LAS VEGAS (UNLVrebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team (26-24, 12-18 MW) will travel east to Phoenix, Ariz. to take on both Texas Tech (30-22) and Arizona State (29-24) in the final weekend of the regular season.
 
SCHEDULE (all times in PST)
Friday, May 17 at 1:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 18 at 6:30 p.m.
 

MATCHUP HISTORY
All-time vs. TTU: 9-11
Current Streak: TTU, 5
Last Meeting: The Red Raiders won both games against the Rebels during the 2020 season at Texas Tech.

All-time vs. ASU: 22-67-1
In Phoenix, AZ: 8-43
Current Streak: ASU, 3
Last Meeting: The Sun Devils won the two team's battle earlier in the season at the Las Vegas Ballpark.


BROADCAST INFO: Both games will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available on unlvrebels.com/sports/baseball/schedule.


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 during that stretch while only allowing three per contest.

UNLV's offense continues to stand as the highlight of the program, sticking as a top-two team in the conference (second) from an offensive standpoint that stems from a strong core of intelligent batters. The team's RBI leader, Austin Kryszczuk, currently ranks at the Mountain West's top spot in RBI at 64, also sitting inside DI's top-30 in the statistical category at 29th overall.

The Scarlet & Gray's holds some other top marks in other spots among the conference as well, Kryszczuk solidifying themselves as one of the league's top hitters with a third-place 70 hits so far on the season. Kryszczuk also noted a career milestone last weekend, surpassing 250 career hits. Parker Schmidt also stands in the league's top-10 qualifying batters this season in 41 games, hitting an average of .353 and earning at least two hits in six of his last eight games.

The Rebels' pitching holds a handful of notable marks among the Mountain West Conference, Austin Cates distancing himself as the highest strikeout pitcher with 104 on the season that ranks ninth among NCAA DI pitchers. Holding a top-5 strikeout-to-walk ratio among all NCAA pitchers (fourth) as well at 8.00, he also sits second in the Mountain West in ERA with a minimum one inning pitched per game (3.56), tied second in the conference in runs allowed among those throwers 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 eight times in 2024, a feat they achieved 13 times last season.

ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Arizona State will look to match the Rebels' offensive energy like they did in the two team's last meeting, the Sun Devils holding the fourth-highest hit total out of NCAA DI programs this season (585). With a lineup that excels in pushing doubles (second, 130), they'll look to apply pressure quickly with runners in scoring position with a majority of their hits.

The Red Raiders will also enter the weekend with a highly-touted offense, ranking 12th in the country in doubles (118) and 13th overall among NCAA DI programs in hits (556). Damien Bravo stands as Texas Tech's most threatening two-bag batter, ranking 20th in Division I in doubles this season and 33rd in batting average. 


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.