Monday, March 31, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
Rod Soesbe isn't wondering why the honeymoon is over. He's curious when it begins.
The first-year UNLV baseball head coach saw his Rebels issue 36 runs on 46 hits in two losses to San Diego State at Wilson Stadium this weekend -- 14-9 Sunday, 22-1 Saturday.
The three-game series concludes today at 3:05 p.m.
"We've been snakebitten," said Soesbe, who took over the program when the oft-disgruntled Fred Dallimore retired last September. "We should be better than we are right now."
The Rebels, who played in the NCAA Regionals last May, are struggling to make the Western Athletic Conference tournament this season. They currently are 18-6 overall, 4-7 in the WAC.
That leaves first baseman Kevin Eberwein mystified.
"This year, it's almost like, 'Who cares if we win or not?'" the Green Valley grad said.
"I don't know what's going on. Soes is doing all he can, but he can't go out there and play for us. We gotta do it ourselves. It's a big pride thing. We have to come to the ballpark and strap it on every day."
Said Soesbe: "We're digging. We're not mathematically out of it, but its a tough road to hoe. We don't have many home games left, so we can't afford to drop two games in our own yard."
After today, UNLV plays only nine of its final 22 games at Wilson Stadium.
The Aztecs, ranked as high as No. 22 in the country this season, pounded 19 hits Sunday and 27 Saturday.
"I don't think I could give up 27 hits throwing (batting practice)," the 50-year-old Soesbe said.
His staff's ERA is 6.24. Opponents are batting .341.
Offensively, the Rebels are hitting .306, 26 points off last year's average.
Youth can be to blame for that. The deck wasn't exactly loaded when Soesbe's cards were dealt. The Rebels lost 12 players, including six juniors to the major-league draft, from last year's Big West Conference championship squad that went 43-17.
But Eberwein, named a Freshman All-American last season, claims this squad doesn't lack players, even though it can use half a dozen freshman in a game.
"It's right up there," Eberwein answered when asked if this team is as talented as the last.
"Last year we played hard all the time. We came ready to play every day. I don't know what the problem is this year. We come to the game and it seems like we're ready to play. Then we get down and that's it."
Which is a drastic departure from the 1996 Rebels, who never seemed out of a game regardless of the deficit.
"We're not battling back," Soesbe said.
Down 4-0 in the second inning Sunday, UNLV actually countered with a five-run frame -- started by Eberwein's solo home run and capped by Chris Adolph's three-run shot -- to take the lead.
Starting pitcher Tista Perri, however, continued to struggle and gave up two more runs in the third.
The Rebels scored once in the fourth inning to the game at 6 before Ryan Hammons gave the Aztecs a permanent lead in the sixth with a solo home run.
SDSU chased Perri (3-4) in the eighth inning and then crushed his relief, Jimmy Smith, who entered with the team's best ERA at 4.62. Smith was touched for four runs, all unearned, without recording an out. After the seven-run inning, the Aztecs led 14-6.
UNLV scored two runs in the eighth and one more in the ninth on a towering home run by right field Ryan Ludwick, his team-leading ninth of the season.
Aztec reliever Jeff Dufek (2-0) received the victory despite allowing three runs on five hits in three innings of work.
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