Rebels have time to get rid of the bad taste

Rob Miech

Monday, May 29, 2006 | 6:59 a.m.

UNLV baseball coach Buddy Gouldsmith does not plan on having a pleasant offseason.

A string of three consecutive Mountain West Conference tournament titles, and trips to the NCAA tournament, ended Friday night with a 10-4 defeat to Brigham Young at Wilson Stadium. UNLV finished 29-30.

Texas Christian won the tournament Saturday with a 9-6 victory over BYU.

Against BYU, there were enough missed cut-off throws and base-running errors to give Gouldsmith headaches for months.

"I hold myself accountable for that, where it looks like we're not coached," Gouldsmith said. "And that's simply not the case. We go over all those things a million times, until it becomes monotonous for the guys.

"I know, in the end, those are the things that will cost you the most ... there won't be too many hours in the day where that won't pop into my head."

Gouldsmith called his third season "adversarial." He used 30 different starting lineups. When third baseman Willie Bowman dislocated his left shoulder early in the tournament, it was the 15th significant injury suffered by a Rebel.

"Everyone," Gouldsmith said, "will have a real bad taste in their mouths for the next eight months."

Local optimist

Matt Wagner was left with glassy eyes, and memories and relationships that will last a lifetime, late Friday night at Wilson Stadium.

"Making the (NCAA) regionals three out of four years is tough to do. Not many people get that opportunity," said UNLV's lone senior from Las Vegas. "I've been associated with a great bunch of guys and coaches. An unbelievable ride."

Wagner, a right-handed pitcher from Cimarron-Memorial High, was 3-0 with a 6.08 earned-run average this season. A year ago, he won MVP honors at the league tournament.

"No regrets," he said. "You don't always get the results you want. (But) this program's definitely going up. The possibilities are endless, the facilities are great and the coaching staff is motivated. I can't wait to just come out to games and watch this place grow."

New middle infield

Gouldsmith is excited about the return of Ryan Kowalski, Keith Smith and Chris Bonnell - his 1, 3 and 4 hitters, respectively - next season.

The challenge will be replacing the middle infield, where shortstop Mike Cruz and second baseman C.J. Lang were the heart of the team.

"It's really tough, and emotional, to say goodbye to those guys," Gouldsmith said.

Anthony Hernandez, who redshirted in 2006, and Bowman figure to get the first chances at the vacancies. Rance Roundy (Silverado High) and Los Angeles native Jarred Frierson are rookies who will be looked at closely during fall ball.

High flier

The tournament extended a ritual that TCU coach Jim Schlossnagle, who is taking the Frogs to an NCAA Regional for the third time in three years, began about two weeks ago.

Upon turning in his lineup card at home plate, he'd turn and dash for the team huddle, where he'd body-slam pitcher Dillon Farish in the air.

"That's totally opposite of my personality," Schlossnagle said. "But I've tried to loosen up over the years, show the kids that I'm enthusiastic about the game, too."

In March, Schlossnagle was named as an assistant coach to a USA Baseball national team that will compete in the a world university tournament in Cuba this summer.

Infield flies:

"The regular season has to mean something, and we earned the right to have all the advantages," Schlossnagle said. "I would prefer a four-team tournament, to be honest with you."

Garrett was bummed about UNLV's 10-4 deficit, to BYU, Friday before the Rebels batted in the top of the ninth, when a friend told him, "Nothing's impossible."

Garrett quickly snapped. "It's impossible," he said, "for anybody to walk on water!" There was no response.

The senior associate athletic director first dragged an infield and set base-path chalk lines in high school.

"I love that," said San Antonio resident Carolyn Petro, mother of Air Force pitcher Jake Petro.