To the Maxson: Baseball trying to find groove

February 26, 2009 by Matt Maxson 

It’s hard to tell if much has changed at Wilson Stadium. Even the Hustlin’ Rebels’ schedule looks the same.

UNLV is 3-2 through the team’s first five games, picking up three wins and a loss against Maine and another loss to Arizona. In a one-week stretch last season, the Rebels were 3-2 against the same two teams.

Of course this squad wants to shed any comparison to last year’s team that finished 22-37, but it’s difficult to see where this team fits into the Mountain West Conference.

TCU and San Diego State both moved up in the national rankings this week. SDSU, noted for Hall of Fame coach Tony Gwynn and 2008 U.S. Olympic bronze-medalist pitcher Stephen Strasburg, will prove to be tough competition for the Rebels who play them six times this season.

But if the Rebels are looking to lean on their experience, they got no reassurance Tuesday night in their lopsided loss to the Arizona Wildcats.

UNLV head coach Buddy Gouldsmith used five pitchers in a lopsided 14-7 loss, with three only getting an inning of action. 

“Thomas [Whitsett] logged a lot of innings for us last year and we were hoping that his experience would prove valuable,” Gouldsmith said. “When it didn’t prove as valuable as we had hoped we went with David Bumstead who had a bit of experience.”

Whitsett gave up four runs in more than two innings of work. Bumstead allowed seven hits in just over three. Both pitchers finished with one strikeout.

If the team can’t hang its hat on experience then it’ll have to count on confidence. The Rebels host eight home games before the Rebels meet the Aztecs for their first conference matchup.

“[Confidence] will be huge, especially for the young guys,” Gouldsmith said. “But we have enough experience on this club. Our guys can carry us through.”

Confidence for this team starts when huge rallies stop. Arizona scored seven runs in the second inning, eight batters reached on eight at-bats and the inning lasted half an hour. A fan in the stands summed it up best by saying,  “the pitcher has got excellent control, he’s hitting every bat.”

But even after a tumultuous inning the Rebels still battled back, putting up seven runs over the next three innings. The bad news, Arizona put up another four in that same stretch.

“You got to breathe some life into [the offense] when they’re battling that hard to try and get you back in the game by throwing up a zero [on the scoreboard],” Gouldsmith said. “We didn’t throw up a zero until the seventh inning.”

By that point the Rebels had sputtered to a stop. UNLV did not score a run in the final four innings and left three runners on base.

The Rebels have a lot of tinkering to do with their confidence, but fortunately have the time to do so. The Rebels play St. Peters College on Feb. 27 in a doubleheader at home that if they can win, may be the start of a good season.