LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (16-8 overall, 11-7 MW) hits the road for a three-game, Mountain West series this weekend; however, the squad will remain in the Silver State with the contests taking place up north in Reno. The Rebels and UNR Wolf Pack will square off twice Saturday and once Sunday, with both days of action scheduled for 1:00 pm.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with this weekend's Mountain West series between UNLV and UNR through a live audio stream as well as live stats. Links to both audio and stats can be found online at UNLVRebels.com in the "schedule" section of the team's baseball page. Additionally, fans can follow the team's Twitter account – @UNLVbaseball – for links to video and stats as well as inning-by-inning updates.
 
HISTORICALLY SPEAKING
With this week's three-game, Mountain West set, UNLV and UNR close out the season series between the Silver State foes. The Rebels and Wolf Pack met in late February in Las Vegas at Earl E. Wilson Stadium, and the former claimed the first two contests - 3-2 and 8-3; however, the latter salvaged the series finale, 6-1.
 
The head-to-head series between UNLV and UNR dates back to 1968. The two teams have played a total of 159 games, with the Rebels leading the head-to-head series by 21 games - 90-69.
 
This will be the first time that the Rebels and Wolf Pack have squared off in Reno at Don Weir Field at Peccole Park since an elimination affair in the 2019 Mountain West Tournament. With the score tied, 5-5, and UNLV designated as the home team, Max Smith stepped up and deposited the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth over the right-field fence fro a walk-off home run to send the Scarlet & Gray to the championship vs. Fresno State.
 
ON DECK
Following the conclusion of this weekend's UNR series, UNLV will return to Las Vegas and Earl E. Wilson Stadium for its final regular-season home games of the season. The Rebels and Aztecs will square off three times with a Saturday doubleheader on May 15 and a single contest on May 16. First pitch for both days is scheduled for 11:05 am.
 
SILVER STATE SERIES
This weekend's games not only count towards the Mountain West standings, but they will also determine which side – UNLV or UNR – will claim the three points associated with the sport of baseball towards the Silver State Series presented by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network.
 
To date, the Wolf Pack leads the all-encompassing athletic and academic competition by three points, 18.0 to 15.0; however, the Rebels hold a one-game edge over UNR after winning two of three baseball games in Las Vegas earlier this season.
 
Delving deeper, the three points for softball are also up for grabs this weekend, as UNR will host UNLV three times in Reno, too.
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING … TEAM
For the year, UNLV is hitting .326 as a team with 279 hits, 98 of which have gone for extra bases with 58 doubles, 31 home runs and nine triples, to go along with 185 runs and 169 RBI. Conversely, Rebel pitching owns a 4.87 ERA with 173 strikeouts against 115 earned runs (134 total), 241 hits and 59 walks in 212.2 innings.
 
In the NCAA rankings (through May 2), the Rebels are ranked in the top 100 of seven NCAA Division I offensive statistical categories. UNLV is third in slugging percentage (.523), fourth in batting average (.326) and 13th in on-base percentage (.406). Additionally, the team is fifth in doubles per game (2.42), 14th in scoring (7.7), 20th in triples per game (0.38) and 89th in triples (nine).
 
UNLV's pitching staff is also ranked highly in numerous NCAA statistics, too; coming in sixth in walks allowed per 9.0 innings (2.50), 29th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.93), 90th in WHIP (1.41) and 95th in shutouts (two).
 
Additionally, the team is 36th in win-loss percentage (.667) and 96th in double plays per game (0.71).
 
NATIONALLY SPEAKING … PLAYER
For the year, UNLV has seven players hitting .327 or better with a minimum of 24 hits. Brendan Brooks leads the Rebels with a .407 batting average, while Austin Kryszczuk (.395/32 hits), Jack-Thomas Wold (.388/40) and Myles Denson (.385/30) are close to the .400 mark. Edarian Williams (.361/30), Eric Bigani (.344/32) and Diego Alarcon (.327/33) round out those aforementioned with .327-plus averages.
 
In the national rankings, four of those aforementioned Rebels are sit 122nd or better in batting average, as Kryszczuk leads the quintet at No. 28. Wold and Denson are No. 40 and No. 44, respectively, while Williams is 122nd. Unfortunately, Brooks has not met minimum requirements, yet.
 
Additionally, Denson (No. 53/.667), Wold (No. 108/.612), Kryszczuk (No. 125/.605) and Bigani (No. 162/.591) are also ranked in slugging percentage (250 ranked).
 
Additionally, Bigani (No. 57/.662), Kryszczuk (No. 114/.614), Denson (No. 173/.585) and Alarcon (No. 203/.573) are also ranked in slugging percentage (250 ranked).
 
Kryszczuk is the lone Rebel to rank in the top 150 of on-base percentage, coming in No. 33 (.495).
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
>UNR: The Wolf Pack enter the week sporting a 15-16 overall record and a 12-9 mark in the Mountain West, which has them sitting in third place ... The Wolf Pack began the year 3-1; however, the squad had gone 7-15 over its next 22 games, beginning with a 1-2 showing in Las Vegas at Earl E. Wilson Stadium against UNLV (Feb. 27-28) ... After seeing its record drop to 10-16, the Wolf Pack has rattled off five straight wins - two at Air Force and three vs. San Diego State - claim back-to-back MW series ... The Wolf Pack outscored SDSU, 42-11, last weekend, claiming both games of Friday's doubleheader in run-rule fashion - 14-4 (8 innings) and 13-2 (7 innings) - and Sunday's affair by eight runs - 15-7 ... The Wolf Pack are batting .289 as a team with 320 hits, 118 extra-base hits (68 doubles, 37 home runs and 13 triples) that have resulted in a .488 slugging percentage ... The Wolf Pack has four players hitting .330 or better with a minimum of 30 hits ... The Wolf Pack are led offensively by Dario Gomez, who sits first on the team in average (.394), hits (50), RBI (30) and stolen bases (10), while Tyler Bosetti is tops in at-bats (132), runs (30), doubles (14), home runs (seven) and total bases (85) ... The Wolf Pack's Dillan Shrum (.385, 30 hits, 12 doubles and 19 RBI) and Jacob Stinson (.330, 35, 17 RBI and 24 runs) round out the quartet ... The Wolf Pack own a 5.27 ERA and have allowed 156 earned runs (183 total) off 310 hits in 266.1 innings of work ... The Wolf Pack has struck out 212 batters and walked 139.