Pac-10 team finds small Rebel packs big wallop

Friday, May 12, 2006 | 7:23 a.m.

Junior second baseman C.J. Lang helped UNLV win a series at Arizona last weekend when he went 5-for-5, with a solo home run, during the Rebels' 16-12 victory Sunday against the Wildcats.

That continued an impressive Division I debut season for the Sparks native, who leads the Rebels with a .342 batting average. He has been particularly lethal in Mountain West Conference games by spraying the ball to all fields.

"That guy is probably one of the biggest leaders on our team," junior slugger Keith Smith said.

Not bad for a guy who, at 5 feet 8 inches, is the shortest player on UNLV's roster. He isn't the loudest, either. He just makes an impression.

"I get along with everybody," Lang said. "I guess it's easy for me to keep everyone together."

UNLV (21-28 overall, 6-10 MWC) has struggled this season. But winning a series against a Pac-10 program - the Rebels and 'Cats split the first two games - and another against defending NCAA champion Texas gives them hope for the postseason.

The Rebels play host to New Mexico (28-20, 10-6) tonight, and Saturday and Sunday afternoons. They end the regular season at Air Force next weekend.

The conference tournament will start at UNLV's Wilson Stadium on May 22. The Rebels, 13-8 at home this season, have won three consecutive Mountain West tournaments.

"We just want to get hot when it counts," Lang said.

Lang knows Mountain West-leading Texas Christian University (28-21, 14-5) might think it has an edge, come tourney time, since coach Jim Schlossnagle knows the place.

"He does, but I don't think many of their guys do," Lang said. "The ball flies here. It didn't go anywhere at TCU. They have good pitching, but they haven't played us in our park."

Schlossnagle ran the UNLV program for two seasons before he left for Fort Worth, Texas, after the 2003 season. Schlossnagle's assistant Buddy Gouldsmith took over at UNLV.

TCU is 4-0 against the Rebels, having played UNLV once in San Diego and three times in Texas.

Junior infielder Chad Miller is hitting .309 and leads the Rebels with 11 home runs. But his mantra at practice Tuesday was how underrated the UNLV pitching staff is.

The Rebels have a team ERA of 5.91, ranking in the middle of the seven-team conference.

"Efren Navarro and Matt Luca have missed some time, but we have a great pitching staff," Miller said. "They've kept us in a lot of ball games this year. We haven't been consistent, offensively.

"We all know what we're capable of. We have the talent to, hopefully, bring another conference title here."

Number of times UNLV has grounded into double plays this season, most in the Mountain West Conference.

Number of times senior shortstop Mike Cruz has been hit by a pitch in 2006. Nobody else in the league has been hit more than 12 times.