FINAL ROAD TRIP AWAITS REBELS
UNLV visits Utah State in season’s last three-game series
UNLV Softball travels for its final road series of the regular season when it visits Utah State for a three-game series starting Friday.
UNLV (20-25 overall, 6-11 Mountain West) captured last year’s series in Las Vegas and will need to do so again to stay alive in the race to qualify for the Mountain West Championship Tournament.
Friday’s first pitch at Johnson Field in Logan, Utah, is 3 p.m. PT. Saturday and Sunday’s games start at 11 a.m. All three games will be streamed live on the Mountain West Network.
Desert Shield
UNLV ranks 35th nationally and ranks second in the Mountain West in fielding percentage (.973). The Rebels have committed just 36 errors in 1,291 opportunities. UNLV has ranked first or second in MW fielding percentage since head coach Kristie Fox debuted in the 2018 season.
Worst to First
Maddie Schmidt is 13-for-25 (.520) with a .676 on-base percentage (7 runs, 42 TB, 8 BB, 2 K, 1 HBP, 1 CI) when she makes the first plate appearance of the game for the Rebels. She was 0-for-9 with one walk in her first at-bat when not leading off.
Bunt Cake
UNLV is a power-hitting team but has little trouble cooking up small ball. The Rebels have successfully advanced a runner by sacrifice or reached base on 50 of 58 bunt (.862) attempts.
Walk This Way
UNLV is eighth nationally and leads the MW with 177 walks. The Rebels counted 197 walks last season. UNLV’s single-season record for walks is 201 in 1995. UNLV has the Mountain West’s top three individuals for reaching base on balls with Maddie Schmidt (29), Janyssa Martin (28) and Ariana Martinez (27) leading the conference.
Next Series
UNLV finishes the regular season hosting New Mexico in a two-game series, Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., at Eller Media Stadium in Las Vegas.