respectively.
 
GOING AWAY FOR AWHILE: Following the conclusion of the midweek series against Houston, UNLV will play 14 of its next 15 away from Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels began the year with a stretch of playing 15 of 18 at home, the team will flip things around with three at both UC Santa Barbara (March 13-15) and Nebraska (March 20-22), one at Grand Canyon (March 25), and seven more in the Golden State. The lone home game is March 31 (Tuesday) against Grand Canyon.
 
SCOUTING THE REBELS: UNLV (3-10) enters this weekend's three-game, nonconference series against the St. John's Red Storm off a pair of losses – 11-2 and 11-3 – in a midweek set against the No. 2 Texas Tech Red Raiders in Lubbock, Texas.
 
-The Rebels are hitting .244 as a team with 112 hits, 35 of which have gone for extra bases (24 doubles, six triples and five home runs), as well as 60 runs and 56 RBI.
-The Rebels are ranked in the top 100 of the most recent NCAA statistics (as of March 4): 15th in triples (six); 30th in triples per game (0.46); 46th in doubles (24); 71st in hits (112); 80th in doubles per game (1.85); and 84th in double plays (eight).
-Eric Bigani sits in the top 150 of the most recent NCAA statistics: 70th in doubles (five); 77th in hits (18); and 94th in triples (one).
-James Gamble and Edarian Williams are tied with Bigani for 94th in triples with one each.
-Jack-Thomas Wold sits 70th in doubles with five.
-Grant Robbins sits second overall in triples (three) and eighth in triples per game (0.25).
-On the mound, Connor Woods is sixth in appearances (eight), while Ryan Hare, Chase Maddux and Josh Sharman are tied for 18th in games started (three).
-Three Rebels are hitting .300 or better: Eric Bigani (.353), Grant Robbins (.310) and A.J. Amelburu (.304).
-Not only does Bigani lead the team in average, but he's also tops hits (18) and total bases (25), while tying for first in doubles (five) and RBI (nine) … He's second in runs (eight) … Six of his hits have gone for extra bases (five doubles and one triple) to aid in a .490 slugging percentage … He leads the team with seven multiple-hit and four multiple-RBI games.
-Robbins leads the team in extra-base hits with seven (four doubles and three triples), which has led to the best slugging percentage on the team (.548) … He also leads the team in hit-by-pitches (three) … He's hitting .310 with 13 hits and six runs.
-On the mound, the Rebels' pitching staff owns a 6.01 ERA after allowing 79 earned runs (94 total) in 118.1 innings of work … They have struck out 104 against 65 walks and 134 hits, and held opposing batters to a .285 batting average.
 
SCOUTING THE RED STORM: St. John's (3-6) enters this weekend's three-game, nonconference series after having its Tuesday tilt canceled due to weather against Presbyterian in Clinton, S.C. The Red Storm have lost four straight, including three in a row at Charlotte last weekend, after it started the season 3-2.
 
-The Red Storm is hitting .239 as a team with 77 hits, 19 of which have gone for extra bases (15 doubles and four home runs) as well as 51 runs and 42 RBI.
-The Red Storm is ranked in the top 100 of the most recent NCAA statistics (as of March 4): 76th in stolen bases per game (1.44) and 80th in double plays per game (0.78). The team is also outside the top 100 in stolen bases (113th/13), double plays (114th/seven), scoring (119th/5.7) and double plays per game (120th/1.67).
-Sean McGeehan sits in the top 150 of the most recent NCAA statistics: 31st in doubles per game (0.56) and 70th in doubles (five).
-Mike Antico sits 13th in stolen bases per game (0.75) and 53rd in stolen bases (six).
-Starting pitchers Nick Mondak, Ian Murphy and Jose Rodriguez are tied for 18th in starts with three each.
-The Red Storm has two players – Jake Lazzaro and McGeehan – hitting .300 or better.
-Lazzaro leads the team with a .367 batting average and also tops the team in runs (seven) and on-base percentage (.457), while adding 11 hits, seven runs and two RBI.
-McGeehan is tops in at-bats (38), hits (12), doubles (five), RBI (nine) and total bases (17), with two runs.
-On the mound, the Red Storm's pitching staff owns a 5.71 ERA after allowing 48 earned runs (57 total) in 75.2 innings of work … They have struck out 68 against 62 walks and 69 hits, and held opposing batters to a .246 batting average.