HUSTLIN’ REBELS TO HOST SANTA CLARA THIS WEEKEND
X: @UNLVbaseball | IG: @unlvbaseball | Game Notes | Schedule
The UNLV baseball team will play host to the visiting Santa Clara Broncos over the course of this weekend, playing at Earl E. Wilson Stadium from Friday, March 15 through Sunday, March 17.
SCHEDULE (all times in PST)
Friday, March 15 at 6:05 p.m.
Saturday, March 16 at 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, March 17 at 12:05 p.m.
MATCHUP HISTORY
All-time vs. Broncos: 6-17
In Las Vegas: 2-5
Current Streak: UNLV, 3
Last Meeting: UNLV won 12-6 at Earl E. Wilson in Feb. 2000
BROADCAST INFO: All three games will be streamed on the official UNLVAthletics YouTube channel. Links to broadcasts as well as live stats are available on unlvrebels.com/sports/baseball/schedule.
NEXT SERIES: UNLV will play two more home non-conference games during the week, playing a two-game series against Saint Mary’s College of California on Tuesday and Wednesday (Mar. 19-20).
The team will travel on the road for the weekend after that, facing off against rival UNR in the next installment of the Silver State Series presented by America First Credit Union. That three-game set will take place Friday through Sunday with one game each day (Mar. 22-24).
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 last week while only allowing three per contest.
UNLV’s offense continues to stand as the highlight of the program, both individuals and the team overall contain top marks among their NCAA DI opponents. A top-20 team in hits this season (20th) stems from a strong core of intelligent batters, the Rebels featuring two different student-athletes in the top-15 “Toughest Batters to Strikeout” metric. The team’s RBI leader, Austin Kryszczuk, rounds out the list with a rating of 19.3, only striking out three times in his 75 trips to the plate so far this season. Santino Panaro sits just in front of Kryszczuk with a 19.5 rating on the season, good for 13th among all DI batters with two strikeouts in 48 at bats in 2024.
The Scarlet & Gray’s hitting as a team ranks among the top-25 in a handful of statistical categories, rounding out the list in doubles per game (2.5) and sitting 21st in total triples for the season (7). The team also has maintained a top-50 ranking in other stats as well, ranking 34th overall in batting average (.316) and 35th in scoring per game (9).
The Rebels’ pitching holds a handful of notable marks among the Mountain West Conference, Sam Simon remaining in the league’s top-5 lowest ERAs for the 2024 season among qualifying pitchers (5th; 2.49). Austin Cates’ 22 strikeouts not only leads the team so far this season, but also sits in the third-place spot in the conference.
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 six times in 2024, a feat they achieved 13 times last season.
ABOUT UNM: The Broncos will look to hold the Rebels down with a stronghold defense, boasting a top-15 rating in fielding percentage among NCAA DI programs (13th; .983). Santa Clara is led by the pitching duo of Blake Hammond and Max Bayles, Hammond being one of the probable starters of the team’s weekend in Las Vegas. Hammond, with 17.2 innings pitched so far this season, holds a 13.25 strikeouts per 9 innings rate that sits top-50 among DI pitchers. Baylesstands as the winningest pitcher on the roster, posting three wins in his six appearances in 2024, striking out 18 in 11.2 innings of work.
The team’s .395 on-base percentage will aim to put the Rebels’ mound on edge, holding the most efficient base-running that UNLV has faced so far this season. Holding 30 stolen bases this season at a rate of two per game as a team, JonJon Berring’s 10 marks the only student-athlete on the roster with double digits and tallies a top-25 ranking among NCAA DI athletes.
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.
