UNLV healthy, armed for ’15

UNLV had high hopes of not only making a baseball regional for the first time in nine years, but the Rebels went into last season believing they could make a deep run in the postseason.

They certainly had the pitching to go far in any tournament, but by the Mountain West tournament and then the regional in Corvallis, Ore., the Rebels were running out of healthy bodies.

Ace Erick Fedde, who would become the Washington Nationals’ first-round draft pick, missed more than a month at the end of the season because of an injured elbow. Other key players battled injuries, either sidelining them or seriously diminishing their production.

So the long postseason run didn’t take place, but the Rebels believe they again have a team that can go far. This time, they are counting on a better ability to overcome injuries and the usual wear and tear of a season.

“I don’t even know if everybody knows the extent that we were injured last year,” said junior right-hander Kenny Oakley, who went to Coronado High School. “Everybody was hurting by the time we got to Corvallis last year. Nobody likes to make excuses, but everybody kind of wonders how things would’ve went if we were healthy. So this year I think that’s why we have such a big focus on depth — hitting depth and pitching depth.”

UNLV, which lost two of three games in that regional and finished 36-25, opens its season at 6:05 p.m. today with a three-game series at Wilson Stadium against No. 23 Nebraska.

The Rebels, picked with UNR to finish third in the Mountain West, again are expected to rely on a strong pitching staff, but this time the roles aren’t as clearly defined.

Junior left-hander Zak Qualls makes the start tonight, and he will be followed by Oakley on Saturday and junior right-hander D.J. Myers on Sunday. But the rotation is expected to change throughout the season.

“I think this year we have six, maybe seven guys who can be weekend starters,” Oakley said. “We have a bunch of guys who can come in in any situation and pitch. So we might not have a first-rounder at the top of the lineup, but we have good pitchers throughout. Last year, we leaned on a select group of pitchers, and this year I don’t feel we’re going to have to do that.”

Qualls’ start will be his first appearance in almost three years. The Rancho High graduate lost his spot on the team because of academic and undisclosed off-field issues, but worked to get back and made a strong enough impression to get the ball on opening night.

“When he toes that rubber Friday night ... he’s going to be a wreck (emotionally),” coach Tim Chambers said. “But he’s going to get through it. His teammates never quit on him, either, and that’s a good thing. All three captains had him starting Friday. That’s what made my decision is all three captains said, ‘He needs to pitch Friday. We can’t hit him.’ ”

Like last season, the Rebels will rely mostly on pitching. But as with their pitching staff, the Rebels enter the season with an offense that should be deeper than last year’s.

Senior first baseman Morgan Stotts led the team with a .337 batting average last season, and junior outfielder Joey Armstrong is back after hitting .302. Armstrong was the only Rebel selected to the preseason all-conference team.

But there are a lot of key players to replace, including Armstrong’s brother, Pat, who hit .303 with eight home runs and 49 RBIs. T.J. White also is gone after batting .318 with 38 RBIs.

“It’s going to be hard to replace Pat and T.J., but we’ve got new people stepping in and they’re ready to go,” said Stotts, who went to Silverado High and College of Southern Nevada. “I think we’re deeper. We’re better.”

Replacing Pat Armstrong’s leadership, however, might not be so easy. He helped create an environment in which players took responsibility for the successes and failures of the program.

“Pat Armstrong changed the face of this program,” Chambers said.

But Chambers said he has seen evidence even before the season’s first pitch of several players taking up Pat Armstrong’s lead. That’s the kind of ownership Chambers had hoped to see out of his players when he became UNLV’s coach in 2011, and it’s key to any successful program.

And for Chambers, success isn’t about more than getting to another regional. It’s about going beyond that, as far as to Omaha, Neb., for the College World Series, either this season or sometime in the not-too-distant future.

“We’re not done yet, just so you know,” Chambers said. “We will get there.”

His players are right there with him.

“We got (to a regional) last year, and we saw what it was like,” Joey Armstrong said. “So I think it’s motivation to go a little farther. I mean, why not go all the way, you know?”

■ NOTE — Washington Nationals slugger Bryce Harper, who went to Las Vegas High and CSN, and the Mountain Ridge Little League team that won the U.S. championship will take part in the first-pitch ceremonies tonight.

Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.