Hustlin' Rebels Travel North For In-State Rivalry - University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics

Friday, March 22

Reno, NV

6:05 PM

University of Nevada Las Vegas

UNR

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Photo by: Lucas Peltier

3/21/2024 4:33:00 PM | Baseball

Game Notes

LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team will travel out to the UNR over the course of this weekend, playing in Reno as the next installment of the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union from Friday, March 22 through Sunday, March 24.

SCHEDULE (all times in PST)
Friday, March 22 at 6:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 23 at 2:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 24 at 12:05 p.m.

MATCHUP HISTORY
All-time vs. UNR: 95-73
In Reno: 30-39
Current Streak: UNLV, 1
Last Meeting: UNLV two of the three games at Earl E. Wilson last season.

BROADCAST INFO: All three games will be streamed on the Mountain West Network, as well as a radio broadcast provided by The Varsity Network. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available on unlvrebels.com/sports/baseball/schedule.

NEXT SERIES: The Rebels will have a quick turnaround after Sunday's contest with a single game at the Las Vegas Ballpark, facing off against Arizona State at the neutral venue on Monday, March 25. Tickets for that game can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/mrx79ytr.

The team will then stay in the 702 with a home series against Fresno State, facing off against the Bulldogs from Thursday, March 28 through Saturday, March 30. The two programs will play one game each day during that three-game series.

THIS SEASON: The program earned their first set of Mountain West weekly honors in late February, Austin Kryszczuk picking up the league's Player of the Week award and Sam Simon being presented the Pitcher of the Week honor. The Rebels won all four games that week, including a win over Stanford, averaging 10.7 runs per game last week while only allowing three per contest.

UNLV's offense continues to stand as the highlight of the program, sticking as a top-25 team in hits this season (21st) stems from a strong core of intelligent batters. The team's RBI leader, Austin Kryszczuk, currently sits 13th overall in the NCAA's "Toughest To Strikeout" list with a rating of 17.8, only striking out four times in his 93 trips to the plate so far this season.

The Scarlet & Gray's holds some top marks among the conference as well, JP Hefft solidifying himself as the league's top hitter (32). The junior's hot stretch has picked up nine hits in the last four games, slapping two or more hits in all but one of the last seven contests. Kryszczuk reigns as the highest RBI rate per game at 1.3, currently riding a five-game RBI streak before the series up north. Kade Higgins has also quietly stayed as one of the league's top batters as well, holding a top-five spot in batting average (.367) and third overall in hits (29).

The Rebels' pitching holds a handful of notable marks among the Mountain West Conference, Austin Cates still holding a top-two spot in the league in total strikeouts on the season with 35. Cates sits in the top-six pitchers in ERA with a minimum one inning pitched per game, fourth in the conference in runs allowed among those previously mentioned.

UNLV's win against then-no. 23 ranked Stanford was a landmark win for the program, their first win against a ranked opponent since 2019. The Rebels' have produced double-digit runs six times in 2024, a feat they achieved 13 times last season.

ABOUT UNM: UNR holds steady with similar numbers as a team compared to UNLV, sitting third overall in team batting average (.294) just behind the Rebels and fourth overall in team ERA (5.92) one spot ahead of the Scarlet & Gray. They'll threaten UNLV pitchers with their top-four ranking among NCAA DI programs in doubles, pumping 2.78 doubles per game for fourth overall.

UNR's typical lineup features a pair of strong batters in Michael Ball and Jake Harvey, both sitting in the top four of Mountain West batters in batting average in the 2024 season. Ball serves as the team's leader in driving in runs, ranking third in the conference in RBIs with 21 overall on the season. His RBIs stem from his four home runs and nine doubles, tied for the Mountain West's top spot in the latter.

Theo Millas serves as the team's lowest ERA in 19 innings pitched, holding a 1.89 mark by only allowing four runs on the season. That mark currently sits second overall in the Mountain West.

LAST YEAR: The Rebels had an overall record of 21-30 in the 2023 season, including a Mountain West record of 12-18. The program earned three Mountain West Player of the Week honors over the course of last season, including two Freshman of the Week mentions by then-freshman Reese Lueck and a Pitcher of the Week award for Noah Carabajal.