LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The Rebel baseball team (14-7 overall) wraps up its seven-game homestand Tuesday at 6:05 pm against the No. 19 Arizona State Sun Devils (18-9); however, this contest will shift from UNLV's Earl E. Wilson Stadium to the Las Vegas Ballpark in Downtown Summerlin, home of the Triple-A West's Las Vegas Aviators.
 
The Rebels and Sun Devils were originally scheduled to square off on March 30 at Wilson Stadium, but the affair was postponed to accommodate the new date. Tickets went on sale last Friday morning and sold out that afternoon for the approved, limited capacity, special event.
 
IT'S A FIRST
Tuesday's tilt between UNLV and Arizona State will be the first collegiate regular-season baseball game played at the Las Vegas Ballpark. The Rebels have played once before at the stadium, hosting Cal State Fullerton in a low-scoring, 14-inning exhibition – 3-1 – during Fall Ball on Oct. 26, 2019.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow Tuesday's nonconference contest between UNLV and Arizona State through live stats and live video, and links to both can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the team's baseball page. The game will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network with Matt Neverett and Wyatt Tomchek on the call.
 
Additionally, fans can follow the team's Twitter account – @UNLVbaseball – for links to stats and video as well as inning-by-inning updates.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
UNLV and ASU rekindle a series that dates back to 1974 with Tuesday's midweek contest. The two teams have played a total of 86 times, with the Sun Devils leading the head-to-head series by 43 games – 64-21-1; however, the Rebels have won five of the last six in the series. Most recently, UNLV rallied for a come-from-behind, 10-9 win over ASU, which was ranked as high as No. 11 by Collegiate Baseball, in Phoenix.
 
ON DECK
Following the conclusion of the ASU midweek tilt, UNLV will hit the road for six straight games in Mountain West play, beginning with a three-game series this weekend against the San Jose State Spartans at Excite Ballpark in the Bay Area. The Rebels and Spartans will square off twice Saturday (1:00 pm) and once Sunday (noon).
 
LAST TIME OUT
UNLV is coming off a three-game, nonconference sweep of the Pacific Tigers at Wilson Stadium. The Rebels rallied to win games one and two by scores of 8-4 and 3-2, respectively, before taking the finale with ease, 10-0.
 
In the series opener, the Rebels scored six runs in the seventh to turn a two-run deficit, 4-2, into a four-run edge, 8-4. Things turned around in the seventh off a combination of five hits and a pair of Tiger errors, the first of which gave the comeback bid a spark. A misplayed pop up put a runner on and then four straight RBI hits followed, capped by back-to-back home runs from Edarian Williams (two RBI) and Myles Denson (one).
 
In game two, UNLV took an early lead off an RBI single from Jack-Thomas Wold in the third; however, Pacific would counter with two runs in the fifth. The Rebels turned things around in the sixth and seventh, getting RBI singles from Jordan Andrade and Eric Bigani, respectively.
 
The finale was over nearly as quickly as it started, as Austin Kryszczuk smashed a solo homer to open the home half of the first and give UNLV a 1-0 lead. The Rebel offense erupted for five runs in the second, with James Gamble (RBI single), Kyrszczuk (two-run single) and Diego Alarcon (RBI groundout) producing four of the tallies and a wild pitch allowing the fifth to score.
 
The Rebels batted .368 as a team (39-for-106) and posted a .547 slugging percentage with help from 12 extra-base hits, with eight doubles, three home runs and one triple. The offense registered a .417 on-base percentage, with eight walks and one hit-by-pitch.
 
Seven players had at least three hits in the series and five of those hit .333 or better. Kryszczuk had his way with Tiger pitching, posting a .643 batting average with nine hits, four of which went for extra bases (three doubles and one homer) that helped him amass a 1.071 slugging percentage, three runs and two RBI. Denson (.583/seven hits), Wold (.455/five), Williams (.364/four) and Rylan Charles (.333/three) rounded out those at or above .333.
 
