LAS VEGAS. (UNLVRebels.com) - After a weekend off, the UNLV softball team will return to action to host its final home non-conference tournament, the Boyd Gaming Classic at Eller Media Stadium, March 5-7. The tournament features Idaho State, Seattle and Utah Valley, with the Rebels playing two each against Seattle and Utah Valley and one against Idaho State.
The Scarlet and Gray will open the tournament Friday with a 3 p.m. contest against Idaho State followed by a 5:30 p.m. matchup against Seattle. Saturday's games will pit the Rebels against the Redhawks a second time at 3 p.m. with the 5:30 p.m. nightcap featuring UNLV and Utah Valley. The two squads will meet again to wrap up the weekend 11 a.m. on Sunday. The Rebels own a combined 20-3 record over their three opponents this weekend and have face all three recently, with UNLV beating both ISU and Seattle in 2018 and UNLV splitting two games against Utah Valley a season ago.
The Rebels went 7-3 through the first two weekends, marking the fourth straight year they've started at 7-3 or better through the first 10 games. UNLV is itching to get back on the field after dropping two of its last three at the UNLV Desert Classic two weeks ago and a weekend without games. All three losses in 2021 have come at the hands of Pac-12 foes, while UNLV has outscored its opponents 47-9 in its seven victories.
Putting the recent losses behind them will be key for the Rebels this weekend as they head out on the road next week for the first time in 2021, where they will face fourth-ranked UCLA twice as part of a five-game weekend in Los Angeles, March 12-14.
QUICK HITTERS
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Kristie Fox is in her fourth season with a 97-42 record, three wins shy of reaching the 100 win mark at UNLV
• Her 90 wins through her first three seasons are third-most among all-time UNLV softball coaches
• The Rebels have started 7-3 or better through the first 10 games in all four years Fox has been at the helm
• UNLV's longest winning streak this season in four games, while it's longest losing streak is just one
• UNLV is batting .316 through 10 games, which ranks first in the Mountain West, as does its .524 slugging percentage and .413 on-base percentage; Also rank second in runs scored (67); hits (79) and RBI (60)
• Rebels have five players currently hitting over .300, with three - freshman
Janyssa Martin, sophomore
Maddie Schmidt and junior
Denise Armendariz - hitting .400 or better
•
Janyssa Martin has had an impressive start to her collegiate career. Her .480 batting average ranks second in the MW, while her .920 slugging percentage is first and her .517 on-base percentage is fourth. On opening weekend alone, the right fielder hit .727 with eight hits, seven RBI, two home runs, a double and five runs scored. In her first career at-bat she blasted a two-run home then, then topped that with a walk-off grand slam in the sixth inning against Dixie State
• Schmidt, the leadoff hitter for the Rebels, has had quiet, yet very productive start ot the season, as her .406 average is 5th in the conference and her 14 hits rank first
• After a relatively quiet first weekend, senior
Mia Trejo had a strong second weekend, hitting .444 with eight hits, one run scored, two doubles and four RBI
• Armendariz, who missed the first month of 2020 with an injury and was just getting back in the lineup when the season was canceled, is hitting .400 with a league-best five doubles
•
Mia Trejo and fellow senior
Lauren Tycksen will enter the weekend with hitting streaks on the line, with Tycksen riding a six gamer and Trejo a four-game streak. Tycksen also has a seven game on-base streak, while
Janyssa Martin has reached base in the nine straight games she's played after not playing in the season opener
•
Janyssa Martin also leads the team with four multi-hit games, while senior
Samantha Diaz has a team-best five multi-RBI games
• The Rebels continue to be clutch with runners in scoring position, hitting .340, with
Maddie Schmidt (.500) and
Mia Trejo (.429) hitting best in those situations
• The Rebels hit three grand slams on opening weekend, matching the most since UNLV had three during the entire 2015 season. It's just the ninth time since joining the Mountain West in 2000 the Rebels have had three or more in a season. Prior to opening weekend, the Rebels had not hit a grand slam in the
Kristie Fox era
• The pitching staff as a whole has been solid in 2021 with a 3.78 ERA, led by senior
Charlie Masterson, who is 3-0 with a 1.80 ERA. Her ERA ranks second in the MW
• Junior ace
Jenny Bressler has already collected four wins in the season (tied for first in the league) and 25 strikeouts (tied for third in th MW) to go along with a save
• Freshman
Jenna Perez has had a solid collegiate debut in the circle, pitching 8.0 innings in relief, allowing just four runs on five hits and eight strikeouts. In her Rebel debut, she recorded three strikeouts in one inning of relief again Southern Utah on Friday, Feb. 12
• Senior
Samantha Diaz had a career opening weekend at the plate, hitting five home runs (two two-run homers, two three-run homers and first career grand slam) to go along with 13 RBI and six runs scored. One three-run homer came against Dixie State for the walk-off fifth inning win, while the grand slam tied the game up at five against Southern Utah. Diaz earned her second career Mountain West Player of the Week award on February 16 for her performance
• The Rebels were picked to finish second in the Mountain West Coaches Preseason Poll - their highest predicted finish since 2012 and just the fourth time since they joined the conference in 2000 they had ranked higher than third in the annual poll
•
Andy Jarvis was promoted to Associate Head Coach prior to the 2020 campaign after being an integral part of the success at the plate and the stellar defense in the outfield
• Pitching coach
Emily Vincent, who was a standout pitcher at McNeese State, is in third season after leading the pitching staff to the top ERA in the conference each of the last two seasons
LIVE STATS/UPDATES
Live stats and links to video for all five games are available at www.UNLVRebels.com. Live updates can also be found by following @UNLVSoftball on twitter. Please visit the Boyd Gaming Tournament page for the full weekend schedule and tournament info: https://unlvrebels.com/feature/BoydGamingClassic2021
