UNLV BASEBALL HITS THE ROAD FOR SERIES AT AIR FORCE
The UNLV baseball team will return to conference action for the next Mountain West series visiting Air Force. The three-game series will begin on Friday, April 11 and conclude on Sunday, April 13.
SCHEDULE (PST)
Friday, April 11 at 2 p.m.
Saturday, April 12 at 12 p.m.
Sunday, April 13 at 11 a.m.
MATCHUP HISTORY
Overall vs. Air Force: 119-47
Current streak against Air Force: UNLV, W1
Last Meeting: The Rebels claimed the season series, 2-1, in Las Vegas last 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 here.
THIS SEASON: The Hustlin’ Rebels have been able to produce a pair of batters with a batting average of .350 or higher through the halfway point of the season; Cole Koniaraky (.3877) and Dean Toigo (.376) represent the highest averages. The duo represents several of the top 15 spots in the Mountain West leaderboard for those marks, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively, in batting average.
UNLV holds several other top marks within the conference, Dean Toigo being the standalone leader in the Mountain West in hits (47), while Cooper Sheff leads the conference with five sacrifice flies. Additionally, Toigo ranks second in RBI (36), home runs (9) and total bases (80). Toigo also sits at the top spot in conference only games with a .458 batting average.
Sophomore starter Carson Lane leads the Rebels with 50 strikeouts, currently ranked third in the Mountain West and sits at the top of the conference with a 3.32 ERA and a .224 opponent batting average.
The Hustlin’ Rebels have collected four Mountain West weekly honors so far this season, Sheff owning two Freshman honors, while Lane and Mercurius have picked up their first Pitcher awards within two weeks apart.
Mercurius earned the first MW Pitcher of the Week honor of his career after pitching a complete-game shutout with a career-high 12 strikeouts where he allowed just three hits and no walks in a 3-0 triumph over the Wolf Pack on April 5. The Las Vegas native is the first Hustlin’ Rebel pitcher to go the distance this season in a nine inning game. Additionally, Mercurius became the first Rebel hurler to pitch a complete-game nine inning shutout since Kenny Oakley did so against UNR on March 7, 2015 in a 1-0 victory. Mercurius improved his ERA from 5.19 to 3.86 with his complete-game shutout.
Lane and Sheff dualed as Pitcher & Freshman of the Week. Lane pitched eight innings for UNLV’s first combined no-hitter since 2003, with Sheff batting .467 in the four-game stretch with six runs against Fresno State. Lane’s performance also netted him national honors, being selected as the College Baseball Foundations’ National Pitcher of the Week on March 25.
ABOUT THE OPPONENT: Air Force enters the weekend having won their series against San Diego State, winning two out of three games. Additionally, the Falcons fell to Northern Colorado in a midweek contest. Christian Taylor is batting .303 and has the second-most RBI for the Falcons with 21. He has reached base in 17 straight games, the longest reached-base streak for Air Force this season. He’s tallied nine multi-hit games with six multi-RBI games. In last weekend’s series against the Aztecs, the outfielder notched five hits, with three coming in the game two 18-8 victory.
Their pitching is headed by Patrick Davidson, posting 25.1 innings in 12 starts with 26 strikeouts and leads the conference with five wins. Joey Collier has also been one of the team’s top relief throwers with 11 appearances picking up 10 strikeouts in 13 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 freshmen 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 one 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 he 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, 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.
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.