On the mound, the Rebels recorded a 2.00 ERA and held the Tigers to a .245 average after they allowed six earned runs (six total) and 24 hits in 27.0 innings. The pitching staff struck out 19 and walked three. Starters Bradley Spooner (7.0 IP, two runs, eight hits, six strikeouts) and Noah Beal (6.0 IP, no runs, four hits, four strikeouts) earned wins in games two and three, while Jimmy Gamboa (1.2 IP, no runs, one hit) picked up the victory in relief in game one.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING … TEAM
For the year, UNLV is hitting .325 as a team with 244 hits, 81 of which have gone for extra bases with 50 doubles, 24 home runs and seven triples, to go along with 156 runs and 145 RBI. Conversely, Rebel pitching owns a 4.61 ERA with 143 strikeouts against 95 earned runs (113 total), 210 hits and 48 walks in 185.2 innings.
 
In the latest NCAA rankings (as of April 11), the Rebels are ranked within the top 100 of nine NCAA Division I offensive statistical categories. UNLV is fourth in both batting average (.325) and doubles per game (2.38); eighth in slugging percentage (.506); 18th in on-base percentage (.406); 28th in scoring (7.4); 39th in triples per game (0.33); 50th in home runs per game (1.14); 68th in triples (seven); and 71st in doubles (50).
 
UNLV's pitching staff is also ranked highly in numerous NCAA statistics, too; coming in fifth in walks allowed per 9.0 IP (2.33); 29th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.98); 60th in walks (two); 88th in WHIP (1.39);
 
Additionally, the team ranks 45th in win-loss percentage (.667) and 65th in double plays per game (0.76).
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING … PLAYER
For the year, UNLV has seven players hitting .314 or better with a minimum of 20 hits. Both Brendan Brooks (.408/20 hits) and Austin Kryszczuk (.400/28 hits) are batting above .400, while Eric Bigani (.388/31), Jack-Thomas Wold (.367/33), Diego Alarcon (.360/32), Myles Denson (.354/23) and Edarian Williams (.314/22) round out the seven.
 
In the national rankings, Bigani sits 16th in doubles per game (0.45), 33rd in hits per game (1.55), 62nd in batting average (.388), 73rd in triples (two), 79th in slugging percentage, and 84th in triples per game (0.10) and 92nd in doubles (nine).
 
Kryszczuk comes in 33rd in on-base percentage (.500), 41st in batting average (.400). Wold is 24th in hits per game (1.57) and 43rd in toughest to strikeout (11.2). Alarcon is fifth in doubles per game (0.52), 22nd in doubles (11), 45th in hits per game (1.52) and 74th in toughest to strikeout (9.9).
 
SO STREAKY
>Six Straight Wins: This current homestand has been good for UNLV, as the Rebels have won all six games, defeating Fresno State (April 2-3) and Pacific (April 8-10) three times apiece. It's the longest successful stretch since the 2018 edition won seven straight from March 7-17.
>Denson Streaking: Rebel outfielder Myles Denson owns a 14-game reached-base and 13-game hit streak, which dates back to the road series at San Diego State on March 13-14. Since that first tilt, Denson has batted .417 (20-for-48) with six extra-base hits (three home runs and three doubles), 12 runs and eight RBI.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
>Arizona State: The Sun Devils (18-9 overall, 7-5 Pac-12) come to Las Vegas following a trip to Seattle to face the Washington Huskies in Pac-12 play … The Sun Devils won games one and two, 3-2 and 8-1, but lost the series finale, 13-6 … The Sun Devils began the season 2-2 and then rattled off nine straight wins; however, UNLV's 10-9 win on March 16 snapped that streak … The Sun Devils have gone 7-6 since that loss to UNLV in Phoenix … The Sun Devils are hitting .275 as a team with 251 hits, 77 of which have gone for extra bases (49 doubles, 21 homers and seven triples) and resulted in a .413 slugging percentage … The Sun Devils' Sean McLain leads the team in average (.407), hits (37), doubles (10), home runs (four), total bases (61) and slugging percentage (.670), while adding 15 extra-base hits, 19 runs and 13 RBI … Drew Swift is tops in runs (20) and RBI (17), while hitting .321 with 34 hits – nine extra-base hits, and 11 walks … The Sun Devils pitching staff owns a 3.59 ERA and has allowed 98 earned runs (112 total) off 223 hits in 246.0 innings of work … The Sun Devils have struck out 234 batters and walked 103.