Rebels to try to save the season on long road trip

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | 8:16 a.m.

The Rebels hit the road - Interstate 15, actually - Tuesday morning to try to turn around a season that will culminate in their own back yard in four weeks.

Their game Tuesday night at UC Riverside started a stretch in which the Rebels play eight consecutive games away from Earl Wilson Stadium, and most of it will involve non-Mountain West Conference opponents.

UNLV plays a series against Utah in Salt Lake City this weekend, has one game against UC Irvine in Southern California next week and winds up the trek with three against Arizona in Tucson next weekend.

It should be challenging. The Rebels had lost five of their last six games, and seven of their previous nine, heading into the game at Riverside.

UNLV (17-24, 4-9 in league) is sixth in the Mountain West. Texas Christian (24-17, 11-2) leads the league in its debut season as a member. Air Force (10-23, 1-9) is a spot behind UNLV in last place.

A bright spot for third-year Rebels coach Buddy Gouldsmith is that Wilson Stadium will be the site of the six-day Mountain West tournament, which starts May 22.

The league tournament victor gets an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. UNLV, which is 14-9 at home, has played in three consecutive NCAA Regionals.

Gouldsmith has six batters hitting at least .300, with junior Keith Smith leading the way at .346. The Irvine Valley College transfer is also slugging at a .654 rate, fourth-best in the Mountain West.

In addition, Gouldsmith has a super and versatile substitute in Xavier Scruggs, who has started six of 18 games.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pound freshman from Poway, Calif., is slugging at an astounding .733 clip, but he has not played in enough games to qualify among the league leaders. Of his eight hits in 30 at-bats, Scruggs has six extra-base hits, including four homers.

Scruggs also leads the UNLV pitching staff with a 4.11 earned-run average. He's 1-0, having thrown 15 1/3 innings in his 12 appearances. Foes are hitting a meager .203 against him.

Most of the rest of Gouldsmith's pitchers have ERAs of more than 6. But if pedigree is an accurate gauge, help is on the way.

Kelby Aase, a 19-year-old rookie lefty from Yorba Linda, Calif., whom Gouldsmith is redshirting, is the son of Don Aase, who spent 18 years in the majors throwing for the Angels, Dodgers, Mets, Orioles and Red Sox.

The elder Aase was a starter for four years, then he moved to the pen for 10. He was 66-60, with a 3.93 career ERA, and he appeared twice for the Angels, against Baltimore, in the 1979 American League Championship Series.

The Angels lost, 3-1. In relief of starter Frank Tanana, Aase won the Angels' lone game on Oct. 5, 1979, at Anaheim. Aase last pitched in 1990.

Infield flies

Chad Miller is tied with Smith, with eight apiece, for the team lead in home runs.

The number of walks allowed by lefty pitcher Ryan Tabor, a junior out of Green Valley High and the Community College of Southern Nevada. He leads the Mountain West Conference in fewest walks allowed.

1.000

The number of walks allowed by lefty pitcher Ryan Tabor, a junior out of Green Valley High and the Community College of Southern Nevada. He leads the Mountain West Conference in fewest walks allowed.