REBELS TO REMATCH SUN DEVILS AT LAS VEGAS BALLPARK THIS WEEK
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The UNLV baseball team heads to the Las Vegas Ballpark for their annual neutral-site match against the Arizona State Sun Devils.
SCHEDULE (PST)
Tuesday, Mar. 24 at 6:05 p.m.
TICKETS: Fans can get their ticket for the Ballpark match can be found at https://tinyurl.com/bdzhcy3w.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Overall vs. Arizona State: 22-69-1
Current Streak: Arizona State, 5
Last Meeting: The Rebels were taken down 7-0 in Tempe, Ariz. earlier this season.
BROADCAST INFO: The official livestream for the weekend will be broadcasted on the Mountain West Network. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available on unlvrebels.com/sports/baseball/schedule.
THIS SEASON: The Hustlin‘ Rebels have been able to produce four batters with a batting average of .350 or higher through the halfway point of the season; Gunnar Myro (.371), Dean Toigo (.367), Cole Koniarsky (.364) and JP Hefft (.352) representing the highest averages. The trio represents several of the top 15 spots in the Mountain West leaderboardfor those marks, ranking sixth, seventh, 10th and 14th in the previously-mentioned order.
UNLV holds several other top marks within the conference, Dean Toigo being the standalone leader in the Mountain West in RBIs and home runs. His home run total after last weekend sits at eight, his mark in RBIs being 29. Hefft’s leadoff spot has garnered him a top-three position in hits among his conference peers, ranking second with 35 on the season as Cooper Sheff shares a four-way spot leading the conference in runs (25).
Sophomore starter Carson Lane leads the Rebels with 36 K’s of his own, currently ranked third in the Mountain West. Lane’s latest starts have held him inside the conference’s top-five ERA marks so far in the season, notching the fifth-place spot on a 3.82 note. Junior Reese Lueck also qualifies in the MW’s top 10 as well, sitting seventh with a 4.30 ERA.
The Hustlin‘ Rebels have collected three Mountain West weekly honors so far this season, Sheff owning two Freshman honors and Lane picking up his first Pitcher award last week. UNLV’s last set were after claiming the season series over Fresno State 2-1, Lane and Sheff dualed as Pitcher & Freshman of the Week. Lane pitched eight innings for UNLV’s first combined no-hitter since 2003, Sheff batting .467 in the four-game stretch with six runs.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: The Sun Devils are coming off a hot streak against no. 22-ranked Kansas, hosting the Jayhawks and claiming two of the three games over the weekend. Nu’u Contrades‘ walk-off home run in the 7-6 win iced the series in favor of ASU, now batting .294 on the season with 25 hits, 10 of them being for extra bases. Kyle Walks leads the lineup in hitting this season, batting .353 with Kien Vu behind him at .333.
Arizona State hosts two arms in the bullpen with 30+ innings pitched this season, Jack Martinez leading with 33.2 and 48 total strikeouts. Lucas Kelly stands as one of the many relief threats on their roster, holding a 1.64 season ERA in 10 appearances and 11 innings of work.
NEW FOR 2025: The Rebels feature 23 newcomers wearing the Scarlet & Gray heading into the new season, three of those student-athletes being marked as true freshman on the roster and 20 transferring to Las Vegas.
Of those 20 transfers, the Scarlet & Gray have two pairs of student-athletes to the roster arriving from the same institution, including Nicky Garritano and Michael Cruz from CSN.The duo helped lead the Coyotes to become on of the premiere JUCO programs, Garritano earning the 2024 NJCAA DI Baseball Defensive Player of the Year honor. Also being a two-time NJCAA DI Baseball ABCA & Rawlings Gold Glove recipient, both him and Cruz hold multiple All-Region selections in Region 18.
A few of UNLV’s fresh faces earned some time on the diamond during the Rebels’ scrimmage last weekend, the team having plenty of options to utilize throughout the season.Senior outfielder Dean Toigo led Hope International to their first-ever win in the Avista NAIA World Series as Toigo drove in two runs during the contest. Dwight Allen II was part of the 2022 Georgia squad that advanced to the NCAA Regional after appearing in 42 games that season and Colton Sundloff owns postseason experience from his time at Oklahoma pitching in the NCAA Super Regional.
Of the Rebel freshman trio, two arrive from California and Carl LaGrone coming from McQueen High School in Las Vegas. LaGrone ranked as the top LHP in Nevada, according to PerfectGame.com, Demetriz Lewis earning an All-Tournament nod after his performance in the 17U National Championship. Coming from Clovis North High School in Fresno (Calif.), Jayden Hertel picked up First Team All-TRAC recognition as a senior.
UNLV was voted tied for fourth in the Mountain West Preseason Poll prior to the start of the season, tied with New Mexico and San Diego State. The Rebels earned a first-place team vote during the poll, Paul Myro IV claiming All-Mountain West Preseason Team honors.