May 1, 2002
24-23, 9-12 Mountain West Conference
14-9 HOME, 6-12 AWAY, 4-2 NEUTRAL
UNLV PROBABLE PITCHERS
Thursday: Robbie Van LHP (4-5, 5.84 ERA)
Friday: David Seccombe RHP (2-1, 6.41 ERA)
Saturday: TBA
BYU PROBABLE PITCHERS
Thursday: Jeff Mousser RHP (7-3, 4.20 ERA)
Friday: TBA
Saturday: Paul Jacinto RHP (2-2, 6.42 ERA)
UNLV REBELS
UNLV is coming off a 2-1 series victory at New Mexico over the weekend and has won seven of its last nine games. Freshman Joe Wickman is hitting .577 (15-for-26) over that span.
The Rebel pitching staff has fanned 74 batters in the last nine games and lowered their ERA to 4.92.
In MWC competition, the Rebels lead the league in runs scored (23), hits (25), RBIs (20), home runs (7) and total bases (50).
BYU swept UNLV in a three-game series earlier this season and cut the Rebels overall series advantage to just two games at 47-45.
BYU COUGARS
The Cougars have lost five of their last six games, including a four-game sweep at San Diego State. They are now 17-24-1 overall and 10-10 in the MWC.
Dave Jensen continues to lead the Cougars with a .382 batting average and 13-game hitting streak.
TRUJILLO PLAYER OF THE WEEK - April 29
UNLV first baseman/DH David Trujillo has earned Mountain West Conference Player of the Week honors for his efforts over the week against Southern Utah and New Mexico.
Trujillo, from Albuquerque, N.M. (Lamar CC), went 9-for-16 (.562) last week, while helping the Rebels to a 3-1 record. In Wednesday's 16-4 win over Southern Utah, Trujillo belted two home runs in four at bats. In an 11-7 loss at New Mexico Friday, Trujillo knocked in five of the Rebels' seven runs as he homered and doubled in the game. Trujillo posted his second multiple-home run game of the week in game two vs. the Lobos as he went 4-for-6 from the plate with three RBI in a 23-13 win. Trujillo was also 1-for-3 with a double and two runs scored in an 11-4 game three victory vs. New Mexico. The first baseman committed just one error in 34 chances last week.
JOHNSON DOUBLES
With a MWC-leading 23 doubles (.49 per game), Brent Johnson is on track to tie or break the school record for doubles in a season if he continues at his current pace. With an anticipated minimum of 58 games (56 regular season and two conference tournament games), Johnson would finish with 28 doubles.
The current record is held by Bill Max, who hit a nation-leading 28 doubles in 1981.
ROAD WOES
UNLV is wrapping up a 10-game road swing that began with a three-game stand at Utah. The Rebels are 6-12 this season on their opponents' home fields. On a neutral field, UNLV is 4-2.
HITTING STREAKS
The longest hitting streak of the season belongs to Brent Johnson at 13, while Garett Shitanishi, David Trujillo and Robert VanKirk each had 10-game hitting streaks at one point.
Three Rebels, Trujillo, Ryan Ruiz and Joe Wickman have nine-game hitting streaks heading into the games at BYU.
SEASON OF THE BALK
Through 47 games this season, the Rebels have already been called for 25 balks. Fourteen of those have been called at Earl E. Wilson Stadium. UNLV committed only five balks all last season and racked up a combined total of just 15 over the last four seasons.
The Rebels' opponents also have 39 balks on the season, 23 of which came at Wilson Stadium.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE
The Rebels will play 17 games against teams that participated in the 2001 NCAA Baseball Championship, including Arizona State, Cal-Berkley, Cal-State Fullerton, Oklahoma State and BYU among others. The first 20 games for the Rebels proved to be the most challenging as 14 of their opponents during that stretch are ranked in the top 30 of the Collegiate Baseball Preseason Poll.
Each season also brings the tough grind of Mountain West Conference play. The Rebels will play home-and-home, three-game series against five conference foes for a total of 30 conference games.The conference tournament, to be held this year in Provo, UT, will decide the conference's automatic bid into the 2002 NCAA Baseball Championship.
BASEBALL AMERICA
Baseball America predicts UNLV will finish third in the Mountain West Conference this season, behind first place BYU and second place San Diego State.
Other preseason conference honors include Brent Johnson as the Best Defensive Third Baseman and Robbie Van with the Best Breaking Ball.
AUTOMATIC BID
Twenty-nine conferences receive an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. 2001 marked the first season the Mountain West Conference received an automatic bid. The winner of the MWC Championships, held in Provo, Utah May 22-26, will receive the automatic bid.
CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT
The 2002 Mountain West Conference Baseball Championship will be hosted by BYU in Provo, Utah. All six Mountain West Conference teams will compete in the double-elimination tournament May 22-26. 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 Ron Christian at the MWC office or BYU Baseball Contact Ralph Zobell prior to the event.
JOHNSON EARNS MWC HONORS
Brent Johnson was named the Mountain West Conference Player of the Week on March 6 and April 1.
For the week of March 6, Johnson helped lead the Rebels to a 3-1 record and a berth in the championship game of the Clash of the Conferences Tournament in Lancaster, Calif. He hit .471 with a .705 slugging percentage. He did not strike out once in 17 at-bats and played four complete games without an error. He finished the weekend with two stolen bases and earned a place on the Clash of the Conferences All Tournament Team.
Johnson earned his second weekly honor after going 8-for-14 (.571) and helping UNLV post a 3-1 record, including a three-game sweep over New Mexico. In the first contest, Johnson was 3-for-5 with a triple and four RBI in an 11-5 win over the Lobos. In game two, Johnson went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI in a 23-2 victory. He helped the Rebels complete the conference sweep by going 2-for-4 in a 15-6 win in game three. Johnson was also 2-for-3 in stolen bases and played error free from the center field position.
