FROM CBD NEWS SOURCE
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV baseball team released its schedule for the upcoming 2012 season Wednesday afternoon, announced second-year head coach Tim Chambers.
The Rebels will play 29 of their 55 regular-games in the friendly confines of Wilson Stadium, including a 13-game stretch in early March. UNLV will also square up against four teams that qualified for postseason play a year ago, including conference rivals TCU and New Mexico for six games apiece.
“We’re excited about the schedule this coming season,” said Chambers. “We trying to beef it up, get on the road a little more than usual. Also, having a balanced schedule in conference games this season will make the seeding for the tournament more fair than in years past.”
UNLV will open the 2012 season with a four-game road trip to California, traveling to Loyola Marymount for a three-game set, Feb. 17-19, before heading to UC Irvine for a single game on Feb. 20. The Anteaters were three outs away from the College World Series a year ago before falling to No. 1 overall seed Virginia the Charlottesville Super Regional.
The Rebels will continue action away from home in the second week of the season, traveling to Corpus Christi, Texas for games against Nebraska, Utah and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Feb. 24-26.
Feb. 28 will mark UNLV’s home opener as well as the beginning of a 13-game home stretch, kicking off with a two-game set against Cal State Bakersfield. In-state rival Nevada, Reno comes to town March 2-4 for the final series as a non-conference opponent as the Wolf Pack join the Mountain West in 2013.
A midweek game against Southern Utah is followed by a weekend series with Pac-12 foe Washington State, March 9-11. UNLV and Southern Utah will meet again a week later on March 13 in Las Vegas before the Rebels close out the home stand with NCAA qualifier TCU, March 16-18. The series with the Horned Frogs will mark the second straight year the two teams meet to open Mountain West action in Las Vegas.
UNLV will travel to Tempe, Ariz. for a single game against Arizona State on March 21, renewing an old rivalry with the Sun Devils. ASU advanced to the Super Regionals in 2011, falling to Texas in three games.
The Rebels resume MW action March 23-25, traveling to Colorado Springs for a weekend series with Air Force before returning home for a March 27 date with Southern Utah.
A three-game series in Fort Worth against TCU March 30-April 1 is followed by a road game at Southern Utah on April 3. UNLV returns home to kick off a seven-game home stand starting with a weekend series against San Diego State April 5-7 and a four-game series with Nebraska-Omaha April 13-15.
A pair of midweek games at UC Riverside April 17-18 is followed by a home series with Air Force April 20-22.
UNLV will take on 2011 MW Tournament Champion New Mexico six times in a 17-day span, with a pair of home games against UC Riverside and a road trip to San Diego State May 4-6 separating the two meetings with the Lobos.
The Rebels will close out the regular-season on the road with a three-game weekend series at Sacramento State, May 18-20.
UNLV will play host to the 2012 Mountain West Tournament Championship May 24-27, marking the fifth time the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament will be determined at Wilson Stadium.
