LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV Rebels close out their five-game homestand this week with a midweek series against the Houston Cougars at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels (6-10) and Cougars (5-9) open their two-game, nonconference set at 6:05 pm Tuesday and close it out at 1:05 pm Wednesday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG: Fans can follow the midweek series between UNLV and Houston 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, Tuesday'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.
 
PROMOTIONALLY SPEAKING:
-Tuesday: It's $2 Tuesday with Smoke'n Sams featuring $2 off beer and $2 off hot dogs.
-Wednesday: $5 Meal Deal – Get a hot dog or hamburger with fries for only $5.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING: UNLV and Houston rekindle a series that dates back to 1988. The Rebels and Cougars have squared off three times – all in the Lone Star State, with the former winning the first meeting 17-8 on April 5, 1988. The two squads were supposed to have played a three-game series in Houston last season; however, rain wiped out game one. The Cougars took games two and three by 2-0 and 9-2 scores, respectively.
 
ON DECK: UNLV hits the road for its first weekend series away from Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels will trek to Santa Barbara, California, to face the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (13-2), who are ranked as high as No. 18 by Perfect Game and No. 23 by D1Baseball.com. The three-game, nonconference set will take place at Caesar Uyeska Stadium, with game one slated for 5:30 pm Friday. Games two and three are scheduled for 4:00 pm Saturday and 1:00 pm Sunday, respectively.
 
UCSB was supposed to host CSU Bakersfield Tuesday, but looming inclement weather on the West Coast has forced the squads to rescheduled the game for a later date.
 
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 (6-10) enters the midweek series coming off a three-game sweep of the St. John's Red Storm at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. The Rebels claimed game one by a 6-1 final score before the offense erupted for 12-2 and 16-2 victories in games two and three, respectively.
 
In the series against St. John's, the Rebels dominated the Red Storm in all facets of the game: batting average (.407-.184), runs (34-5), hits (46-18), doubles (13-2), triples (4-0), RBI (32-5), total bases (79-29), slugging percentage (.669-.296) and on-base percentage (.453-.252).
 
-The Rebels are hitting .276 as a team with 158 hits, 56 of which have gone for extra bases (37 doubles, 10 triples and nine home runs), as well as 94 runs and 88 RBI.
-The Rebels are ranked in the top 100 of the most recent NCAA statistics (as of March 8): second in triples (10); fifth in triples per game (0.63); 11th in doubles (37); 17th in doubles per game (2.31); 25th in hits (158); 61st in slugging percentage (.423); 75th in batting average (.276); and 81st in runs (94) … They're also 106th in home runs (9) and 116th in scoring (5.9).
-Eric Bigani sits in the top 150 in the NCAA statistics: 27th in doubles (7); 42nd in hits (24); 65th in doubles per game (0.44); 91st in hits per game (1.50); 116th in batting average (.393); and 133rd in total bases (33).
-James Gamble sits in the top 150 in the NCAA statistics: 27th in doubles (7); 32nd in triples (2); 65th in doubles per game (0.44); 85th in hits (22); 113th in triples per game (0.13); and 133rd in total bases (33).
-Jack-Thomas Wold sits 27th in doubles (7) and 65th in doubles per game (0.44).
-Grant Robbins is 8th in triples (3); 17th in triples per game (0.20); 107th in RBI (15); and 133rd in both RBI per game (1.00) and total bases (33).
-On the mound, Connor Woods is fourth in appearances (10), while Ryan Hare, Chase Maddux and Josh Sharman are tied for 15th in games started (4).
-Four Rebels are hitting .300 or better: Eric Bigani (.393), Austin Kryszczuk (.324); James Gamble (.314); and Grant Robbins (.309).
-Not only does Bigani lead the team in average, but he's also tops hits (24), and tied for first in doubles (7) and total bases (33) … Bigani ranks second in runs (13), RBI (13), slugging percentage (.541) and on-base percentage (.400) … Bigani leads the team with nine multiple-hit and five multiple-RBI games.
-Gamble leads the team in at-bats (70) and on-base percentage (.458), and tied for first in doubles (7) and total bases (33) … Gamble ranks second in hits (22) and multiple-hit games (8).
-Robbins leads the team in RBI (15) and slugging percentage (.600), and sits tied for first in triples (3) … Robbins ranks second in home runs (2) … Robbins has contributed five multiple-hit and four multiple-RBI games.
-On the mound, the Rebels' pitching staff owns a 5.20 ERA after allowing 84 earned runs (99 total) in 145.1 innings of work … They have struck out 122 against 73 walks and 152 hits, and held opposing batters to a .267 batting average.
 
SCOUTING THE COUGARS: Houston (5-9) enters the midweek series coming off a 1-2 weekend in Tucson, Arizona, against the No. 25 Arizona Wildcats. The Cougars won game two, 3-1, but suffered losses in game one, 7-1, and three, 10-6, to the host Wildcats. In all, Houston went 2-2 last week, with a "road" win – 6-4 – over their crosstown rivals, the Rice Owls, proceeding the trip to the Grand Canyon State.
 
-The Cougars are hitting .215 as a team with 101 hits, 37 of which have gone for extra bases (20 doubles, 14 home runs and three triples) as well as 73 runs and 67 RBI.
-The Cougars are ranked in the top 100 of the most recent NCAA statistics (March 8): 11th in sacrifice bunts (13); 35th in home runs per game (1.00); 42nd in home runs (14); 51st in stolen bases (24); and 70th in strikeouts per 9.0 IP (9.8) … They're also 103rd in fielding percentage (.970); 106th in hit-by-pitch (17); 115th in triples (3); 122nd in triples per game (0.21); 123rd in double plays (9); 124th in walks (63); and 126th in double plays per game (0.64)
-Tyler Bielamowicz sits in the top 150 of the NCAA statistics: 29th in hit-by-pitch (6); 30th in stolen bases (8); 39th in stolen bases per game (0.57); 44th in hit-by-pitch per game (0.43); 97th in base on balls (12)l and 106th in base on balls per game (0.86).
-Ryan Hernandez sits 53rd in home runs (4); 67th in home runs per game (0.29); 67th in home runs per game (0.29); and 97th in total bases (35).
-Two Cougars are hitting .300 or better: Brad Burckel (.313) and Ryan Hernandez (.304).
-Hernandez leads the team in at-bats (56), runs (12), hits (17), home runs (4), RBI (13), total bases (35), and slugging (.625) … Sits tied for first in doubles (4) and triples (1).
-On the mound, the Cougars' pitching staff owns a 4.68 ERA after allowing 68 earned runs (84 total) in 130.2 innings of work … They have struck out 143 against 74 walks and 137 hits, and held opposing batters to a .269 batting average.