BOISE, Idaho (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team is making its first appearance at the Mountain West Softball Championships since the conference reinstated the tournament last season. The Rebels earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament and will have a first-round bye and bypass the single elimination round. The Scarlet & Gray earned a second-place finish in the MW regular season standings with a 14-8 league record.
 
SCHEDULE:
Thursday, May 9 - No. 3 UNR / No. 6 Colorado State vs. No. 2 UNLV at 3 p.m. PT
Friday, May 10 - Game 5 at 11 a.m. PT OR Game 6 at 2 p.m. PT OR Game 7 at 5 p.m. PT
Saturday, May 11 - Championship Game at 11 a.m. PT
 
UNLV AT MW TOURNAMENT
UNLV in the MW Tournament: 8-12
Last appearance: 2006
 
UNLV VS. UNR
All-time vs. UNR: 23-16
Streak: Win 1
Last meeting: This season, the Rebels took the series 2-1 over in-state rival UNR in Las Vegas On April 12-14.
 
UNLV VS. COLORADO STATE
All-time vs. Colorado State: 47-53
Streak: Win 1
Last meeting: The Rebels and Rams split the doubleheader this season on March 16-17.
 
SCOUTING UNR: The Wolf Pack are the no. 3 seed going into the MW Softball Championships. UNR has a 38-15 overall record and finished conference play with a 14-8 record. The Wolf Pack is led by Ballie Clark who is batting a .411. Gabby Herrera is not too far behind with a .409 batting average, a team-lead 64 RBI and 16 home runs. In the circle, Tyra Clary holds a 2.41 ERA through 93.0 innings of work. She's made 28 appearances which include seven starts and a 9-5 overall record.
 
SCOUTING COLORADO STATE: Colorado State heads into the MW Softball Championships as the no. 6 seed. The Rams have a 26-20 overall record and finished MW play with a 9-12 record. Maya Matsubara leads Colorado State with a .403 batting average which include a team-high 13 doubles and second on the team in RBI with 34. Danielle Serna leads the Rams' pitching staff with a 3.08 ERA in her 19 appearances. Serna has pitched 79.2 innings and has struck out 52, which leads the Rams.
 
BROADCAST INFO: The MW Softball Championships will be streamed on theMW.com/watch. Links to the stream and live stats links can be found on UNLVrebels.com
 
LAST TIME ON THE FIELD: In the regular season three-game series finale, UNLV collected the series 2-1 over San Diego State. The Rebels opened the series with a 5-1 win over the Aztecs. UNLV then clinched the series with a 4-3 win in game two, but fell in the series finale 13-4 in five innings.
 
MW HONORS: The Rebels had three players recognized on the MW All-MW postseason awards list, led by fifth year senior Maddie Schmidt earning Defensive Player of the Year honors. Junior Ariana Martinez picked up an All-MW first team nod, and Schmidt and senior Ellie Zellien garnered second team honors.
Schmidt becomes the third Rebel to earn the defensive player of the year honor since the award was introduced in 2014. She is the second UNLV player under head coach Kristie Fox to pick up the nod. Martinez becomes a three-time first-team selection, while it is the first career MW award for Zellien.