REBELS BEAR DOWN ON END OF PRE-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE
UNLV faces No. 8 Arizona, Marist and Yale this weekend in Tucson
UNLV softball faces its final tournament before Mountain West Conference play begins as the Rebels travel to the Bear Down Invitational this weekend.
“We’re going into a great environment for softball,” UNLV head softball coach Kristie Fox said, “and to play at Mike Candrea Field will feel like an NCAA Regional environment. And that’s where we strive to be at the end of the season.”
It’s a homecoming for Fox, an Arizona Athletics Hall of Fame member who led the Wildcats to back-to-back National Championships in 2006 and 2007, as well as sisters Mia and Alyssa Trejo, who call Tucson home.
Tournament host Arizona is ranked eighth in the latest USA Today/NFCA Coaches Top 25.
UNLV starts play in the Bear Down Invitational Friday at 2 p.m. versus Marist. The Rebels face Marist and Arizona on Saturday and Yale once more Sunday.
All games of the Bear Down Invitational will stream live on FloSoftball.com.
UNLV vs. the field
- All-time vs. Arizona: 2-30
- Streak: Lost 22.
- Last meeting: March 4, 2015. Arizona won 16-6 in five innings at Tucson.
- All-time vs. Marist: 1-0
- Streak: Won 1
- Last meeting: March 15, 2013. UNLV won 1-0 at San Diego, Calif.
- All-time vs. Yale: 1-0
- Streak: Won 1.
- Last meeting: Feb. 24, 2018. UNLV won 3-0 at Houston, Texas.
Freshman of the Week
UNLV outfielder Sofia Morales led the Rebels with nine hits in 17 at-bats (.529 average) through five games last weekend at UNLV’s Boyd Gaming Classic. The freshman hit 2-for-3 with one walk against Washington ace Gabbie Plain, the reigning Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year and USA Softball Player of the Year finalist.
Early favorites
UNLV is predicted to top the Mountain West, according to preseason polling of the conference’s coaches. The Rebels tied with San Diego State in overall predicted-order-of-finish points, but carried the most first-place votes with five. UNLV’s last conference championship came in 1995 as a member of the Big West. That year, the Rebels reached the Women’s College World Series.
Bull market
UNLV returns 12 letterwinners, including eight starters and All-Mountain West selections Denise Armendariz (DP), Jenny Bressler (P) and Mia Trejo (1B), from last season when the Rebels finished second in the Mountain West standings. The Rebels added six freshmen and three transfers in the offseason.
Milestone Win
UNLV head coach Kristie Fox reached 250 career victories in the Rebels’ season-opening win versus BYU. Fox has 122 victories in five seasons at UNLV following 134 wins in five years at the helm at UT-Arlington.