April 10, 2001

ABOUT SAN DIEGO STATE

San Diego State enters the weekend with a 21-14 overall record, 10-5 in league play. The Aztecs moved into a tie with BYU for first place in the Mountain West Conference following a 2-1 split against Air Force.

San Diego State leads the overall game series with UNLV 32-19 following a three-game sweep earlier this season.

UNLV won five of the seven meetings between the two teams last season. The Rebels won five of the six regular season meetings and dropped the first game of the league championship 7-6.

HUSTLIN' REBELS

UNLV split a three-game series with New Mexico last weekend, dropping the first two games, 7-1 and 15-10, but coming back in the third game for a 15-8 victory.

Garett Shitanishi continues to swing the bat well, going 7-for-13 with his first triple of the season in the three-game series. Shitanishi is now third in the conference with a .380 batting average. Utah's Sam Swenson leads the league, hitting .382.

Nine Rebels hit .300 or better in last week's contests.

UNLV hit a disappointing .175 (17-for-97) against San Diego State earlier this season. With the Rebel bats finally heating up, fans can look forward to a more closely contested series at San Diego this weekend.

RADIO

Scott Robbs will be broadcasting the games on Saturday and Sunday through KSHP 1400 AM and on the Internet at www.unlvrebels.com.

Fan can listen to Friday's game through San Diego State's website at www.goaztecs.com, or Click Here

TRUJILLO HITTING STREAK

Junior David Trujillo is currently riding a twelve-game hitting streak. He picked up at least one hit in 18 of the last 19 games and 22 of the 29 games he has played this year.

KITSCH RBIs

Trent Kitsch currently holds the second spot in the conference for RBIs with 44. He also shares the second spot in multiple-RBI games with 12.

Versus: Washington State (3,2), Lewis-Clark State (2,2), Kansas State (5), Clemson (2), Oregon State (4), Southern Utah (2), Utah (2,2), New Mexico (2,4).

Kitsch is also third in the conference in home runs with nine. Utah's Sam Swenson leads the league with 12.

KITSCH - MLB CANADA PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Following UNLV's season-opening series against Washington State, Senior Trent Kitsch ( Kelowna, BC) was named MLB Canada's Player of the Week, as the top Canadian of the 405 currently playing baseball south of the border.

In the opener, Washington State pulled ahead on a grand slam in the top of the first inning. After the Rebels scored twice in the bottom half of the first, Kitsch hit a two-run triple in the third to bring UNLV within one at 5-4.

The Rebels put up a five-spot in the fifth, first a two-run homer, then a walk and a pair of hit-by-pitches loaded the bases. Kitsch then drew a bases-loaded walk for his third RBI of the game and the Rebels were 9-7 winners.

In the second game, Kitsch hit a scoring fly ball in the first to tie the game at 1-1 and three innings later Kitsch singled to centre for a run as the Rebels outlasted the Cougars for a 10-9 victory.

And in the series finale, the Rebels were 7-6 losers to Washington State, yet it wasn't for Kitsch's lack of hitting. The Cougars ran up a 7-0 lead before the Rebels and Kitsch went to work. Kitsch doubled and scored in the sixth. Kitsch picked up his second triple on the season in the eighth, knocking in a run. Kitsch went 2-for-4 with one RBI and two runs scored.

After the weekend Kitsch saw fourth in the conference with a .444 average, with six RBIs, tied for third - despite having played only three games.

Kitsch was a member of the 1997 World Junior championship bronze medalist Canadian Youth Team and was drafted in the 22nd round by the Colorado Rockies in 1997.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE

The tough 2001 schedule boasts competition against four teams that ranked in the top 25 at the end of the 2000 season. No. 7 Clemson, No. 8 Nebraska, No. 17 UCLA and No. 19 Penn State are stacked on the first half of the schedule as the Rebels prepared for the grind of their second season in the Mountain West Conference. UNLV also hosted a two-game series against the two-time defending NAIA National Champion Warriors of Lewis-Clark State.

AUTOMATIC BID

Twenty-nine conferences receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. 2001 marks the first season the Mountain West Conference will receive an automatic bid. The winner of the MWC Championships, held in San Diego May 16-19, will receive the automatic bid.

CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT

The 2001 Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship will be hosted by San Diego State University in San Diego, Calif. All six Mountain West Conference teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament May 16-19. Seedings will be decided by regular season results in conference games.

All requests for media credentials for the Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship should be submitted in writing to Assistant Director of Communications Brett Lowder at the MWC office or SDSU Baseball Contact Dave Kuhn prior to the event.